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NY Times
Published: October 17, 2007
Vernon Bellecourt, an Ojibwa Indian who waged a long campaign for native rights, most visible in battling the use of Indian nicknames by sports teams, died Oct. 13 in Minneapolis. He was 75.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, his sister-in-law, Peggy Bellecourt, said.
Mr. Bellecourt (pronounced BELL-kort) first gained notice in 1972 as a principal spokesman for the American Indian Movement when the group organized a cross-country caravan to Washington, where members occupied the offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He later worked to gain international recognition for Indian nations and their treaties, partly by meeting with controversial foreign figures like Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya and Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader who died in 2004.
But it was as president of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media that Mr. Bellecourt achieved his greatest visibility. When teams with names like the Indians, the Redskins or the Chiefs appeared in high-profile contests, he was often there to protest.
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By Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 15, 2007; Page B06
Vernon Bellecourt, who fought to restore land and dignity to Native Americans and against the use of Indian nicknames for sports teams as a longtime leader of the American Indian Movement (AIM), died Oct. 13 of complications of pneumonia at a Minneapolis hospital. He was 75.
Since leaving behind careers as a hair stylist and real estate agent and joining his brother in AIM in the 1970s, Mr. Bellecourt had been in the forefront of the movement to ensure that treaties between Native American tribes and the U.S. government would be fulfilled. He was president of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media and principal spokesman for AIM.
He was involved in numerous demonstrations to bring attention to his causes, including the 1972 occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington and the 1992 Super Bowl rally to protest the name of Washington's football team. He also spoke at colleges and universities around the world about the more than 400 treaties that the group believed the U.S. government was not honoring.
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