Oakerhater, David Pendleton

(d. Aug. 31, 1931). The only American Indian listed in the Episcopal calendar of the church year. He was born between 1844 and 1851 on a Cheyenne reservation in Western Oklahoma. Oakerhater, whose name means “Making Medicine,” was imprisoned in Florida for his alleged role in the Battle of Adobe Walls in 1874. He was befriended by Ohio Senator George Pendleton and his wife, who arranged for his education in Syracuse, New York. Oakerhater was ordained deacon on June 7, 1881, and spent the rest of his life as a missionary to the Cheyenne Nation of Oklahoma. Oakerhater is commemorated in the Episcopal calendar of the church year on Sept. 1.