Harriet Bedell (March 19, 1875 – January 8, 1969) was an Episcopal deaconess and

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

to the

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

in Oklahoma,

Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a numbe ...

(spending 15 years at a missionary school), and the

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...

of Florida. She is remembered on the

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of the

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on January 8.

Early life and education

Harriet Bedell was born in Buffalo,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, to a prominent local family (an uncle was a prominent hotelier). She went to local public schools and became a schoolteacher. In the early 1900s, she was inspired by preaching about vocations to

imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

and learned about the need for missionaries among the Native Americans. In 1906 Bedell studied at St. Faith's Training School for Deaconesses—begun in 1891 and renamed the New York Training School for Deaconesses in 1908—learning a range of topics from nutrition and hygiene to medicine and theology.

Career

Upon completing her training, Bedell went to Oklahoma to become a missionary-teacher to the Cheyenne, since her mother balked at the prospect of an overseas posting. Thus, at the Whirlwind Mission (which had opened in 1897 and was named after a friendly chief), Bedell worked with deacon

David Pendleton Oakerhater David Pendleton Oakerhater (b. ca. 1847, d. August 31, 1931), also known as O-kuh-ha-tuh and Making Medicine, was a Cheyenne warrior and spiritual leader. He later became an artist and Episcopal deacon. In 1985, Oakerhater was the first Native A ...

, a Cheyenne himself, and cared for the sick and poor while performing religious services and teaching women and children. During her 10-year ministry among the Cheyenne, Bedell learned to appreciate their culture, and was adopted into the tribe and given the name ''Vicsehia'', meaning "Bird Woman.""Harriet M. Bedell"
, Episcopal Women History ProjectLesser Feast and Fasts: 2006 (Church Publishing, 2006) However, she developed

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and was sent to Colorado to recover.

Alaska

In 1916, Bedell accepted a remote post in

Stevens Village, Alaska Stevens Village (''Denyeet '' in Koyukon) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 78 at the 2010 census, down from 87 in 2000. The village is named for its first chief, Skidedl ...

, south of the

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. It was located between

Fort Yukon Fort Yukon (''Gwichyaa Zheh'' in Gwich'in) is a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, straddling the Arctic Circle. The population, predominantly Gwich'in Alaska Natives, was 583 at the 2010 census, down from 595 ...

and

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. She worked alone there for three years with the Athabascan people, and also helped to form an Episcopal boarding school for rural native children in nearby Tanana, since many children could not travel to local schools. In 1922, Bedell traveled to

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, and was formally ordained as a deaconess. By 1931, the

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adversely affected fundraising for the school, which depended on outside support. Bedell traveled back to New York to help raise money, and succeeded in raising enough to pay off the school's debt, but not to continue operations, so it closed.

Florida

During her fundraising tours, Bedell visited a Seminole

Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

. She ended up returning in 1932, revitalizing the Glade Cross mission in Everglades City, which had been established by Bishop William Crane Gray in 1898 and served by medical missionary Dr. William J. Godden until 1914. She also established another mission, Our Savior in Collier City—now part of the city of Marco Island—which moved to Goodland when the former city disbanded in 1957. She worked with whites,

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s and indigenous people in Southwest Florida for the next three decades. The native

Mikasuki The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. They were part of the Seminole nation until the mid-20th century, when they organized as an independent tribe, receiving f ...

gave Bedell the name ''Inkoshopie'' (meaning woman who prays) and learned to appreciate her advice, garden, and business acumen. Aghast at the local men along the

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who wrestled alligators for tourists, Bedell encouraged the tribe's women to revive the doll-making and basket-weaving skills. She also encouraged them to incorporate their brilliant patchwork designs into clothing for both men and women. She also helped them sell their work to the tourist trade—both through an arrangement with the Collier Company and by negotiating with northern department stores, as well as by fighting the sale of mislabeled import goods in local tourist outlets. Sales from the arts and crafts store at Glades Cross Mission thus helped provide income and improve members' self-respect, as well as preserve traditional ways. In 1947, Bedell gave the invocation at

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's dedication of

Everglades National Park Everglades National Park is an American national park that protects the southern twenty percent of the original Everglades in Florida. The park is the largest tropical wilderness in the United States and the largest wilderness of any kind east ...

,Everglades Society for Historic Preservation newsletter, May 2008, p.2 Although officially retired by the Board of Missions at age 72, she had arranged for the Glades mission to be funded by St. Stephens Episcopal Church in

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in 1943 and continued her ministry well into her 80s. In 1960

Hurricane Donna Hurricane Donna, known in Puerto Rico as Hurricane San Lorenzo, was the strongest hurricane of the 1960 Atlantic hurricane season, and caused severe damage to the Lesser Antilles, the Greater Antilles, and the East Coast of the United States, ...

destroyed her home and the Glade Cross mission. In

Collier County Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from Ev ...

, strong winds and

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destroyed 153 homes, severely damaged 409 more, and damaged an additional 1,049. In the aftermath, the county seat was also moved from Everglade to

East Naples, Florida East Naples is an unincorporated community in Collier County, Florida, United States. East Naples has been the county seat since 1962, when the Collier County Courthouse was moved from Everglades (see Old Collier County Courthouse). East Naples is ...

, and the Deltona Corporation began developing Marco Island. Deaconess Bedell was one of the most popular writers in the national Episcopal mission periodical, '' The Spirit of Missions''.

Death and legacy

After Hurricane Donna, the bishop encouraged the 85-year-old Deaconess Bedell to enter the Bishop Gray Inn in Davenport, where she lived until she was 94, recruiting missionaries, teaching Sunday School and working in the infirmary for many years. She was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in

Haines City Haines City is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Its population was 13,174 at the 2000 census and 20,535 at the 2010 census. It is the third most populous city in Polk County. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan S ...

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

. She was named a "Great Floridian" and a plaque was erected in her honor at the museum in Everglades City. The Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida began celebrating her life on the anniversary of her death, and the

8 January Events Pre-1600 * 307 – Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying. * 871 – Æthelred I and Alfred the Great lead a West Saxon army to repel an inv ...

feast was extended to the

Episcopal Church (USA) The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...

in 2009. Her papers are held by the State of Florida, which makes many of the photographs available online.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Deaconess Harriet M. Bedell photographs, 1910-1939 at the Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives

Bedell, Harriet M., 1875-1969 at Florida Memory, State Library and Archives of Florida

The Episcopal Church Lectionary Calendar entry