William Apess

Who was William Apess?

William Apess, also known as William Apes before 1836-1837, was an ordained Methodist minister, writer, and activist of mixedblood Pequot descent who was a leader in Massachusetts. After becoming ordained as a Methodist minister in 1829, he published his autobiography the same year. It is among the first autobiographies by a Native American writer.

The scholar Patricia Bizzell described him as "perhaps the most successful activist on behalf of Native American rights in the antebellum United States."

An itinerant preacher in New England, Apess visited the Mashpee on Cape Cod in 1833. Hearing their grievances, he helped organize what was called the Mashpee Revolt of 1833-34. Their attempt to regain civil rights was covered sympathetically by the Boston Advocate. Apess published a book about the experience in 1835, which he summarized as "Indian Nullification". Apess alienated many of his supporters before dying in New York City, New York at age 41.