Paul Boe Collection
at the Center for Western Studies
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, MN, 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.
This document is an outline of a sermon that Boe gave at Eau Claire Trinity
Church in Wisconsin in 1981 for the annual Indian Concerns Sunday.
