Our History

- 1939-1946 Advisory Group of priests to Bishop Aloysius Muench, Fargo, North Dakota
  1946-1976 Northern Plains support group of missionary priests
  
  1977 Revitalization of Conference Membership open to Catholic Native Americans and
  
  those in ministry with them
  
  1979 Legally incorporated in the State of Montana as a non-profit religious
  organization. Listed in the Official Catholic Directory.
  
  1980 Beginning of national movement, Beatification of Kateri Tekakwitha in Rome,
  National Center established in Great Falls, Montana
  
  1983 Beginning of international movement
  1987 Pope John Paul II's visit with Native American Catholics in Phoenix, Arizona
  1989 First Native American Lay Executive Director, 50th Anniversary of Tekakwitha
  Conference in Fargo, North Dakota, Recipient of National Council of Catholic Evangelization Pope Paul VI Award
  
  1991-1992 130 Adult & Youth Kateri Circles registered with the National Center
  1993 Development of Urban Ministry Outreach Program
  1994 Second Native American Lay Executive Director
  1995 Pilgrimage to Kateri's Tomb in Kahnawake, Quebec
  1998 First year Annual Conference site was hosted in the South in Memphis,
  Tennessee, 4th Executive Director (3rd Native American Lay Executive Director)
  
  1999 60th Anniversary of the National Tekakwitha Conference in Spokane, Washington
  2000 Millennium Conference held in Lincoln, Nebraska
  2001 Annual Conference hosted in California for the first time
  2002 Annual Conference in Michigan, Land of the Great Lakes
  2003 Annual Conference returns to South Dakota after 24 years
  2005 66th Annual Tekakwitha Conference returned to Tucson, AZ after 15 years,
  325th Anniversary of Kateri's return to the Creator
  
  25th Anniversary of Kateri Tekakwitha's Beatification
  
  2006 350th Anniversary of Kateri Tekakwitha's birth
  2009 70th Anniversary of the Tekakwitha Conference
  2010 70th Anniversary of the naming of the Tekakwitha conference in Raleigh
  North Carolina
  
  2011 December - Approval of first class miracle by Pope Benedict XVI
  2012 October 21st - Canonization of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha in Rome by
  Pope Benedict XVI
  
  2013 July - 1st Annual Conference Celebrating Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
  November 5th - Tekakwitha Conference National Center relocated to Alexandria, Louisiana
  
  2014 75th Anniversary of the Tekakwitha Annual Conference in Fargo, North Dakota
  2015 76th Annual Tekakwitha Conference hosted in Alexandria, Louisiana
  2017 5th Anniversary of St. Kateri's Canonization in Rome - October 21st
  2018 5th Executive Director (4th Native American Lay Executive Director)
  2019 80th Anniversary of the Tekakwitha Conference in Sharonville, Ohio