The City of the Angels Kateri Circle will host its 15th annual Pow Wow and Native American Mass July 9 and 10 in honor of the feast day of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.

The celebration will take place at Whittier Narrow Regional Park in South El Monte (near Interstate 60). The two-day event, open to peoples of all ethnicities, includes Native American dancers in traditional dress, dance competitions, food booths and Native American crafts vendors. The Pow Wow, organized and coordinated by the Kateri Circle Council, takes place July 9 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It continues July 10, beginning with a Mass at 10 a.m., and festivities conclude at 6 p.m.

"This is a social and spiritual gathering and promotes fellowship among all peoples," said Sylvia Mendivil Salazar, coordinator of the Office of Native American Concerns of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. "Our dances are all prayers --- thanksgiving prayer, healing prayer, prayers for a good harvest."

July 14 marks the 325th anniversary of the death of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, a Native American beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980. Born in 1656 in Auriesville, New York, Tekakwitha's mother was a Christian Algoquin, and her father was a clan chief for the Mohawk Tribe.

A smallpox epidemic took the life of her parents and her brother when she was four years old and left her with impaired vision and severe facial scarring. She was inspired for Christ by Jesuit Missionaries and baptized in 1676 taking the name Kateri.

She went to a reservation in Canada where she was known for her fervent prayer life and sanctity. Kateri taught prayers to children and helped the sick and aged. An illness claimed the maiden's life in 1680, after which her face suddenly healed. Her grave became a pilgrimage site for Native American Christians and French colonists.

"She was a teacher to live a Christ-like life," added Salazar.

-- Ellie Hidalgo