American Indian Movement leader VERNON BELLECOURT dies at 75
BELLECOURT took part in the 1973 standoff in Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Activist also opposed use of Native American nicknames for sports teams
He was arrested in '97 World Series in protest of Indians' mascot, Chief Wahoo
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (AP) -- VERNON BELLECOURT, who fought against
the use of Indian nicknames for sports teams as a longtime leader of
the American Indian Movement, has died at age 75.
BELLECOURT died Saturday at Abbott Northwestern Hospital of
complications from pneumonia, said his brother, Clyde BELLECOURT, a
founding member of the militant American Indian rights group.
Just before he was put on a respirator, Vernon BELLECOURT joked that
the CIA had finally gotten him, his brother said.
* "He was willing to put his butt on the line to draw attention
to racism in sports," his brother said.
Vernon BELLECOURT -- whose OBJIBWE name WA BUN-ININI means MAN OF
DAWN -- was a member of Minnesota's White Earth band and was an
international spokesman for the AIM Grand Governing Council based in
Minneapolis.
Clyde BELLECOURT helped found AIM as a militant group in 1968, and
Vernon BELLECOURT soon became involved, taking part in the 1973
occupation of the town of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge reservation
in South Dakota. He was present only briefly during the 71-day
standoff with federal agents, serving mostly as a spokesman and
fundraiser, Clyde BELLECOURT said.
He was active in the campaign to free AIM activist Leonard PELTIER,
who was convicted of killing two FBI agents during a shootout in 1975
on the Pine Ridge reservation.
He also was involved as a negotiator in the group's 1972 occupation
of the Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters in Washington as part of
the Trail of Broken Treaties caravan.
In recent years, BELLECOURT had been active in the fight against
American Indian nicknames for sports teams as president of the
National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media.
He was arrested in Cleveland, Ohio, during the 1997 World Series and
again in 1998 during protests against the Cleveland Indians' mascot,
Chief Wahoo. Charges were dropped the first time, and he was never
charged in the second case.
After Wounded Knee, Vernon BELLECOURT became a leader of AIM'S work
abroad, meeting with presidents such as Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua,
Palestinian leader YASSER ARAFAT and Libyan leader MOAMMAR GADHAFI,
his brother said.
Clyde BELLECOURT said his brother had been in Venezuela about four
weeks ago to meet with President Hugo Chavez to discuss Chavez's
program for providing heating assistance to American Indian tribes.
He fell ill around the time of his return, Clyde BELLECOURT said.
Find this article at:
<http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/14/bellecourt.obit.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText>http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/14/bellecourt.obit.ap/index.html#cnnSTCText
__________ NOD32 2591 (20071014) Information __________
This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
<http://www.eset.com>http://www.eset.com
__________ NOD32 2591 (20071014) Information __________
This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
<http://www.eset.com>http://www.eset.com
John Johnson
Change-Links Progressive Newspaper
[EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://change-links.org
Subscribe to our list server. Email [EMAIL PROTECTED]
(818) 782-1412
Cell (818) 681-7448.
===
----------
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.14.10/1070 - Release Date: 10/14/2007
9:22 AM
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Digest: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
