CU-Boulder Students Rally in Defense of Academic Freedom

[struggle4progress]

The CU-Boulder College Democrats held a rally to defend academic freedom, free speech and tenured professors from the attacks by the media. Hundreds of students came out to voice their support despite the recent attacks on professor Ward Churchill.

http://www.progressiveu.org/node/338

Response to the "UKB Statement Regarding Ward Churchill"

By Ward Churchill
May 18, 2005

On May 17, 2005 I was informed that the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians (UKB) has issued a Statement disavowing its relationship with me. This Statement contains many assertions which are categorically untrue: that I "asked" to be enrolled in the Keetoowah Band, that I was issued only an "honorary" membership in the Keetoowah Band, that my Cherokee lineage was never confirmed by the UKB Membership Committee, that I was never placed on the Band Roll.

Each of these statements is documentably false.

I did not "ask" to be enrolled; I was asked to apply.

In May 1994, I was enrolled as Associate Member of the UKB. In June, I was issued a Band Card listing Roll Number as being R7627. As was stated clearly and repeatedly at a Keetoowah Band Council meeting conducted on June 4, 1994, during which my enrollment was discussed—and of which I have a complete record on videotape—Associate Membership in the UKB did require proof of Cherokee descent, and mine was confirmed not once, but twice by the Membership Committee before I was issued my Band Card and placed on the UKB Membership Roll. <snip>

http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/news/article/0,1299,DRMN_3_3788265,00.html

Tribe says prof's membership rescinded in '94

By Amy Herdy
Denver Post Staff Writer

The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians rescinded all associate memberships in 1994, including professor Ward Churchill's, tribal officials said Wednesday.

They acknowledged that they're not certain whether the University of Colorado ethnic-studies professor was ever notified and that they told reporters as recently as February that he was still an associate member. <snip>

Churchill .. disputed the tribe's statement that it had rescinded his associate membership in July 1994.

"If my associate membership was terminated when they said it was, why was it I was the keynote speaker at their conference, as a UKB member, that following fall?" he said. <snip>

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_2744479

Professor Can't Prove Indian Ties, Tribe Says
University of Colorado educator whose job is in peril calls statement by Cherokees false.

From Associated Press

DENVER — An Oklahoma Indian tribe says a besieged University of Colorado professor whose claim of Indian heritage is under investigation "could not prove any Cherokee ancestry."

In a statement, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians said it gave Ward Churchill an "honorary associate membership" because he promised to write a tribal history. Churchill, a tenured professor of ethnic studies who could lose his job over allegations that he lied about his ancestry and plagiarized others' work, said Wednesday the tribe's statements are false.

In an e-mail to the Associated Press, Churchill said the United Keetoowahs' membership committee twice confirmed he had Cherokee ancestors before he was made an associate member. He said the tribe had a right to disenroll him or ask him to resign, but that it hadn't done so. <snip>

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-churchill19may19,1,6832200.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

Churchill claims proof he's Indian
11-year-old video shows tribal board discussing CU professor's heritage He offers a 50-page response to queries about his lineage and denies he plagiarized anyone.

By Amy Herdy and Arthur Kane
Denver Post Staff Writers

<snip> The videotape shows tribal council members debating who can define an Indian and includes them saying they had already granted Churchill an associate membership but would reconsider his application. A few weeks later, Churchill said, a membership card and a copy of the video arrived in the mail. <snip>

In the video, which is more than an hour long and shows more than a dozen members of the Keetoowah Band council discussing various tribal matters, the issue of Churchill's ethnicity is raised by a nontribal council member who discounts the CU professor's credibility and urges council members to withdraw Churchill's membership.

"He wants to prove he's an Indian so he can sell books as an Indian," said the man, whose identity The Post has been unable to verify. <snip>

Yet Churchill did not approach the council with a request to join, member Shelley Davis said at that meeting. She approached him after questioning him about his background. <snip>

http://denverpost.com/news/ci_2740670

Churchill Denies Plagiarism; Submits Tribal Membership Card
CU Professor Hands 50-Page Single-Spaced Report To Panel
POSTED: 8:17 am MDT May 17, 2005
UPDATED: 11:48 am MDT May 17, 2005

DENVER -- <snip>

His lawyer, David Lane, said Churchill also submitted his tribal membership card showing he is an associate member of the Keetoowah Cherokee band. Lane said Churchill's membership was based on an investigation by a tribal genealogist. <snip>

In his response to the plagiarism allegations, Lane said Churchill in one instance simply took articles written by other people and put them together for a chapter of one book, which Churchill did not take credit for.

"His name does not appear as the author of the piece. He was asked to edit it, and he did. He checked for typos, punctuation, grammar, those type of things. He never claims himself as the author," Lane said. "That is not plagiarism."

In at least two other cases Lane said Churchill authored articles and gave them to others who took credit for them, with at least one whom later accused Churchill of plagiarism. <snip>

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/4497632/detail.html

Ward Churchill: American Indian or not?
by: Paula Woodward 9Wants to Know Reporter
posted by: Dan Werner Web producer



<snip> We also asked Churchill how one determines they are Indian. According to Churchill, the word Indian was created by the federal government to describe various tribes like the Apache, Cherokee, Sioux, Blackfoot and others. He indicates the federal government has four criteria for being an Indian: genealogy or blood, self-identification (he says he's lived as an Indian since he was in the 6th grade), community recognition (Churchill says he's been well-known as an Indian and expert on Indian affairs for 25 years), and tribal enrollment. Churchill says he meets three of the four criteria and only one is required.

To prove tribal enrollment, Churchill showed 9News a videotape from 1994. It was a meeting of the Keetoowah Band of Indians. Churchill had been given an associate membership card to the tribe in 1993. An objection was raised at the meeting. No action was taken. The discussions on the videotape mainly centered on who really is an Indian and acknowledged that Ward Churchill is an associate member. He also carries a Keetoowah Indian tribal membership.

This week though the Keetoowah Band of Indians denounced Churchill on their website saying 'Mr. Churchill is not a member of the Keetoowah Band.' Mr. Churchill was never able to prove his eligibility.' And 'The United Keetoowah Band has no association with Churchill in any capacity whatsoever."

9News called the Keetoowah Band tribal office in Oklahoma. It says it's not sure if Churchill is a member or not. The band is no longer giving associate memberships. "Ward Churchill has a lot of people who hate him and a lot of people who like him," says his attorney David Lane. "The bottom line is that he was granted the membership as a member of the Keetoowah Band." <snip>

http://www.9news.com/acm_news.aspx?OSGNAME=KUSA&IKOBJECTID=f216d62c-0abe-421a-004f-53c51fc03493&TEMPLATEID=0c76dce6-ac1f-02d8-0047-c589c01ca7bf

Statement from the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians Regarding Ward Churchill

May 19, 2005

<snip> For further information regarding Mr. Churchill’s status as a Native American, please contact the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington , D.C.

http://unitedkeetoowahband.org/

[Inland]

1. Fifteen minutes is up, already. Now that Santorum has compared

all dems to nazis, he's trumped Ward's outrages.

[struggle4progress]

2. Tribe shifts stand, acknowledges Churchill's alleged Cherokee ancestry

In an abrupt change of tone, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians replaced its harshly critical statement regarding Ward Churchill with one that acknowledges the professor's "alleged ancestry" of being Cherokee.

"Because Mr. Churchill had genealogical information regarding his alleged ancestry, and his willingness to assist the UKB in promoting the tribe and its causes, he was awarded an 'Associate Membership' as an honor," the tribe's website said Thursday. "However, Mr. Churchill may possess eligibility status for Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, since he claims 1/16 Cherokee."

The new statement, while stopping short of endorsing any of Churchill's heritage, veers from the sharp rebuke posted Tuesday on the tribal website. The website said "Mr. Churchill mocks the basic fundamental principles of Tribal Sovereignty when he consistently refers to enrollment as a 'pedigree' and compares enrollment to 'dogs' and 'Nazi policies."' <snip>

Churchill has repeatedly said he has never asked for a CDIB as the idea of being "vetted" by the U.S. government is offensive. <snip>

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_2746403