Stories from the First Cathedral 13: Enmegahbowh

"I have known Enmegahbowh in sunshine and in storms, and he has always been to me a faithful friend and brother. He has been my companion in my journeys in the wilderness, and while he is the most thoughtful in character, he possesses a vein of fun which, I suppose, he has more often revealed to his bishop than to any other." (from Lights and Shadows of a Long Episcopate by H B Whipple.)

Enmegahbowh ("The One Who Stands Before His People'') is the first recognized Native American priest in the Episcopal church. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Kemper in 1859 and priest by Bishop Whipple in the first cathedral in Faribault in 1867. Enmegahbowh's English name was John Johnson. He was an Ottowa Indian from Canada and was born in 1807. He invited James Lloyd Breck to Gull Lake in 1852 where they established the St Columba's Mission. The mission was later moved to White Earth, where Enmegahbowh served until his death in 1902. He is buried there.

In the choir area of the first cathedral is a painting recognizing Enmegahbowh's ministry. The painting is an icon-like portrait executed by the Rev Johnson Loud. Enmegahbowh's life is told in the book A Great Cloud of Witnesses, and we remember him on June 12th.

"Grant that the ministers of your church, following the example of blessed Enmegahbow, may stand before your holy people, leading them with fiery zeal and gentle humility" (from A Great Cloud of Witnesses).