SEPTEMBER 1, 1986

FIRST EPISCOPAL FEAST DAY FOR CHEYENNE WARRIOR/PRIEST SAINT OKUH HATUH (DAVID OAKERHATER) CELEBRATED AT THE NATIONAL CATHEDRAL

Born in Indian Territory in the 1840s, his childhood name, Noksowist, meant “Bear Going Straight.” He joined his 1st war party at age 14 and may be the youngest person to have participated in the Sun Dance. The name Okuh Hatuh meant “Sun Dancer.” While possibly at the Battle of the Washita River (1864) and Sand Creek Massacre (1868), he did fight in 1874 at the Second Battle of Adobe Walls alongside Comanche leader Quanah Parker. After the Red River War (1874-75), he was taken by Captain Richard Henry Pratt to Fort Marion, Florida for imprisonment. There, he learned to read & write, became a prolific artist, studied for the Episcopal ministry & recruited Cheyenne youth for Pratt’s Carlisle Institute. Ordained in 1881, Father Oakerhater worked at Indian missions in Bridgeport (1887) & Whirlwind (1889) near Watonga, Oklahoma. Retiring in 1917, he continued to preach, and served as a chief and holy man. Oakerhater died in Watonga on August 31, 1931. The Episcopal Church designated him a saint in 1985.

Sources:

Alvin O. Turner, “Oakerhater, David Pendleton (Okuh hatuh, 1847?-1931),” Oklahoma State University.  Retrieved 11/1/2023, OAKERHATER, DAVID PENDLETON (Okuh hatuh, 1847?-1931) (archive.org)

Wikipedia

Photo:  A. B. Gardner, 1881. Public Domain. Source: Pendleton papers at the Oklahoma State University Library, http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Oakerhater/index.html