A Century of Dishonor (1884) is a work of nonfiction by Helen Hunt
Jackson. Inspired by a speech given by Ponca chief Standing Bear in
Boston, A Century of Dishonor attempts to reckon with the genocide and
displacement of Native Americans and the passage of Indian
Appropriations Act of 1871. At her own expense, Hunt Jackson sent copies
of the book to every member of Congress, hoping to convince them to
amend official government policies and to end the mistreatment of
indigenous peoples across the country. Largely dismissed upon
publication, the book managed to galvanize a minority of white Americans
in solidarity with Native people nationwide and led to some minor
government reforms. After meeting Standing Bear in 1879, Hunt Jackson
spent months at Manhattan's Astor Library to compile research on the
treatment of Native Americans. Using government reports and personal
testimonies, she weaves a story of seven tribes whose treaties with the
United States were broken, who were removed from their ancestral lands,
and whose people were massacred by settlers and military forces. She
provides background on the histories and cultures of the Delaware,
Cheyenne, Nez Perce, Sioux, Ponca, Winnebago, and Cherokee peoples,
arguing that their way of life had a vital impact on the formation of
the United States. Crucially, she cites statistics directly from the War
Department and the Department of Interior which show that the government
openly pursued a campaign of violence against Native Americans. She
argues: "It makes little difference, however, where one opens the record
of the history of the Indians; every page and every year has its dark
stain." Providing the incontrovertible facts of the nation's actions,
its dishonorable conduct, she demands not just answers, but change. That
her activism was largely ignored remains tragic. With a beautifully
designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of
Helen Hunt Jackson's A Century of Dishonor is a classic of American
literature reimagined for modern readers.
