Clyde Bellecourt, a Native American civil rights leader who founded the influential group American Indian Movement (AIM), died Tuesday of cancer at the age of 85, his wife, Peggy Bellecourt, and Minnesota’s Hennepin County medical examiner confirmed to CNN Wednesday.
Bellecourt co-founded AIM in 1968 to help advocate for tribal sovereignty and better housing and opportunities for Native Americans in Minnesota and across the US.
He was the group’s last living original founder.
“It (AIM) created an awakening on a national level of our people,” his niece and current AIM’s Executive Leader Lisa Bellinger told CNN affiliate WCCO. “It was never just a job for him. It was a way of life.”
Some of the group’s early work involved protecting Indigenous people against police brutality. By patrolling neighborhoods and taking down badge numbers, the group tried to hold police accountable and prevent Indigenous people from having their rights violated. Bellecourt eventually became the co-chair of the Minneapolis Police Community Relations Council. Continue Reading
(SOURCE) https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/12/us/aim-leader-clyde-bellecourt-dies-85/index.html
