KATERI is a vision for a research and training center that is ready to emerge out of the existing gardening and land restoration programs at SMIS to design college level curriculum and provide a path towards careers in Earth restoration and the technologies supporting an economy based on ecological principles. Such an economy would restore the biodiversity, vitality and beauty of this beautiful high desert land, and restore our relationships to Mother Earth and to one another.
Our namesake, Kateri Tekakwitha is recognized as a saint of the Catholic Church. She was Algonquin–Mohawk, living from 1656 to 1680. Kateri has inspired many people to appreciate the ecological wisdom of Native Americans and indigenous people worldwide. The statue in the photo is located in the high school courtyard at SMIS.
KATERI, the Thomas Berry Education Center and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament
Thomas Berry was a Catholic priest, ecological philosopher, writer and cultural historian. He sought a broader perspective on humanity’s relationship to the Earth in order to respond to the ecological and social challenges of our times. His vision for achieving transformative social change and environmental renewal is more relevant now than ever.
The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (SBS) is a Catholic order established by Katharine Drexel in 1891. Under her leadership (and the Drexel family’s philanthropy) SBS founded several schools for Native Americans and African Americans including Saint Michael Indian School and Xavier University in Louisiana.
In 2010, SBS began work on the Thomas Berry Educational Center (TBEC) on an idyllic 2,000+ acre property along the James River in Virginia. The center would be a model of holistic, ecologically sound education promoting an ethic of social and ecological justice. As a multidisciplinary research institution, TBEC would explore a wide variety of environmental ideas and curricula. It was the perfect place to inspire creativity and allow the human spirit to be restored and nourished through reflection and healing. Unfortunately, due to financial necessities, the property was sold in 2014 and plans for TBEC were halted.
Saint Michael Indian School is located on 440 acres of scenic high desert in northeast Arizona. Unlike the property in Virginia, the Arizona property has experienced considerable soil erosion and loss of biodiversity, providing numerous opportunities for ecological restoration projects. Building on the SBS vision, KATERI would seek to carry on “The Great Work” as described by Thomas Berry, “the work of ensuring a just, healthy, beautiful, and sustainably life-giving world for future generations of all species.”
Sunrise Ecological Education & Design Services 