ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

WILMA BELCOURT PAPERS

COLLECTION: OGL #780

DATES: 1968-1983

SIZE: 1.25 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION: The Wilma Belcourt Papers were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by Wilma Belcourt on September 14, 1982 (Acc.#82-1031). An addition to the collection was donated on March 30, 1983 (Acc.#83-1065), also by Wilma Belcourt.

ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

RELATED COLLECTION:
Ten Commandments Case, OGL#572

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Wilma Derr Belcourt was born on November 16, 1917 in Eckman, North Dakota. In 1938, she graduated from high school in Lansford, North Dakota. In 1939, she married Rudolph Belcourt, a relative of Father George A. Belcourt, a well known Red River Valley missionary. She led the battle to place a copy of the Ten Commandments in all public schools in North Dakota, and also helped make the singing of the National Anthem a priority in those same schools. She also was instrumental in the creation of a park in memory of Father George Belcourt.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Wilma Belcourt Papers consist primarily of scrapbooks kept by Belcourt concerning two issues: 1.) The Ten Commandments case involving the posting of such in all public educational institutions in the state of North Dakota, and 2.) the restoration of Butte St. Paul near Bottineau, North Dakota in memory of Father George A. Belcourt. The scrapbooks contain correspondence, news clippings, photographs and other materials dating from approximately 1968 to 1983. An autobiographical sketch is also included.

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1
Folder

1. Scrapbook: Ten Commandments Case, January 1979 - October 20 1979
2. Scrapbook: Ten Commandments Case, November 1979 - January 18, 1980
3. Scrapbook: Ten Commandments Case, January 29, 1980 - June 1981
4. Ten Commandments Case: North Dakota District Court Settlement, October - November 1979
5. Scrapbook: Butte St. Paul Park, September 1968 - February 1976
6. Scrapbook: Butte St. Paul Park, March 1976 - November 1977
7. Scrapbook: Butte St. Paul Park, June 1978 - March 1983
8. Autobiographical information

Return to: Legal
Return to: Women's Papers