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
calendar of saints
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
of the
Episcopal Church in the United States of America
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 o ...
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"](_blank)
, Episcopal Women History Project[Lesser 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
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...
. 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
Rampart
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...
. 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
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, and was formally ordained as a deaconess.
By 1931, the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
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 ...
in
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,
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
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
Tamiami Trail
The Tamiami Trail () is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) from State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami. A portion of the road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90 (SR 90).
The north†...
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
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
'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
Coconut Grove
Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...
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
coastal flooding
Coastal flooding normally occurs when dry and low-lying land is submerged by seawater. The range of a coastal flooding is a result of the elevation of floodwater that penetrates the inland which is controlled by the topography of the coastal land ...
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 ...
in
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 ArchivesBedell, Harriet M., 1875-1969 at Florida Memory, State Library and Archives of FloridaThe Episcopal Church Lectionary Calendar entry
Further reading
"The Deaconesses of the Church in Modern Times" Compiled by the Rev. Lawson Carter Rich Reprinted from ''The Churchman,'' 4 May 1907. (Transcribed by Wayne Kempton, Archivist of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, 2007, at Project Canterbury.)
*William and Ellen Hartley, ''A Woman Set Apart'' (New York, 1953)
*Elizabeth Scott Ames, ''Deaconess of the Everglades'' (Cortland, NY, 1995)
*Marya Repko, ''Angel of the Swamp'' (Everglades City, FL, 2009)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedell, Harriet
1875 births
1969 deaths
20th-century Christian saints
Anglican saints
Episcopal Church (United States)
19th-century Native American women
Seminole tribe
Christian female saints of the Late Modern era
People from Davenport, Florida
20th-century Native American women
20th-century Native Americans
People from Buffalo, New York