Name Rupert Costo | Role Author | |
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Died October 20, 1989, San Francisco, California, United States | ||
Rupert Costo (1906 – October 20, 1989) was a full-blooded Cahuilla Indian and an American Indian author, publisher, philanthropist and founder of the American Indian Historical Society. He had many careers and avocations throughout his life, including farmer, cattle rancher, surveyor, and mineralogist. He also served as an engineer for the California Division of Highways for nearly 20 years.
Contents
- Early life
- Soil conservation
- Native American advocacy
- University of California Riverside advocacy
- Marriage and children
- Death and afterward
- Political views
- Published works
- Awards
- References
Early life
Costo was born in Hemet, California, and was raised on the nearby Cahuilla Reservation. He attended Riverside City College in the 1920s along with classmate John Gabbert, who ultimately became a Superior Court Judge. Following his time at Riverside Community College, he attended Whittier College and then the University of Nevada.
Soil conservation
Costo was key in the establishment of the Anza Soil Conservation District, now known as the Elsinore-Murrieta-Anza Resource Conservation District.
Native American advocacy
Costo served as a member of the governing board of Cahuilla Reservation for more than 20 years and its spokesman for 8 years. He also served as a lobbyist fighting for Native American land rights for two years in Washington, D.C. and was a member of the American Indian Federation in the late 1930s.
He founded the American Indian Historical Society in 1950 in an effort to ensure scholarly examination of Native American lives as opposed to the stereotypes so prevalent in United States' society at the time. As part of the same efforts, he and his wife, Jeannette Costo, founded the scholarly journal The Indian Historian as well as the popular press periodical Wassaja.
The Costos founded the Indian Historian Press, a for-profit publishing house dedicated to publishing titles documenting or related to the Native American experience in the United States.
University of California, Riverside advocacy
Rupert Costo and his lifelong friend, Superior Court Judge John Gabbert, were key players in lobbying the University of California to establish a university in Riverside, California.
Marriage and children
Rupert Costo was married to Jeannette Henry Costo, a reporter for The New York Times, the Detroit Free Press, and The Plain Dealer, in 1954. Mrs. Costo was a Cherokee Indian and a Native American activist in her own right. She died on July 27, 1998.
Death and afterward
Rupert Costo died on October 20, 1989, at his home in San Francisco, California.
His extensive personal library documenting the Native American experience in the United States was donated to the University of California Riverside Libraries in May 1986. The Costo Chair in American Indian History at the University of California, Riverside, was named in his honor.
Political views
Costo and his wife Jeannette opposed the efforts within the Catholic Church to name Father Junipero Serra a saint based on the claim that he treated Native Americans in an inhumane fashion.
Published works
Awards
Costo was named the Riverside Community College Alumni of the Year.