Long time civil rights leader Clyde Howard Bellecourt has died. Bellecourt was a member of the White Earth Ojibwe nation in Minnesota, noted for co-founding the American Indian Movement (AIM) in Minneapolis in 1968 with Dennis Banks, Eddie Benton-Banai, and George Mitchell. His older brother, the late Vernon Bellecourt, was also active.
AIM began as a local organization in Minneapolis that sought to grapple with issues of police brutality and discrimination against Native Americans.
With Bellecourt leading the way, AIM raised awareness of tribal issues related to the federal government, were involved in police harassment cases in Minneapolis, created welfare programs for urban Native Americans, and founded Indian 'survival schools' in the Twin Cities to teach children life skills and to help them learn their traditional cultures.
The group quickly became a national force. It would lead a string of major national protests in the 1970s, including a march to Washington, D.C., in 1972 called the Trail of Broken Treaties, and a 71-day occupation in 1973 of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, to highlight corruption on the reservation and federal injustices against Indians.
In Bellecourt’s later years, he mainly focused his attention on sports. He coordinated the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media, which has long protested sports teams’ use of Native American mascots and names. Bellecourt was one of the most outspoken advocates for changing the Washington Football Team’s name from the Redskins in 2020, and was involved in protests the last time Washington played in Minnesota.
Bellecourt died in his home in Minneapolis and was 85. According to the Star Tribune, Bellecourt’s wife Peggy confirmed he had been battling cancer. Lisa Bellanger, the current co-director of AIM, also confirmed his death to The Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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