Kateri Tekawatha
Pray For Us

It is significant that the fifth yarn painting was the first santo. As Magpie prepared the tabla for waxing, the shaping chisel slipped and cut his wrist. The blood spurted in a fine stream clear across the room. Saturday afternoon, no money and a severed artery to the hand! A series of miracles and sacrifices turned this event into a positive one.

The subject chosen for this tabla was Kateri Tekawatha, the only Native American saint, a mystic recognized by the Catholic Church, possibly to gather Native American converts. Blessed Kateri has been a patroness and protector of the artist through the years. Here her mysticism is interpreted in the light of Huichol understanding. She stands firmly centered in a stylized peyote. Her arms are crossed over her heart, her left hand holds a rainbow God’s Eye of only one diamond -- one trip to Wirikuta (the sacred peyote desert) and the promise of the rainbow has been given to her! Her head is surrounded by a beaded halo. The beads are applied in the traditional Huichol style, hole up. The design of the halo is unique: the circle is divided into interchangeable red or white four-armed crosses embellished with yellow ears of corn. If the white areas and ears are taken as the predominant design, a Peyote Star appears. The presence of the red and white aura and the rainbow God’s Eye indicate that she is a healer of the same energy as Corn Mother. There is a subliminal image present here. One of the sleeves falls open to represent a gaping maw or wound from which pours the red blood of her inner dress. Five tiny white drops, decorations at the hem of her dress, fall to the images feet.

Kateri Tekawatha Pray For Us was presented to Magpie in memory of his blood sacrifice, a prayer for his speedy recovery. This piece took a blue ribbon in the Taos County Fair in 1993.