Honoré Jackson

William Henry Jackson ( born May 13, 1861 in Wingham, Ontario, Canada, † January 10, 1952 in New York City, United States, better known as Honoré Jackson or Jaxon ) was a Canadian journalist and rebel. He played a central role during the Northwest Rebellion in the present province of Saskatchewan as a member of the provisional government.

Biography

Jackson studied classical archeology at the University of Toronto. He retired in 1882 with his parents to Prince Albert, where he worked as a farmer. The plot was close to the planned route of the Canadian Pacific Railway, but in the same year, the federal government transferred the route to several hundred kilometers to the south and the land was virtually worthless. Jackson then founded a newspaper critical of the government and was elected secretary of a militant peasant organization.

Louis Riel, the leader of the Red River Rebellion, returned from exile. Jackson, who sympathized with the Métis, joined him and became his secretary. On 28 July 1884, he published a manifesto that held the grievances and demands of the settlers in detail. The Methodist Jackson stepped over to Catholicism, where he was named Honoré at baptism. He was a member of the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan, which was constituted on 19 March 1885.

A week later, the Northwest Rebellion broke out. The Métis doubted Jackson's loyalty and placed him under arrest. Finally, the North - West Mounted Police captured him on May 15, after the Battle of Batoche. He was charged with high treason, but acquitted due to diminished responsibility and transferred into a madhouse in Lower Fort Garry. A few weeks later he broke out and fled to Chicago. There he was around two decades relatively successful as a general contractor and lobbied for the cement industry.

Jackson, who now called himself Jaxon and itself off for a Métis, remained politically active. He expressed solidarity with the labor movement, supported the Industrial Workers of the World and wrong in anarchist circles. He also converted to the Baha'i. In 1907 he was pardoned by the Canadian government, after which he lived in the province of Saskatchewan during a short time. Soon after, however, he returned to Chicago.

1919 Jackson moved to New York City where he worked as a janitor. Otherwise, he fell on mainly as a nerd and a complainer. He collected books and newspapers, which dealt with the Métis, with the aim to open a museum in their honor. In December 1951, he was, however, rejected out of his apartment and the city authorities allowed his collection of the garbage disposal carry away. Jackson died a month later at the age of 90 years.