A Lily Among Thorns: The Mohawk Repatriation of Káteri Tekahkwí:tha [Paperback]

Darren Bonaparte (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2009

Kateri Tekahkwi:tha was a Mohawk woman born in the 17th century, at the height of major colonial conflicts in North America. Baptized by Jesuit missionaries, her life became such an example of religious piety that she was beatified by Pope John Paul II three centuries after her death. Mohawk author Darren Bonaparte has written a biography of the "Lily of the Mohawks" that places it in the context of her people's history. It is a study of the historical documents written by the priests who knew her personally. The book features original illustrations by Mohawk artist Ross Kakwirakeron Montour.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing; 1 edition (January 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439217912
• ISBN-13: 978-1439217917
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,002,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Lily Revisited, March 6, 2011

By 

D. Haake "soldieringermany" (Heidelberg, Germany (U.S. Army)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Lily Among Thorns: The Mohawk Repatriation of Káteri Tekahkwí:tha (Paperback)

Mr. Bonaparte's undertaking in this work is an enormous task, and he succeeds very well. This work gives a solid background of the Five Nations of the Iroquois from the seventeenth century and the time of first contact with the Jesuit Missionaries. He uses archeological findings to trace the movement of the Mohawk people over time, and also refutes some errors in the well known "Jesuit Relations" (accounts written by the priests themselves about their experiences in Iroquois and other Nations), written from the seventeenth and into the eighteenth centuries.

It touches on the alliances that were made between the Five Nations and New France, as well as the Dutch in the region of what is today the Northeast United States and Canada. The struggles between traditionalists and converts is also illustrated.

A work that is written by a man who claims not to be an Historian, yet he has a well organized and interdisciplinary work that has an addictive narrative, filled with smatterings of wit and personal observation.

This work adds a much needed Native American perspective and voice to the works being and having been written about the Iroquois from the seventeenth century to the present.