Interview of Vernon Bellecourt, AIM Leader (1973)

other type of equipment and build bigger buildings on the Bureau of Iniferous Agency at Pine Ridge and throughout the country, and the people, the reservation people, Indian people, are still suffering with a 42-year life expectancy, or still suffering at three times a national average, infant mortality rate, and a five times a national average suicide rate. Chronic ill health and disease diseases yet prevail in reservations that have cured in the white world. So when we can see these kinds of conditions, we recognize that the system has totally failed us, and now we should have the right to total self-determination, which our interpretation is total self-government. And this is a whole new attitude being created at Wundany and will continue to become a reality. And when you referred to revolution, could you say a little bit more about what you mean and also what, like, the some of the beginning fundamental goals of that would be? Well, I guess, you know, just saying is the term revolution, which has become stereotyped itself, you know, lends to people to believe that, you know, it's a violent revolution or it has to be some type of thing where we're going to assassinate whole, you know, groups

of people. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about basically a philosophical revolution, which is really going to free our people. We see today amongst the new generation, we see people who are, in fact, willing to put meaning into those words of support and the words of sympathy. And so we talk about revolution. We're talking about a philosophical revolution brought about by confrontation, by political confrontation. And we, to Russell Means, termed it confrontation politics. We recognize that, unfortunately, we live within a system, we live within a society in our country here, exists a society that, unfortunately, you know, only respond, you know, to some kind of strong confrontation. And we recognize that. And we can see the success we've had already in that, the budget and the Bureau of Indian Affairs for fiscal year 1974 as men, I understand increased by 15%.