Clyde Bellecourt, longtime leader in the fight for Native civil rights, dies at 85

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Clyde Bellecourt, longtime leader in the fight for Native civil rights, dies at 85

Transcript¹

Clyde Bellecourt co-founded the American Indian Movement and was an advocate for tribal² sovereignty and cultural revival³. He spent his life advocating for legislation to protect Indigenous⁴ people.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A longtime leader in the fight for Native civil rights died this week. His name was Clyde Bellecourt, and he co-founded the American Indian Movement, or AIM, in Minneapolis back in 1968. He spent his life advocating for legislation to protect Indigenous people.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

In 1978, Bellecourt famously organized a 3,000-mile walk from California to Washington, D.C. to lobby for the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CLYDE BELLECOURT: We come here to D.C., turning back the anti-Indian legislation, the John Wayne frontier mentality⁵ that exists among the media today in their reporting.

(APPLAUSE)

C BELLECOURT: We are asking you to help us to stop these genocidal practices that are taking place against my people.

MARTINEZ: Bellecourt protested the U.S. government's failures to honor its treaties, and he fought to reclaim⁶ stolen land.

MARTIN: In an interview with NPR in 1999, he recounted his early days of activism, when AIM took over the town of Wounded Knee, S.D., for 71 days.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

C BELLECOURT: We had a lot of occupations, a lot of takeovers, a lot of demonstrations⁷, and all those were needed. I mean, we're a small minority, you know? We had to make some noise. And we knew that unless we made that, nobody would listen to us.

MARTIN: AIM's influence spread throughout North America, promoting tribal sovereignty and a cultural revival. Bellecourt helped open two schools for Indigenous youth.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

C BELLECOURT: Our children are taught Chippewa, Sioux and Winnebago, and English is taught as a foreign language in our school. We teach our children a value system based on the respect for the Earth as our mother, which is something they don't teach in colleges and universities.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

LITTLE CROW BELLECOURT: As I was a young boy, I used to have to wonder why my dad wasn't around a lot.

MARTINEZ: That's the voice of Little Crow Bellecourt, Clyde Bellecourt's eldest⁸ son.

MARTIN: He talked to NPR's Doualy Xaykaothao this week.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

L C BELLECOURT: As I got older, I learned to realize that everything he did was for our family and our Native peoples across the whole U.S.

MARTINEZ: Little Crow says his father always introduced himself with his Anishinaabe name, Nee-gon-we-way-we-dun, which means, The Thunder Before the Storm. He was 85.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SIGHT TO THE BLIND")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

3 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

4 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

5 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

6 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

7 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

8 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。