‘We are still here’

Archbishop Coakley celebrates third annual Native American Mass

Facing east toward the altar of the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, Deacon Roy Callison burned cedar as his wife, Susan, recited the first of the four invocations in the Prayer in the Four Directions, a traditional spiritual practice rooted in Indigenous culture. 

Using a shell and an eagle fan, Deacon Callison continued the Native American ritual of cedaring. As he turned to face south, the congregation mirrored his moves and Susan recited the second prayer. He continued the symbolic act of purification, using items found in nature, and recited the two remaining prayers facing west and then north.

Following the recitation of the Prayer in the Four Directions, and in his first major Mass since being elected President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Coakley processed down the aisle of the shrine as students from Riverside Indian School, and some adults, sang the processional hymn in Kiowa.

This was the third annual Native American Mass. It was celebrated on Nov. 23, the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, at the shrine in Oklahoma City. 

Michael Dalby, along with his son Wyatt, participated in the procession in full Native American regalia. 

“We are still here,” Dalby said. “We are participating, we are Catholic.”

Dalby recited the first reading in both his native language Kiowa and then in English. The second reading was recited in Cherokee and English by Harry Oosahwee. 

Coakley was joined by concelebrants Right Reverend Lawrence Stasyszen, O.S.B., abbot of Saint Gregory’s Abbey and Right Reverend Philip Anderson, O.S.B., abbot of Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey. Assisting deacons were Deacon Roy Callison and Deacon Craig Victor. 

Both Michael and Wyatt, a day student at Riverside Indian School, recited prayers in Kiowa. Prayers were recited in Comanche by Dana Attocknie and Cathy Lonewolf, as well as in Potawatomi by Robert Collins.

In his homily, Archbishop Coakley acknowledged Oklahoma’s 39 federally recognized Native American tribes, saying “All the tribes of the Earth will be blessed in him.”

The event, sponsored by the American Indian Catholic Outreach for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, incorporated facets of Native American culture while honoring the traditional manner of celebrating Mass according to the liturgical calendar.

Dalby explained: “We’re just doing what we always do. It’s regular Mass, just in our native language. This just gives us a chance to get out there and show that we do walk in two worlds.”

For more information on the American Indian Catholic Outreach office, contact Deacon Roy Callison at (918) 822-3255 or rcallisonarchokc.org.


Photo: (Above) Dcn. Roy Callison leads the Prayer in the Four Directions. Photo Chris Porter/Sooner Catholic.





Photos Chris Porter/Sooner Catholic.