A spiritual home rooted in faith, culture and community
The Church of Gichitwaa Kateri in South Minneapolis serves as the American Indian Catholic Church in the archdiocese.
It is a spiritual home for our American Indian brothers and sisters. Each week, Mass is celebrated and faith formation, called “family circle” is held. “Family circle is intended to meet the deeper spiritual journey of our community, culturally, by way of sharing together in families,” explains Robert Haarman, the director of Indian ministry.
Monthly, the elders of the community meet to share a prayer, meal and an activity. Recently, the group began making their own pair of moccasins. For many participants, this was their first opportunity to learn this traditional craft, having grown up without access to their cultural teachings.
The Church Gichitwaa Kateri is a sacred space for American Indian family wakes, funerals, and memorials. “Many families continue to seek our space to honor their loved ones at the most difficult time. We remain an inexpensive alternative to pricier funeral homes. And we continue to provide our hearse ministry called Miigiiweyon or ‘I am going home,’ a one-way transport of a deceased relative to a reservation up to four hundred miles at no cost to the family.” Haarman shares.
Through the Catholic Services Appeal (CSA), support is offered to the Office of Indian Ministry and the meaningful work taking place at the Church of Gichitwaa Kateri. From nurturing faith and reconnecting community members with cultural traditions to accompanying families through grief, this ministry offers a place of belonging, dignity and hope.
