Vernon Bellecourt

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Vernon Bellecourt
White Earth Band of Ojibwe
Other namesWaBun-Inini
Known forAmerican Indian Movement leader
RelativesClyde Bellecourt (brother)

Vernon Bellecourt (WaBun-Inini) (October 17, 1931 – October 13, 2007)

White Earth Band of Ojibwe (located in Minnesota), a Native American rights activist, and a leader in the American Indian Movement (AIM).[2] In the Ojibwe language, his name meant "Man of Dawn."[1]

Biography

Early years

One of 12 children in his family, Bellecourt was born on the

St. Cloud prison.[3]

At his release, he started working as a hairdresser and opened a series of beauty salons in Saint Paul.[4][5] He married and had children with his wife. In the mid 1960s, he sold his business and moved his family near Aspen, Colorado.[5]

American Indian Movement

[6]Bellecourt was a long-time leader in the American Indian Movement, which his younger brother, Clyde Bellecourt, helped found in 1968. Vernon soon became involved as well. He co-founded the AIM chapter in Denver, and was its first Executive Director. It worked in urban areas to ensure civil rights for American Indians, as well as to educate people about their cultural and spiritual heritage.[7]

Bellecourt took part in the 1972

Wounded Knee occupation at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota
. He acted as an AIM spokesman and fundraiser during the 71-day standoff with federal agents.

After Wounded Knee, Bellecourt worked with the

Muammar al-Gaddafi of Libya, and Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat.[4] He also traveled to Germany, where he, together with AIM co-founder Dennis Banks, set up an AIM office in West Berlin and also traveled behind the Iron Curtain to meet with East German AIM supporters.[8]

Bellecourt was active for many years in the campaign to free AIM activist

Pine Ridge Reservation
. Peltier continues to serve two consecutive life sentences.

Sports mascots and nicknames

Main article: Native American mascot controversy

As president of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media, Bellecourt worked to end the unauthorized use of American Indian tribal land

Jacobs Field. Charges against him were dropped.[9]
Bellecourt was arrested in 1998 but was not charged.

Final days

In August 2007, Bellecourt accepted an invitation from the Venezuelan government to attend the First International Congress of

Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. The two discussed the possibility of Chavez' providing aid to Native American groups.[10]

According to his brother Clyde, Bellecourt fell ill soon after the trip and was hospitalized. He died of pneumonia at age 75, in Minneapolis where he lived.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "AIM Leader Vernon Bellecourt Dies at 75". AP. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
  2. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  3. ^ "In Memoriam WaBun-Inini (Vernon Bellecourt) (1931-2007)".
  4. ^
    ISSN 0895-2825
    . Retrieved 2007-10-16.
  5. ^
    ISBN 0-313-27414-2
    .
  6. ^ "Kindred by Choice | H. Glenn Penny". University of North Carolina Press. pp. 191, 193. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  7. ^ "In Remembrance: Vernon Bellecourt", Native American Church
  8. ^ "Kindred by Choice | H. Glenn Penny". University of North Carolina Press. pp. 191, 193. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  9. ^ "Ohio v. Vernon Bellecourt, et al". Court TV. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  10. ^ a b "Native Amer. Activist Bellecourt Dies, 75". CBS News. 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2007-10-14.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vernon_Bellecourt&oldid=1212859791"