Jackson, Helen Hunt (1830-1885), became best known for her efforts to secure justice for Native Americans. In A Century of Dishonor (1881), she documented the history of the United States government’s mismanagement of Native American affairs. She presented a copy of the book to every member of Congress. She then became a special commissioner to investigate the conditions of the indigenous (native) people living in the California missions, known as Mission Indians. In her novel Ramona (1884), Jackson dramatized the mistreatment of the Mission Indians. Jackson was born on Oct. 15, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts. She died Aug. 12, 1885.
