The flag of the American Indian Movement
Clyde Bellecourt, Native American civil rights leader and co-founder of the American Indian Movement (AIM), will speak at Gustavus Adolphus College at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11 in Alumni Hall. Bellecourt’s lecture is titled “The American Indian Movement: Past, Present, and Future,” and is free and open to the public.
Bellecourt was born on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota and is a member of the Anishinabe-Ojibwe Nation. Bellecourt co-founded the AIM in 1968 to work for improved conditions and rights for Native Americans. He is well known for his role in a variety of high profile protests, such as the occupation of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and for storming the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1972 with a list of 20 demands to end corruption within the Agency.
Since then, Bellecourt has organized and directed numerous organizations such as the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media, and the American Indian Opportunities Industrialization Center. Locally, Bellecourt founded the Elaine Stately Peacemaker Center for Indian Youth, the Women of Nations Eagle Nest Shelter, and Heart of the Earth, Inc., which provides educational opportunities for Native American youth and adults. Bellecourt continues to be involved in providing educational opportunities for Native Americans as the Clyde Bellecourt Scholarship Fund has awarded more than $200,000 for students in Minnesota to attend college.
For more information or questions about Bellecourt’s speaking appearance at Gustavus, contact Professor of Nursing Barbara Zust at bzust@gustavus.edu
–Director of Media Relations and Internal Communication Matt Thomas