American Indian Movement leader Vernon Bellecourt dies at 75

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 WaBun-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. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
[Edited 10/15/07 6:36am]

Wow I remember this guy. I have always hated and been embarrassed by that awful Chief Wahoo. I remember when Jacobs Field first opened and there were some protestors quietly standing around with signs that had information about Native American massacres, etc. I felt bad that I was excited Cleveland finally had a decent stadium.It was hard in 95' and 97' when everybody was all hyped about the World Series and referring to "the Tribe"- I inwardly cringed and made sure any team paraphernelia I wore did not have Chief Wahoo or the word Indians on it. (obviously I got everything from Wal-Mart LOL)

Same thing now that the "Tribe" is in the playoffs. God, when will they get rid of that awful mascot and team name! Geez...just one more reason its so embarassing to be from Cleveland.

OK end rant.....this Vernon guy led quite a life. I never knew his name until now though.

beautifulone7 said:

Lammastide said:

beautifulone7 said:

Wow I remember this guy. I have always hated and been embarrassed by that awful Chief Wahoo. I remember when Jacobs Field first opened and there were some protestors quietly standing around with signs that had information about Native American massacres, etc. I felt bad that I was excited Cleveland finally had a decent stadium.It was hard in 95' and 97' when everybody was all hyped about the World Series and referring to "the Tribe"- I inwardly cringed and made sure any team paraphernelia I wore did not have Chief Wahoo or the word Indians on it. (obviously I got everything from Wal-Mart LOL)

Same thing now that the "Tribe" is in the playoffs. God, when will they get rid of that awful mascot and team name! Geez...just one more reason its so embarassing to be from Cleveland.

OK end rant.....this Vernon guy led quite a life. I never knew his name until now though.

Yeah, those were tough times as a Cleveland sports fan. We had a pretty good team back then, and I wanted to support them, but the image of that stupid, red sambo just ruined so much of the experience for me.

I had a chance to introduce WaBun-Inini at a speaking engagement and hang out with him a bit in '94, when he visited my undergrad school. He had such stories to tell! Such a depth of appreciation for all people and a real talent for communicating an unsung perspective on Western history since Columbus.

May he rest in peace.

2elijah said:

Lammastide said:

Yeah, those were tough times as a Cleveland sports fan. We had a pretty good team back then, and I wanted to support them, but the image of that stupid, red sambo just ruined so much of the experience for me.

I had a chance to introduce WaBun-Inini at a speaking engagement and hang out with him a bit in '94, when he visited my undergrad school. He had such stories to tell! Such a depth of appreciation for all people and a real talent for communicating an unsung perspective on Western history since Columbus.

May he rest in peace.

I am not sure, but it is either in Richmond, Virginia or Fayetteville, North Carolina (not sure exactly which one) where there is a large statue of an Native American painted red peaking out through either a baseball or football stadium and the way they designed it, made it looked like he was an native american sneaking out of the bushes ready to commit an act.When I saw that I couldn't believe it, I found it pretty insulting to Native Americans, not sure if it is still there..

I met this incredible soul in the late 80s - May he dance with the great spirit

2elijah said:

Mach said:

Well I just watched game 3 of the ACLS and I was almost vomited at some of the face painting of the fans! Did anyone see the guys with the red faces, huge white teeth down to their chins, big eyes and red white and blue "feathers" in their head????