Jeannette Henry Costo
American activist, author, editor and journalist
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Jeannette Henry Costo (1908–2001) was an American activist, author, editor, and journalist. She co-founded the American Indian Historical Society (AIHS), and the Indian Historian Press publishing company.[1][2][3]
June 27, 1908
Jeannette Henry Costo | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jeannette Henry June 27, 1908 |
| Died | January 31, 2001 (aged 92) |
| Other name | Jeannette Dulce Henry-Costo |
| Citizenship | American |
| Occupations | Activist, author, editor, journalist |
| Spouse | |
Background
Jeannette Henry was born on June 27, 1908.[4] She identified as being "born to the Turtle clan of the Carolina Cherokee," as Gretchan Bataille and Laurie Lisa wrote in the Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary.[5]
She ran away from home as a teenager, and was a police reporter for the Detroit Free Press as a young woman.[6]
Marriage and activism
In the 1950s Jeanette married Rupert Costo (Cauhilla) with whom she co-founded the American Indian Historical Society (AIHS) in 1962.[1][7] The AIHS was a cultural and activist organization.[8] Its headquarters were named Chautauqua House and was located at 1451 Masonic Avenue in the Ashbury Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California.[9] The organization dissolved in 1986.[9] At that time the couple donated many of the organization's library holdings to the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside),[10] and established an endowed chair in American Indian Studies at UC Riverside.[6]
In 1988, the Costos, both Roman Catholic, were vocal in protesting the beatification of Christian missionary Junípero Serra.[11][12]
Writing and publishing
The couple also published several periodicals including Wassaja and the Indian Historian.[1] Additionally they had a publishing company similarly named the Indian Historian Press, which published some 59 book titles.[3]
Jeannette Henry Costo wrote Textbooks and the American Indian.[13] She edited Indian Voices: The Native American Today[14] and The American Indian Reader.[15] She also co-wrote a number of books with Rupert Costo,[2] including The Missions of California: A Legacy of Genocide (1987).[16]
Death
Costo died on January 31, 2001, in San Francisco, California.[17]
Publications
- Costo, Rupert; Henry Costo, Jeannette (1987). The Missions of California: A Legacy of Genocide. The Indian Historian Press. ISBN 9780317645392.
- Costo, Rupert; Henry Costo, Jeannette (1995). Natives of the Golden State: The California Indians. The Indian Historian Press. ISBN 9780713436266.