Mary Hunter Austin

Mary Hunter Austin was a novelist and essayist who wrote about Native American culture and social problems. She made a special study of the lives of the indigenous peoples of the Mojave Desert for 17 years.

Novelist

September 9, 1868

Virgo

August 13, 1934

65

Carlinville, Illinois, United States

Mary Hunter Austin was a prolific American author, poet, and playwright, renowned for her work on social justice, cultural preservation, and environmentalism in the American Southwest. Her most famous works include “The Land of Little Rain” and “Isidro,” as well as numerous articles, essays, and short stories on topics such as feminism. Austin played a crucial role in the suffrage movement and in supporting Native American communities in California, even founding the Women’s Indian Association to promote their welfare.

An interesting fact about Austin is that she was an avid collector of Native American artifacts, such as basketry and pottery, believing that these objects were essential to understanding the artistic and cultural traditions of these communities. Today, much of her collection can be found in the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Hunter Austin married Stafford Wallace Austin, a Hawaiian native and University of California, Berkeley graduate, on May 18, 1891, in Bakersfield, California. She spent 17 years studying the lives of the indigenous peoples of the Mojave Desert and was an early feminist, conservationist, and advocate for Native American and Spanish-American rights and culture. Austin’s legacy includes her love for the desert and her contributions to literature, particularly her novel “The Land of Little Rain.”