Honoré Jackson

William Henry Jackson (May 13, 1861 – January 10, 1952), also known as Honoré Jackson or Jaxon, was a leader of the North-West Rebellion in Canada in 1885.

He was born in Wingham, Ontario to a Methodist family and attended the University of Toronto. In 1881 he moved to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan (then part of the Northwest Territories), where he soon began to sympathize with the Métis and their struggle against the Canadian government, though he was not a Métis himself. Jackson became personal secretary to Louis Riel when Riel returned to Canada in 1884, and the two began to organize a Métis militia and provisional government. He was baptised Catholic by Father Fourmond on 18 March 1885, the eve of the declaration of said provisional government (see Exovedate). Riel stood as godfather for the ceremony and gave him the name "Honoré Joseph Jaxon".

During the rebellion, Riel imprisoned Jackson, thinking his secretary had gone insane. Jackson was released but arrested by the Canadian militia on the last day of the Battle of Batoche May 12, 1885. He was tried for treason, but found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to an insane asylum in Lower Fort Garry, near Winnipeg, Manitoba. However, on November 2, he escaped the asylum and fled to the United States.

Once there, he changed his name to Honoré Jaxon and joined the labour union movement in Chicago, Illinois. He also decided to lie about his identity and told others he was a Métis. In 1894 he was part of Coxey's Army, which marched to Washington, DC to demand an eight-hour workday. In 1897 he converted to the Bahá'í Faith.

He returned to Canada briefly in 1907 but soon returned to the United States, eventually moving to New York City. He collected books, newspapers, and pamphlets relating to the Métis people in an attempt to establish in their honour a museum in New York. However, on December 13, 1951, he was evicted from his apartment, and his collection (considered unimportant by the city) was sent to the garbage dump. He died a month later.

References

Smith, Donald B. (1981). Honoré Joseph Jaxon. A Man Who Lived for Others. "Saskatchewan History" 34:(3) 81–?.

* Donald B. Smith. "Honore Jaxon: Prairie Visonary," Regina, Coteau Books, 2007.
* Bob Beal and Rod Macleod, "Prairie Fire: the 1885 North-West Rebellion", second edition, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1994.