William Henry Jackson, Ontario Methodist farmboy turned acolyte to Louis Riel and self-professed Metis, renamed himself Honoré Jaxon. Later a Bahai, a labour organizer, a businessman, an activist for native and minority rights, a friend to American Nazis, and much much else. Finally furnaceman in a New York apartment building. Evicted with a pile of records and papers onto the street in 1951. Papers go to the dump, Jaxon to the grave.
'Mazing story, and Donald B. Smith, prof at U. Calgary, has now made Jaxon the third in his trilogy of studies of people who reinvented themselves as aboriginal Canadian. Archie Belaney/Grey Owl. Sylvester Long/Buffalo Child Long Lance. And now Bill Jackson/Honoré Jaxon.
Honoré Jaxon, Prairie Visionary, just published by Coteau Books of Regina.
A little thing about Donald Smith. In another of his books, he includes in his acknowledgments thanks to his Ojibwa language teacher.
Robert Bringhurst, poet and transator of the Haida classical literature, once said what is needed is for every North American poet to learn one North American language. It might have applied to historians, too. Smith is one of the very few who took up the idea.
'Mazing story, and Donald B. Smith, prof at U. Calgary, has now made Jaxon the third in his trilogy of studies of people who reinvented themselves as aboriginal Canadian. Archie Belaney/Grey Owl. Sylvester Long/Buffalo Child Long Lance. And now Bill Jackson/Honoré Jaxon.
Honoré Jaxon, Prairie Visionary, just published by Coteau Books of Regina.
A little thing about Donald Smith. In another of his books, he includes in his acknowledgments thanks to his Ojibwa language teacher.
Robert Bringhurst, poet and transator of the Haida classical literature, once said what is needed is for every North American poet to learn one North American language. It might have applied to historians, too. Smith is one of the very few who took up the idea.
Update: For readers in Toronto, Smith is talking about Jaxon at University College on Friday Nov 16 at 1.00 pm
