| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Tony_Balony
Joined: 12 Apr 2007
|
 Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 9:56 am Post subject: Uppity American Indian Activist Dies |
 |
|
| Quote: |
Activist who opposed Indian sports nicknames dies at 75
Story Highlights
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.
Vernon Bellecourt, right, helps honor the 30th anniversary of the Wounded Knee, South Dakota, standoff in 2003.
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.
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Bibbitybop
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 10:57 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Instead of worrying about names, Bellecourt should've focused on treaties that remain broken today. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ernie
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
Location: asdfghjk
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 3:18 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| so you'd be ok with sports teams using other racist terms? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Leslie Cheswyck
Joined: 31 May 2003
Location: University of Western Chile
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 3:26 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| ernie wrote: |
| so you'd be ok with sports teams using other racist terms? |
Oh my, how racist! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Alyallen
Joined: 29 Mar 2004
Location: The 4th Greatest Place on Earth = Jeonju!!!
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 5:05 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Just curious...
How is this
racist? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ernie
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
Location: asdfghjk
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 5:27 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| i would consider 'fighting irish' racist except for the fact that IRISH people adopted the nickname! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
wannago
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
|
| Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 9:37 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Alyallen wrote: |
Just curious...
How is this
racist? |
Are you saying there are no descendants from the good people of the original city of Troy around? I think I'm one and I'm personally very outraged. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Leslie Cheswyck
Joined: 31 May 2003
Location: University of Western Chile
|
| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 1:53 am Post subject: |
|
|
Oh when, oh when will it stop? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Hollywoodaction
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
|
| Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 12:54 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Bibbitybop wrote: |
| Instead of worrying about names, Bellecourt should've focused on treaties that remain broken today. |
Have a look at how they've been portrayed in old movies and TV shows and you'd understand why this is a touchy issue for them. Let me put it this way...Nobody would think of accusing African Americans of pettiness if they were protesting a sports team called the N@#@#, would they? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bibbitybop
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
|
| Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 3:29 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Hollywoodaction wrote: |
| Bibbitybop wrote: |
| Instead of worrying about names, Bellecourt should've focused on treaties that remain broken today. |
Have a look at how they've been portrayed in old movies and TV shows and you'd understand why this is a touchy issue for them. Let me put it this way...Nobody would think of accusing African Americans of pettiness if they were protesting a sports team called the N@#@#, would they? |
The All Blacks?
I'm not saying its not a touchy issue, but there are bigger, better things worth fighting for. [BTW, I've dated a Native American, who sadly knew less of her heritage than I did.] |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
