Journal #5: Helen Jackson

Helen Jackson is known for having called attention to the plight of Native Americans at a time when few Americans seem to have been interested, through her two books, A Century of Dishonor and Ramona; and through a report for the United States government commissioned by the Bureau of Indian Affairs entitled "The Report on the Conditions and Needs of the Mission Indians."

Jackson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1830. Her earliest writing was poetry, which seems to have been apolitical. Friend and neighbor of Emily Dickinson, her poetry was widely published, appearing in such publications as The Nation, Atlantic Monthly, and New York Evening Post. Her poetry was inspired by the tragic events of her life between 1854 and 1865: her first son died in 1854; her husband died in 1863; and her second son, last of her only two children, died in 1865.

Depressed, in 1873 she traveled to Colorado hoping to find comfort in hot mineral water baths. Here she met William Jackson whom she married in 1875. She also regularly visited local Native American settlements, though it is not clear what affect this had on her at the time.

The crucial event in the development of Helen Jackson's awareness and empathy for the plight of Native Americans was her attendance of an 1879 lecture by Ponca Chief Sitting Bear in Boston. Jackson was deeply moved and decided to dedicate herself to addressing the injustices inflicted on Native Americans.

After three months at New York City's Astor Library Jackson completed her first book, A Century of Dishonor, published in 1881. It documented the United States government's brutal treatment of Native Americans, including forced removals and treaty violations. Her views made her unpopular and her husband attempted forbid her from visiting Native Americans settlements, recommending instead that she remain home and author children's stories. Instead, she traveled to Congress and distributed a copy of her book to each representative and Senator.

While in Washington she was asked by Scribner's to travel to the old Spanish missions of California to investigate the conditions of Native Americans. She was then asked by President Chester Arthur to author a report for the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the conditions of Native Americans in southern California.

Jackson arrived in California in December of 1882. Her experiences on reinforced her indignation. Her presumably indignant report, "The Report on the Conditions and Needs of the Mission Indians," completed in July 1883, does not seem to have been widely acknowledge at the time. Her second book, Ramona, however, was extensively read and succeeded in inspiring sympathy among its readers for the dire situation confronted by Native Americans.

Before her death in 1885 Jackson composed a letter to president Grover Cleveland in which she thanked him for the actions he had taken to ameliorate the injustices faced by Native Americans, and in which she stated, "My heart and soul are in Ramona."

Works Referenced:

Evans, Rosemary. "Helen Hunt Jackson's Sympathetic Attitude Toward Indians was Reflected in Her Popular Ramona." Wild West 12.1 (1999): 18. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 16 Nov. 2010.