12/1/2010 First Person Radio

Clyde H. Bellecourt lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He continues to direct national and international AIM activities, is a coordinator of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media, and leads Heart of the Earth, Inc. an Interpretive Center located near AIM's 40-year school site in Dinkeytown, Minneapolis, MN.
The Clyde H. Bellecourt Scholarship Fund has awarded $222,687 in 22 college scholarships to both graduate and undergraduate since 2005 to American Indian students who are studying in the fields of Education, American Indian Studies, or Indigenous Languages. This is one of Heart of the Earth's five major public events.
The Yamamoto Cup youth canoe race in August in Minneapolis. Well over 500 spectators attend. The Red Road Pow Wow is always held in Minneapolis at the New Year. The 2010 Pow Wow was is likely to have over 1,500 Minneapolis residents in attendance. The Gathering of the Sacred Pipe Sundance and Youth and Elders Conference will be held in Pipestone, MN Over 400 attend the Midewiwin Program that is held in Bad River, WI.
Bellecourt founded Heart of the Earth Survival School in 1972. The passage of the American Indian Education Act provided possible yearly funding on a competitive basis, which Heart of the Earth was successful in winning for 24 years. A pre-school to grade 12 school was the primary activity, with the addition in the 1980s of adult learning and prison programs. Heart of the Earth also coordinated a national law education program.