David Pendleton Oakerhater
David Pendleton Oakerhater , originally Okuhhatuh ( sun dancer on Cheyenne ) and Making Medicine (name in captivity), (* around 1847 in Durwood ; † August 31, 1931 ) was a Cheyenne warrior and spiritual leader. It is believed that Oakerhater was the youngest man to perform the sun dance ritual.
After his capture in the Red River War in 1875 and his imprisonment at Fort Marion ( today: Castillo de San Marcos ), Florida , Oakerhater became one of the founders of modern, graphic Indian art . After his release and church training, he served as a missionary in Oklahoma . In 1985 he was canonized by the Anglican Communion of the United States , making him the first Indian saint.
Childhood and youth
Okuhhatuh was born around 1847 on the Cheyenne Reservation in Indian Territory in what is now western Oklahoma . His father was Sleeping Wolf and his mother was Wah Nach. He was the second of three brothers. At that time he was called Noksowist (Bear Going Straight) and was raised according to the Cheyenne traditions. His older brother was Little Medicine and his younger brother was Wolf Tongue.
He was on the warpath for the first time when he was 14 years old. It was a raid on the Otoe and Missouri tribe . By the time a Cheyenne boy first went to war, he had to join one of six male societies . Okuhhatuh decided on the Himátanóhîs (= Bowstring Men). The warriors' associations differed mainly in their outward appearance such as clothing, dances and chants, but the Himátanóhîs were still considered to be the most progressive and agile. It was also the warrior community that organized the last Cheyenne resistance against the European settlers.
It is not known exactly which wars Okuhhatuh participated in because the Cheyenne did not keep any written records about them. Eventually there was fighting against military units of the United States. Initially, Okuhhatuh was involved in the second battle of Adobe Walls , in which 300 Indian warriors from different peoples were engaged. The cause of the campaign were European settlers who hunted buffalo, grazed cattle and stole horses. To do this, the Indians attacked a small settlement that the poachers used as a trading post. The battle, led by Comanche leader Isa-tai and Chieftain Quanah Parker , caused the United States government to strike back in the Red River War of 1874-1875. It is believed that Oakerhater may have been involved in the Battle of Washita and the Sand Creek Massacre .
Okuhhatuh married Nomee (Thunder Woman) in 1872 according to traditional Cheyenne wedding customs. A little later, the date is not known, he married a second wife Nanessan (Taking Off Dress), which was not unusual for the Cheyenne. In 1878 he divorced Nanessan again. The daughter they had together had already died. Nomee Okuhhatuh had three daughters, all of whom died in 1880, and a son who died in 1881. Nomee himself died in 1880, a few months after Okuhhatuh was released from Fort Marion. She had previously been converted to the Anglican faith and baptized.
In prison
In the Red River War of 1874 and 1875, the last of the Indian warriors in Indian Territory were subdued in a series of relentless skirmishes. The warriors, including Okuhhatuh, surrendered in 1875 at Fort Sill near present-day Lawton, Oklahoma . Without a trial, a group of ringleaders was selected to be taken to a Florida prison, Fort Marion .
The US Army commissioned Lieutenant (later Captain) Richard Henry Pratt to take the prisoners to an old Spanish fort Castillo de San Marcos (Fort Marion), near St. Augustine . They were transported by horse-drawn carts, trains and steamers and had to walk long stretches in handcuffs. Originally, many of the captured warriors believed they would be executed. Eventually two decided to commit suicide, one was shot trying to escape and another died of pneumonia.
Captain Pratt was convinced that the Native Americans deserved support and respect and could be integrated as full members into the social structures created by European settlers. He thought that they had to leave the path of their tradition and adopt the dominant culture of European immigrants. For him that meant: English, work, Christianity, the ability to read, education and so on. The practice of forced assimilation , now criticized as "cultural genocide", was considered progressive at the time. At that time, many saw the Indian peoples as enemies and murderers who had to be imprisoned or killed. The manager of Pratt, General Philip Sheridan , rejected the views of Pratt as "Indian chatter" ( Indian twaddle from).
The conditions of captivity in the old fort were originally very modest: for example, the prisoners had to sleep on the floor of the cells. Some died within the first few weeks of their imprisonment. However, Pratt quickly improved the conditions, they were given army uniforms, their ankle cuffs removed, were allowed to build a new living quarters and were given beds. Later, as trust grew on both sides, Pratt convinced his superiors that the prisoners could carry non-working rifles and do guard duty. They were given permission to collect sea beans and sell other items such as drawings to tourists. On Sundays they were allowed to leave the fort to visit church and camp on Anastasia Island.
Captain Pratt eventually made Oakerhater first sergeant of the prisoners. He had to organize the morning drill, ensure compliance with hygiene and dress codes, and monitor prisoners in Pratt's absence. The captain and his wife arranged for the prisoners to be taught by teachers on vacation in Florida. This included, for example, English lessons and training in carpentry work. They allowed the Indians to hunt mock buffalo.
In return, the prisoners taught archery to tourists and locals. They dealt with handicrafts as well as graphics and sold their end products. The prisoners became increasingly proud of their work and of their military discipline. They took pleasure in demonstrating that they were able to master the cultural and military practices of "white America". It took a long time to overcome other cultural barriers, such as the discomfort of being taught by women. As early as the first summer, Pratt arranged to visit the families of the prisoners from the Indian territory. Within two years of arriving at Fort Marion, Oakerhater had a very good command of the English language and was regularly writing letters to locals with whom he had become friends. That year, 19 prisoners were released in exchange for acceptance of programs for their education and training on the east coast.
Ledger Art
Among other things, Captain Pratt had the idea to educate the prisoners artistically. Most of the pictures were drawn with pencils in banal ledger books, which is why this art is called ledger art . Typical themes of these graphics were tribal dances, hunting, advertising for women, self-portraits etc. from the time before the capture as well as experiences in the fort. Pictures of this kind were very popular with tourists. Thanks to his artistic talent, Oakerhater attracted Mrs. Alice Key Pendleton, whose daughter he had given one of his drawing books.
Oakerhater was the first and the most prolific artist among the captured Cheyenne warriors. Despite their apparent naivety, Oakerhater's drawings were classified by art critics as subtle and sophisticated in terms of composition and content. Today they are valuable collector's items. He often signed his works with Making Medicine , a name given to him by the military guards, which was a non-literal translation of his Cheyenne name Okuhhatuh (actually sun dancer ). Other times he signed with a glyph of a dancer in a sun dance hut. The Smithsonian Institution has a collection of Fort Marion artists online.
Anglican Church Fellowship
In 1877 one began deaconess of the Episcopal Church , Mary Douglas Burnham, the prisoners, including support Oakerhater. They were employed as church servants and received instruction. In April 1878 all prisoners were released. Burnham arranged the necessary assistance from Alice Key Pendleton and her husband, an Ohio Senator , to get Oakerhater and his wife, Nomee, to St. Paul's Cathedral in Paris, New York . They were accompanied by three other ex-prisoners who all had different sponsors.
The Church's priest, Reverend JB Wicks, provided Oakerhater's education and accepted him into his family. Oakerhater and his comrades from Fort Marion became well known in the city. They sold homemade bows and handicrafts. Within six months, Oakerhater agreed to be baptized and was confirmed a short time later. He took the Christian first name David and the family name Pendleton in honor of his sponsoring family.
Encouraged by his success with his prisoners, Captain Pratt managed to persuade the government to open schools for Indian children. Senator Pendleton brought a bill through Congress that enabled the first school to be established at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania , in 1879 . It was named Carlisle Indian Industrial School .
In July 1880, Nomee died giving birth to a child. The following year, Oakerhater's son Pawwahnee died. Both were buried in the Paris Cemetery, New York. In July 1881, Oakerhater was ordained a deacon.
missionary
After Oakerhater became a deacon, Pratt sent him to the Dakota Territory to recruit students for Carlisle, where Pratt was superintendent.
He drove with Reverend Wicks to the Darlington Agency, near what is now El Reno . Oakerhater used his relationships and influence to win Cheyenne over to the Episcopal Church. He stayed in the area and traveled to the Anadarko Agency (near present-day Anadarko ) to read Sunday masses and attend to sick members of various societies during the weekdays.
In 1882 Oakerhater married Nahepo (Smoking Woman), who took the English name Susie Pendleton. They had two children together who both died young. Nahepo died in 1890 at the age of 23.
In 1887, Oakerhater began work on the newly built mission in Bridgeport, Oklahoma, and in 1889 on the Whirlwind Mission near Fay, Oklahoma, 17 miles west of Watonga, Oklahoma. The mission, established in 1887, was on the land of Chief Whirlwind, one of the negotiators of the Medicine Lodge contract he had received under the Dawes Act . As at other Whirlwind schools in the United States, many students suffered from extreme poverty, malnutrition, and related illnesses. Many had trachomas and conjunctivitis . The students came from families disrupted by colonialism, war, displacement, the fragmentation of tribal lands and ongoing exploitation. The uprooted families often camped near the school to be with their children and to protect them. Oakerhater's school and mission were under pressure from the locals, who saw the exploitation of the Indians more difficult as a result, and from the authorities, who complained about the poor conditions at the school.
In 1918 Oakerhater retired, but continued his preaching activity and was regarded by the Indians as a chief and holy man. He briefly moved to Clinton, Oklahoma, and later to Watonga, Oklahoma, where he lived until his death in 1931.
Saint
After Oakerhater's death, the missionary work of the Episcopal Church in Watonga was practically suspended for more than 30 years. Missionary work was resumed in the early 1960s and many Indians who could still remember the Oakerhater helped to revive the old mission.
In 1985, the Episcopal Church canonized Oakerhater, thanks in part to years of research by Lois Carter Clark, a Muscogee Creek scientist. On September 1, 1986, the first celebration in honor of Oakerhater was held at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC , with his descendants and with Indian delegations from Oklahoma. In 2000 the Saint George Church of Dayton, Ohio dedicated a large colored stained glass window in the chapel depicting Oakerhater and a smaller window with his glyph signature.
St. Paul's Cathedral in Oklahoma City dedicated a chapel to Oakerhater. The Congregation of St. Paul commissioned the Tlingit glass artist, Preston Singletary, to design a colored church window that would contain the glyph signature of Oakerhater. Eventually it replaced a church window that was destroyed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing . The Oakerhater Guild of St. Paul was founded in partnership with the Whirlwind Mission and organizes Indian dance events, social work and a Bible school for children in Watonga.
In 2003 the Whirlwind Church in Watonga got its new seat, where the Oakerhater Episcopal Center was established in September 2007. The building is used for powder wows , a sweat lodge , lessons and an annual Cherokee dance performance in honor of Oakerhater.
See also
- Howling Wolf ( Ledger Art )
- Black Hawk (Ledger Art)
Web links
- Website of St. George Church: The David Oakerhater Window (English)
- Web presence of St. Paul's Cathedral: St. Oakerhater Gilde (English)
- From Warrior to Saint: the Journey of David Pendleton Oakerhater . Oklahoma State University library. Retrieved January 21, 2011. - Library project on Oakerhater (English)
- Anglican Communion: The Cheyenne prayer book (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Oakerhater, David Pendleton . Oklahoma State University. Archived from the original on November 7, 2007. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t K.B. Kueteman: From Warrior to Saint: The life of David Pendelton Oakerhater . Oklahoma State University. Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- ^ Hilton Crowe: Indian Prisoner-Students at Fort Marion: The Founding of Carlisle Was Dreamed in St. Augustine . the Regional Review (United States National Park Service). December 1940. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- ^ Stanford L. Davis: Captain Richard Henry Pratt, 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, Founder of the Carlisle School for Indian Students: His Motto, "Kill the Indian, save the man" . Buffalo Soldier. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- Jump up ↑ Brad D. Lookingbill: War Dance at Fort Marion: Plains Indian War Prisoners . University of Oklahoma Press, 2006, ISBN 0-8061-3739-8 .
- ^ Letter from David Pendleton Oakerhater to Mrs. Mary Burnham, September 2, 1881 . Oklahoma State University. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- ↑ Fort Marion Artists ( Memento of the original from October 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Smithsonian Institution, December 4, 2008
- ↑ Lois Clark: Whirlwind Cemetery and David Pendleton (O-kuh-ha-tah): God's Warrior . State of Oklahoma. 1985. Archived from the original on October 4th, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- ^ A b c Anne E. Rowland: David Oakerhater Window . St. George's Church of Dayton, Ohio. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- ↑ Anderson, Cokie G. From Warrior to Saint: The Journey of St. David Pendleton Oakerhater , Oklahoma State Digital Library, 2006 (accessed January 26, 2009)
- ↑ St. Oakerhater Guild ( Memento of the original from July 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (January 26, 2009)
- ^ A b Carla Hinton: Oakerhater Center dedication set for Sept. 8 in Watonga , The Oklahoman . September 1, 2007.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Oakerhater, David Pendleton |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | O-cow-ha-tuh; Making Medicine |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | native american artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1847 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Durwood , ( USA ) |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 31, 1931 |