Audio Archive

Boe, Paul

The Reverend Paul Boe (1915-1990) was a social activist who was instrumental in opening discussion about Native American issues in the American Lutheran Church (ALC) and with the American public. He was invited to Wounded Knee during the standoff in the spring of 1973 by Dennis Banks and later refused to testify about what he saw. Boe's position regarding the American Indian Movement (AIM) made him an unpopular figure in the American Lutheran Church. He resigned from his position at the ALC Division of Social Services in Minneapolis in 1974 and traveled the country with his "Why Wounded Knee?" lecture series. During this time he also served as pastor of Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, out of which developed his Special Indian Ministry. Although Boe retired in 1979, he remained outspoken on the importance of Native American concerns and for the reexamination of Native American policy.

(Bio from The Center for Western Studies, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 2011)

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