Vernon Bellecourt, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe Indians who was a leading American Indian Movement activist, died on Saturday. He was 75. Bellecourt, whose Ojibwe name was WaBun-Inini, served as the public face of AIM during the 1970s. He participated in some of the organization's key protests and was arrested several times for taking on the mistreatment of Native Americans. "When the American Indian Movement resurfaced in Minneapolis in 1968, a wildfire spread throughout other urban and reservation areas," he said in 1999, The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. "It was a catalyst for people to understand that the roots of our tree of life had almost withered and died." Later in life, Bellecourt became active in the movement to eliminate Indian mascots. Targets included "Chief Wahoo" of the Cleveland Indians and the Washington Redskins. He also sought to elevate tribal sovereignty at the international level and met with controversial leaders like Moammar Gadhafi of Libya, the late Yasser Arafat and more recently, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Services are being held today at 5pm at the All Nations Church in Minneapolis. Services on Tuesday will be held at Circle of Life School in White Earth Reservation. The funeral is set for Wednesday on the reservation, where Bellecourt was born and raised. Get the Story:
A lifetime of Protest (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 10/15)
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Native American activist dies at age 75 (The Sioux Falls Argus Leader 10/15)
American Indian Rights Activist Vernon Bellecourt (The Washington Post 10/15)
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The life of Vernon Bellecourt (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 10/14)
AIM leader and veteran activist dies at age 75 (AP 10/14) $rl American Indian Movement - http://www.aimovement.org
