Ward Churchill

Infobox Celebrity
name = Ward Churchill

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caption = Ward Churchill speaking at the Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair, May 2005.
birth_date = birth date and age|mf=yes|1947|10|2
birth_place = Elmwood, Illinois, United States
death_date =
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occupation = Political activist
salary =
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Ward LeRoy Churchill (born October 2, 1947) is an American writer and political activist. He was a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder from 1990 to 2007. Primarily, his work focuses on the historical treatment of political dissenters and American Indians by the United States. His work features controversial and provocative claims, written in a direct, often confrontational style.

In January 2005, Churchill's work attracted publicity, with the widespread circulation of a 2001 essay, "On the Justice of Roosting Chickens". In it, he claimed that people killed in the World Trade Center attacks were involved in provoking the attack.cite news
title = College journalist touched off firestorm
author = Charlie Brennan
work = Rocky Mountain News
date = 2005-02-03
url = http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2005/feb/03/college-journalist-touched-off-firestorm/] In March 2005 the University of Colorado began investigating allegations that Churchill had engaged in research misconduct; it reported in June 2006 that he had done so.citation
title = Report of the Investigative Committee of the Standing Committee on Research Misconduct at the University of Colorado at Boulder concerning Allegations of Academic Misconduct against Professor Ward Churchill
first1 = Marianne | last1 = Wesson
first2 = Robert | last2 = Clinton
first3 = José | last3 = Limón
first4 = Marjorie | last4 = McIntosh
first5 = Michael | last5 = Radelet
year = 2006
month = May 9
publisher = University of Colorado at Boulder
url = http://www.colorado.edu/news/reports/churchill/download/WardChurchillReport.pdf] Churchill was fired on July 24, 2007 for research misconduct.cite news|url=http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/jul/25/cu-regents-fire-ward-churchill/|title=CU regents fire Ward Churchill|author=Berny Morson|work=Rocky Mountain News|date=2007-07-25]

Background

Early life

Churchill was born in Elmwood, Illinois and attended local schools, including Elmwood High School.

Vietnam

In 1966, Churchill was drafted into the United States Army. On his 1980 resume, Churchill said he served as a public-information specialist who "wrote and edited the battalion newsletter and wrote news releases."cite news
title = Questions stoke Ward Churchill's firebrand past
author = Dave Curtin
coauthors = Howard Pankratz and Arthur Kane
work = Denver Post
url = http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_0002709008
date = 2005-02-13]

In a 1987 profile on Churchill, the "Denver Post" reported that Churchill went to paratrooper school, then volunteered for Vietnam, where he served a 10-month tour as Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP), one of a six-man team sent out to track down North Vietnamese."Denver Post", January 18, 1987. [http://www.gnosis.cx/photos/news/Churchill-DenverPost-1987.gifphotostat of "Denver Post" article] ( [http://carcopy.blogspot.com/2005/02/denver-post-january-18-1987.html the text] )] The "Denver Post" reported in 2005 that Churchill's military records show that he was trained as a projectionist and light truck driver, and do not mention paratrooper school or LRRP training. The 75th Ranger Regiment Association found no record of Churchill being in a LRRP team.Patrolling Magazine, 2007]

The 1987 "Post" article also reported that Churchill was politically radicalized as a result of his experiences in Vietnam. Churchill told the "Denver Post" that he had worked with the Students for a Democratic Society and Weather Underground in the late 1960s. The "Post" also reported that Churchill taught members of the Weather Underground how to make bombs and fire weapons.

Education and academic career

Churchill received his B.A. in technological communications in 1974 and M.A. in communications theory in 1975, both from Sangamon State University, now the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Churchill began working as an affirmative action officer at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1978.He also lectured on Indian issues in the ethnic studies program.In 1990, he was hired as an associate professor, although he did not possess the academic doctorate usually required for such a position.The following year he was granted tenure in the communications department, without the usual six-year probationary period, after being declined by the sociology and political science departments.He was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Alfred University after giving a lecture there about American Indian history in 1992.He moved to the new ethnic studies department in 1996 and was promoted to full professor in 1997.He became chair of the department in June 2002. [cite news
title = Churchill tenure questioned: Prof was granted job security without usual review process
author = Berny Morson
coauthors = Charlie Brennan
work = Rocky Mountain News
date = 2005-02-16
url = http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2005/feb/16/churchill-tenure-questioned/] cite news
author = Jefferson Dodge
title = Churchill's personnel files released by CU-Boulder
work = Silver & Gold Record
date = 2005-02-24
url = https://www.cu.edu/sg/messages/4218.html] [cite web
title = Honorary Degrees, 1990-1999
work = Special Collections & Archives
publisher = Herrick Memorial Library, Alfred University
url = http://www.herr.alfred.edu/special/archives/histories/honorary/1990.shtml]

In January 2005, during the controversy over his 9/11 remarks, Churchill resigned as chairman of the ethnic studies department at the University of Colorado — his term as chair was scheduled to expire in June of that year. [http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2005/44.html Ward Churchill Resigns Administrative Post] , University of Colorado at Boulder,Jan. 31, 2005] On May 16, 2006, the Investigative Committee of the Standing Committee on Research Misconduct at the University of Colorado concluded that Churchill had committed multiple counts of academic misconduct, specifically plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification. On July 24, 2007, Churchill was fired for academic misconduct in an eight to one vote by the University of Colorado's Board of Regents.

Ethnic background

In 2003, Churchill stated, "I am myself of Muscogee and Creek [The Muscogee Creek Nation in 1993 declared that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation could not find Ward Churchill listed on the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Citizenship Rolls--according to Peggy Powell of the Citizenship Board of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. cite news |first=Peggy |last=Powell |title=Letter from Peggy J. Powell, Manager Citizenship Board of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation to Mr. Robert Trepp |url=http://wardchurchill.blogspot.com/2008/07/creek-nation-document-denying.html |work=Muscogee Creek Document |publisher=Citizenship Board Muscogee (Creek) Nation |date=February 22, 1993 |accessdate=2008-07-27] descent on my father's side, Cherokee on my mother's, and am an enrolled member of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians."cite journal|author=Ward Churchill|title=An American Holocaust? The Structure of Denial|journal=Socialism and Democracy|year=2003|volume=17|issue=2|pages=25–76 | url=http://www.sdonline.org/33/ward_churchill.htm|doi=10.1080/08854300308428341] cite web
title = Ward Churchill
work = [http://www.colorado.edu/EthnicStudies/ Ethnic Studies]
publisher = University of Colorado
url = http://www.colorado.edu/EthnicStudies/faculty/churchill.html
accessdate = 2008-01-09] In 1992, Churchill wrote elsewhere that he is one-eighth Creek and one-sixteenth Cherokee. [cite book
chapter = Federal Indian Identification Policy: A Usurpation of Indigenous Sovereignty in North America
title = The State of Native America: Genocide, Colonization and Resistance
last = Jaimes | first = M. Annette
editor = Jaimes, M. Annette (ed.)
publisher = South End Press
location = Boston
year = 1992
isbn = 089608424-8
pages = 123-138
url = http://books.google.com/books?as_isbn=0896084248 Churchill told the University of Colorado investigative committee that he wrote this essay in its entirety.] In 1993, Churchill told the "Colorado Daily" that, “he was one-sixteenth Creek and Cherokee”. [cite news |first=Jodi |last=Rave |title=Free Speech for Fake Indian |url=http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2005/02/12/news/opinion/opin338.txt |work=Rapid City Journal |date=February 12, 2005 |accessdate=2008-07-27] Churchill told the "Denver Post" in February 2005 that he is three-sixteenths Cherokee.cite news
title = CU prof affirms Indian heritage: Tribe says he's not full member
author = Howard Pankratz
work = Denver Post
url = http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_0002689334
date = 2005-02-03] The United Keetoowah Band clarified that Churchill was never an enrolled member, but was awarded an honorary associate membership in May 1994, as were Bill Clinton and others; [cite news
title = Tribe snubs prof: Cherokee band says Churchill's claim of membership a fraud
author = Charlie Brennan
work = Rocky Mountain News
date = 2005-05-18
url = http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2005/may/18/tribe-snubs-prof/] [cite news
title = Tribe clarifies stance on prof: Milder statement explains Churchill's 'associate' label
author = Charlie Brennan
work = Rocky Mountain News
date = 2005-05-21
url = http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2005/may/21/tribe-clarifies-stance-on-prof/] honorary associate membership recognizes assistance to the tribe, but does not indicate Indian ancestry or enrollment.cite news
title = Keetoowah Band says Churchill is honorary, Indian tribe states membership is not recognized
last = Clark | first = Elizabeth Mattern
work = Daily Camera
date = 2005-05-19
url = http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2005/may/19/keetoowah-band-says-churchill-is-honorary] The Keetoowah Band states that Churchill still holds the honorary associate membership, that it hasn't been rescinded, and that the Keetoowah Band stopped recognizing such "honorary" memberships in 1994. [The Tahlequah Daily Press, February 4, 2005] [United Keetoowah Band website, http://unitedkeetoowahband.org/, May 18, 2005.]

The "Rocky Mountain News", in 2005, published a genealogy of Churchill, and reported "no evidence of a single Indian ancestor" [of Churchill's] . The "News" reports that both of Churchill's birth parents are listed as white on the 1930 census, as are all of his other known ancestors on previous censuses and other official documents. [cite news |first=Kevin |last=Flynn |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=The Churchill files; Are Ward Churchill's claims of American Indian ancestry valid? |url=http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/news/churchill/indexDay5.shtml |format= |work=Rocky Mountain News |pages= |page= |date=2005-06-09 |accessdate=2007-07-25 |language= |quote= ] The "Denver Post"'s genealogical investigation resulted in the same conclusion.

Documents in Churchill’s university personnel file show that he was granted tenure in a "special opportunity position."Such positions were later described as a program designed to help "recruit and hire a more diverse faculty." [cite web
title = Appendix C - Best Practices
work = Campus Diversity Plan: A Blueprint for Action
publisher = University of Colorado at Boulder
year = 1999
month = July
url = http://www.colorado.edu/cu-diversity/blueprint/appendix_c.html] In 1994, then CU-Boulder Chancellor James Corbridge refused to take action on allegations that Churchill was fraudulently claiming to be an Indian, saying "it has always been university policy that a person's race or ethnicity is self-proving." [cite news
title = Red-flagged career: Churchill's tenure at CU marked by warnings of trouble
author = Charlie Brennan
coauthors = Stuart Steers
work = Rocky Mountain News
date = 2005-02-17
url = http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2005/feb/17/red-flagged-career/]

Churchill's critics argue that his assertion of Native American ancestry without the ability to prove it might constitute misrepresentation and grounds for termination. The University, however, has stated in response that they do not hire on the basis of ethnicity.The University of Colorado's Research Misconduct Committee Ward Churchill misconduct issues
conducted a preliminary investigation into whether Churchill misrepresented his ethnicity in order to "add credibility and public acceptance to his scholarship"; they concluded that the allegation was not "appropriate for further investigation under the definition of research misconduct." [cite press release
title = Statement Regarding Decision Of Standing Committee On Research Misconduct
author = Pauline Hale
publisher = [http://www.colorado.edu/news/ CU-Boulder Office of News Services]
date = 2005-09-09
url = http://www.colorado.edu/news/reports/churchill/standingcommittee.html]

In an interview in "The Rocky Mountain News", Churchill stated: "I have never been confirmed as having one-quarter blood, and never said I was. And even if [the critics] are absolutely right, what does that have to do with this issue? I have never claimed to be goddamned Sitting Bull". [cite web| url=http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4339669,00.html | work=Rocky Mountain News | title=Year in quotes | date=2005-12-25]

Churchill has countered requests for verification of his Indian heritage in various ways including attacking the basis on which some Native American tribes establish their membership requirements. Churchill argues that the United States instituted "blood quantum" laws based upon rules of descendency in order to further goals of personal enrichment and political expediency. [Churchill explained his belief to oral historian David Barsamian:

You could say that five hundred years ago was the basis of blood quantum in Ibero-America. But in Anglo-America, while there was some preoccupation with it, it was not formalized until the passage of the General Allotment Act, mid-1880s. At that point they began to define Indian as being someone who was demonstrably and documentably of at least one-quarter by quantum blood indigenous in a given group. You couldn't be an eighth Cheyenne and an eighth Arapaho and be an Indian. You had to be a quarter Cheyenne or a quarter Arapaho or hopefully a quarter and a quarter. The reason for this was quite clear. They were identifying Indians for purposes of allotting them individual parcels of land in the existing reservation base at that point. If they ran out of Indians identifiable as such, then the rest of the land would be declared surplus. So it was clearly in the interests of the government to create a definition of Indianness that would minimize the number of Indians that were available. It was an economic motivation for the application of this genetic criteria to Indianness in the first place. It's become increasingly so ever since." (cite journal | author=David Barsamian interviews Ward Churchill | title=Historical and Current Perspectives | journal=Z Magazine | year=1995 | month=December | url=http://www.zmag.org/ZMag/articles/dec95barsamian.htm)

] [Churchill's argument about dilution of tribal membership is controversial, however. According to Circe Sturm, for example, the largest of the federally recognized Cherokee tribes—the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma—does not impose any blood quantum requirements for membership. It requires only that an applicant prove descent from a person listed on official Cherokee rolls.(cite book |first=Circe|last=Sturm |year=2002|title=Blood Politics: Race, Culture, and Identity in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma |publisher=University of California Press | location=Berkeley CA |id= |url=)]

Writing

As a scholar, Churchill has written on American Indian history and culture, and is particularly outspoken about what he describes as the genocide inflicted on the indigenous people of North America by European settlers and the repression of native peoples that continues to this day.

Churchill has written or coauthored fourteen books and more than 150 published essays. He describes fifty of those essays as "scholarly", of which 27 are refereed. [cite web
author = Ward Churchill
title = Submission of Professor Ward Churchill to the Board of Regents of the University of Colorado
url = http://wardchurchill.net/files/churchill_response_to_regents_071207.pdf
format = PDF
date = 2007-07-12] According to the University of Colorado investigation, "His academic publications are nearly all works of synthesis and reinterpretation, drawing upon studies by other scholars, not monographs describing new research based on primary sources." The investigation also noted that "he has decided to publish largely in alternative presses or journals, not in the university presses or mainstream peer-reviewed journals often favored by more conventional academics." In addition to his academic writing, Churchill has written for several general readership magazines of political opinion.

In 1986, Churchill wrote an essay titled criticizing pacifist politics within the U.S. left as being hypocritical, "de facto" racist and ineffectual. In 1998, Arbeiter Ring Publishing published the essay in a book entitled "Pacifism as Pathology: Reflections on the Role of Armed Struggle in North America" and listing Ward Churchill as the author. (ISBN 1-894037-07-3) The book included a preface by Ed Mead, a new introduction to the essay by Churchill and a commentary by Mike Ryan. The book sparked much debate in leftist circles and inspired more aggressive tactics within the anti-globalization movement in the following few years. [ L.A. Kauffman (December 10, 1999). [http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/12/10/anarchists/print.html "Who were those masked anarchists in Seattle?"] . Salon.com.]

"Agents of Repression" (1988), co-authored by Jim Vander Wall, describes what the authors claim was "the secret war" against the Black Panther Party and American Indian Movement carried out during the late 1960s and '70s by the FBI under the COINTELPRO program. "The COINTELPRO Papers" (1990; reissued 2002), also co-authored with Jim Vander Wall, examines a series of original FBI memos that detail the Bureau's activities against various leftist groups, from the U.S. Communist Party in the 1950s to activists concerned with Central American issues in the 1980s.

In "Fantasies of the Master Race" (1992), Churchill examines the portrayal of American Indians and the use of American Indian symbols in popular American culture. He focuses on such phenomena as Tony Hillerman's mystery novels, the film "Dances with Wolves", and the New Age movement, finding examples of cultural imperialism and exploitation. Churchill calls author Carlos Castaneda's claims of revealing the teachings of a Yaqui Indian shaman, the "greatest hoax since Piltdown Man."

"Struggle for the Land" (1993; reissued 2002) is a collection of essays in which Churchill chronicles the U.S. government's systematic exploitation of Native lands and the killing or displacement of American Indians. He details Native American efforts in the 19th and 20th centuries to prevent defoliation and industrial practices such as surface mining.

Churchill's "Indians Are Us?" (1994), a sequel to "Fantasies of the Master Race", further explores American Indian issues in popular culture and politics. He examines the movie "Black Robe," the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation killings, the prosecution of Leonard Peltier, sports mascots, the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, and blood quantum laws, calling them tools of genocide. Churchill is particularly outspoken about New Age exploitations of shamanism and American Indian sacred traditions, and the "do-it-yourself Indianism" of certain contemporary authors. John P. LaVelle of the University of New Mexico School of Law published a review of "Indians Are Us?" in "The American Indian Quarterly". Professor LaVelle, who is an enrolled member of the Santee Sioux Nation, states that "Indians Are Us?" twists historical facts and is hostile toward Indian tribes.

"" (1996) is a collection of 23 previously published essays on Native American history, culture, and political activism.

Churchill's "A Little Matter of Genocide" (1997) is a survey of ethnic cleansing from 1492 to the present. He compares the treatment of North American Indians to historical instances of genocide by communists in Cambodia, Turks against Armenians, and Europeans against the Gypsies, as well as Nazis against the Poles and Jews.

In "Perversions of Justice" (2002), Churchill argues that the U.S.'s legal system was adapted to gain control over Native American people. Tracing the evolution of federal Indian law, Churchill argues that the principles set forth were not only applied to non-Indians in the U.S., but later adapted for application abroad. He concludes that this demonstrates the development of the U.S.'s "imperial logic," which depends on a "corrupt form of legalism" to establish colonial control and empire.

Churchill's controversial essay on 9/11 was expanded into a book-length manuscript, published as "" (2003) by AK Press. The book features two other chapters, one listing US military interventions, another listing what Churchill believes to be US violations of international law. The original essay takes the "roosting chickens" of the title from a 1963 Malcolm X speech wherein Malcolm X linked the assassination of the U.S. president John F. Kennedy to the violence that Kennedy perpetuated as "merely a case of chickens coming home to roost." Churchill's essays in this book address the worldwide forms of resistance that he posits were and continue to be provoked by U.S. imperialism of the 20th and 21st centuries.

In "" (2004), Churchill traces the history of removing American Indian children from their homes to residential schools (in Canada) or Indian boarding schools (in the USA) as part of government policies (1880s-1980s) which he regards as genocidal.

Involvement with Indian organizations

Churchill has been active since at least 1984 as the co-director of the Denver-based American Indian Movement of Colorado, an autonomous chapter of the American Indian Movement. In 1993, he and other local AIM leaders, including Russell Means, Glen Morris, Bob Robideau, and David Hill, broke with the national AIM leadership, including Dennis Banks and brothers Vernon and Clyde Bellecourt, claiming that all AIM chapters are autonomous. The schism arose when Means, Churchill, Glenn Morris and others openly supported the Miskito Indian group Misurasata that was fighting with the CIA backed Contras. [ [http://www.aimovement.org/moipr/onrussellmeans.html AIM Document on Russell Means] ] The schism continues, with the national AIM leadership claiming that the local AIM leaders, such as Churchill, are tools of the U.S. government which uses Churchill and others against other American Indians. The leaders of the national AIM organization claim that Churchill has worked in the past as an underground counter-intelligence source for the U.S. government, for example the FBI, and local, non-Indian, police forces, to subvert the national AIM organization. They cite several examples but specifically a 1993 Boulder interview with Jodi Rave, a former columnist for the "Denver Post", where Churchill stated that he "was teaching the Rapid City Police Department about the American Indian Movement." [Bellecourt, Vernon. [http://www.aimovement.org/moipr/USgovt-vs-AIMnov99.html "United States Government War Against the American Indian Movement"] , AIM Council on Security and Intelligence, November 3, 1999.]

Churchill has been a leader of Colorado AIM's annual protests in Denver against the Columbus Day holiday and its associated parade. These protests have brought Colorado AIM's leadership into conflict with some leaders in the Denver Italian American community, the main supporters of the parade. Churchill and others have been arrested while protesting for acts such as blocking the parade. [cite web|url=http://www.transformcolumbusday.org/media/20050924-rm.htm|title="Columbus parade could see less strife: Churchill, conflict having an effect" By Charlie Brennan, "Rocky Mountain News", September 24, 2005] [cite web|url=http://www.transformcolumbusday.org/chronology.html | title=Chronology of Events Concerning (Transform) Columbus Day | work=Transform Columbus Day Alliance | accessdate=March 28 | accessyear=2006] As early as 2004, Churchill has claimed that such parades are unconstitutional, arguing that the Ninth Amendment to the Constitution provides Native Americans with a right not to be subjected to such displays, overriding the First Amendment rights of non-native Americans. [ [http://www.counterpunch.org/churchill02212005.html Ward Churchill: What Did I Really Say? And Why Did I Say It?] February 21, 2005] ] Legal scholars have dismissed this argument as carrying no legal weight in U.S. courts.Fact|date=August 2008

In April 1983, Churchill traveled to Tripoli and Benghazi as a representative of AIM and the International Indian Treaty Council to meet Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi of Libya while a U.S. travel ban to that country was in place. The visit was intended to seek support from Gaddafi regarding claims of the U.S. government's violation of treaties with American Indian nations.

9/11 essay controversy

Churchill wrote an essay in September 2001 entitled "On the Justice of Roosting Chickens". In it, he argued that the September 11, 2001 attacks were provoked by U.S. foreign policy. Further, he argued that people who were wounded and killed in the World Trade Center were not innocent civilians, comparing their role in "ongoing genocidal American imperialism" to the role played by Adolf Eichmann in organizing the Holocaust.

In 2005, this essay was widely publicized when Hamilton College invited Churchill to speak. This led to both condemnations of Churchill and counter-accusations of McCarthyism by Churchill and supporters. Following the controversy, the University of Colorado interim Chancellor Phil DiStefano stated, "While Professor Churchill has the constitutional right to express his political views, his essay on 9/11 has outraged and appalled us and the general public."

Research misconduct investigation

The controversy attracted increased attention to Churchill's research, which had already been criticized by legal scholar John LaVelle and historian Guenter Lewy.citation
title = Review of "Indians Are Us?: Culture and Genocide in Native North America"
first = John | last = LaVelle
journal = The American Indian Quarterly
volume = 20 | number = 1
pages = 109-118
year = 1999
url = http://lawschool.unm.edu/faculty/lavelle/american-indian-quarterly.pdf] [citation
title = The General Allotment Act "Eligibility" Hoax: Distortions of Law, Policy, and History in Derogation of Indian Tribes
first = John | last = LaVelle
journal = Wicazo Sa Review
year = 1999
month = Spring
pages = 251-302
url = http://lawschool.unm.edu/faculty/lavelle/allotment-act.pdf] [cite web
title = Were American Indians the Victims of Genocide?
first = Guenter | last = Lewy
work = History News Network
date = 2004-11-22
url = http://hnn.us/articles/7302.html] More critics came forward, including sociologist Thomas Brown, who had been preparing an article on Churchill's work, and historians R.G. Robertson and Russell Thornton, who claimed that Churchill had mischaracterized their work. [cite news
title = A New Ward Churchill Controversy
first = Scott | last = Jaschik
work = Inside Higher Ed
date = 2005-02-09
url = http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/02/09/churchill2_9] [citation
title = Did the U.S. Army Distribute Smallpox Blankets to Indians? Fabrication and Falsification in Ward Churchill’s Genocide Rhetoric
first = Thomas | last = Brown
journal = Plagiary: Cross-Disciplinary Studies in Plagiarism, Fabrication, and Falsification
volume = 1 | number = 9
year = 2006
pages = 1-30
url = http://www.plagiary.org/smallpox-blankets.pdf]

In 2005, University of Colorado at Boulder administrators ordered an investigation into the allegations of research misconduct.University of Colorado officials pointed out that while accusations against Churchill had been published as early as the 1990s, no one had filed a complaint of research misconduct with the University before 2005.However, they addressed the new charges of research misconduct that came to light during the controversy over Churchill's remarks about the 9/11 victims.citation
title = Report on Conclusion of Preliminary Review in the Matter of Professor Ward Churchill
first1 = Philip | last1 = DiStephano
first2 = Todd | last2 = Gleeson
first3 = David | last3 = Getches
date = 2005-03-24
publisher = University of Colorado at Boulder
url = http://www.colorado.edu/news/reports/churchill/report.html]

On May 16, 2006 the University released its investigative committee findings.The Investigative Committee, a five-member subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Research Misconduct, agreed unanimously that Churchill had engaged in "serious research misconduct," including four counts of falsifying information, two counts of fabricating information, two counts of plagiarizing the works of others, improperly reporting the results of studies, and failing to "comply with established standards regarding author names on publications." In addition, the committee found him "disrespectful of Indian oral traditions." Two members found that Churchill's actions did not warrant dismissal and that the most appropriate sanction was suspension. While the remaining three found that his conduct was grounds for dismissal, they were split as to what the most appropriate sanction was—two believed suspension was appropriate and one stated dismissal was appropriate.citation
title = Report of the Investigative Committee of the Standing Committee on Research Misconduct at the University of Colorado at Boulder concerning Allegations of Academic Misconduct against Professor Ward Churchill
first1 = Marianne | last1 = Wesson
first2 = Robert | last2 = Clinton
first3 = José | last3 = Limón
first4 = Marjorie | last4 = McIntosh
first5 = Michael | last5 = Radelet
date = 2006-05-09
publisher = University of Colorado at Boulder
url = http://www.colorado.edu/news/reports/churchill/StandingCmteReport.html]

In its report, the investigative sub-committee "expresses its concern regarding the timing and perhaps the motives for the University's decision to forward charges made in that context."The Standing Committee's final report, however, states that they could not ignore the charges against Churchill given their seriousness.citation
title = Report and Recommendations of the Standing Committee on Research Misconduct Concerning Allegations of Research Misconduct by Professor Ward Churchill
first1 = Joseph | last1 = Rosse
first2 = Sanjai | last2 = Bhagat
first3 = Mark | last3 = Bradburn
first4 = Harold | last4 = Bruff
first5 = Judith | last5 = Glyde
first6 = Steven | last6 = Guberman
first7 = Bella | last7 = Mody
first8 = Linda | last8 = Morris
first9 = Uriel | last9 = Nauenberg
first10 = Ron | last10 = Pak
first11 = Cortlandt | second11 = Pierpont
date = 2006-06-13
publisher = University of Colorado at Boulder
url = http://www.colorado.edu/news/reports/churchill/download/ChurchillStandingCmteReport.pdf]

The Standing Committee on Research Misconduct accepted the findings of the Investigative Committee that Churchill had "committed serious, repeated, and deliberate research misconduct." However, the Committee disagreed on what sanctions should be imposed. Six members voted for dismissal. Two members voted for a five year suspension without pay, and one voted for a two year suspension without pay.

Churchill has disputed the finding of misconduct. [cite web| title=A Travesty of an "Investigation" | author=Ward Churchill | url=http://counterpunch.org/churchill05162006.html | work=Counterpunch | date=2006-05-16 | accessdate=2008-01-08 ] [cite web| title = Summary of Fallacies in the University of Colorado Investigative Committee Report of May 9, 2006| first = Ward | last = Churchill| date=2006-05-20| url = http://wardchurchill.net/files/churchill052006.doc| format = MSWord document] [cite web
title = Research Misconduct Complaint against Professor Michael Radelet and Investigative Committee
first = Ward | last = Churchill
date = 2007-07-12
url = http://wardchurchill.net/files/f_research_misconduct_complaint_radelet_ic.pdf] [cite web
title = Research Misconduct Complaint against Professor Marjorie McIntosh and Investigative Committee
first = Ward | last = Churchill
date = 2007-07-18
url = http://wardchurchill.net/files/g_research_misconduct_complaint_mcintosh_ic.pdf]

Churchill's appeal against his proposed dismissal was considered by a panel of the University's Privilege and Tenure Committee, which found that two of the seven findings of misconduct did not constitute dismissible offences. Three members recommended that the penalty should be demotion and one year's suspension without pay, while two favored dismissal.cite news
title = Regents dismiss Ward Churchill
author = Jefferson Dodge
work = Silver & Gold Record
date = 2007-07-26
url = https://www.cu.edu/sg/messages/5704.html
accessdate = 2008-01-08]

On July 24, 2007, the University regents voted seven to two to uphold all seven of the findings of research misconduct, overruling the recommendation of Privilege and Tenure panel that two of them be dismissed. They then fired Churchill by vote of eight to one. The sole dissenter, Cindy Carlisle, had argued for the sanctions recommended by the majority of the Privilege and Tenure dismissal panel.

University president Hank Brown said of the firing, "This case was an example not of mistakes, but an effort to falsify history and fabricate history and in the final analysis, this individual did not express regret or apologize. This is a faculty that has an outstanding reputation and this move today protects that reputation."cite web
url = http://www.9news.com/rss/article.aspx?storyid=74224
title = 'I'm going nowhere' says Churchill after firing
author = Jeffrey Wolf
coauthors = Nicole Vap
publisher = 9news.com
date = 2007-07-25]

On the following day, Churchill filed a lawsuit in state court claiming that the firing was retribution for expressing politically unpopular views. [cite web
title = First amended complaint & jury demand
work = Ward Churchill v. University of Colorado
url = http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/pdf/complaint.pdf
date = 2007-07-25
format=PDF] The University filed for dismissal on September 4, 2007. [cite news
url=http://www.denverpost.com/ci_6801649
title=CU seeks dismissal of Churchill lawsuit
author=Arthur Kane
work=Denver Post
date=2007-09-05]

Some observers infer that the investigation and these actions were in retaliation for Churchill's controversial statements about the World Trade Center attacks because it began in the midst of national media coverage of his statements, with one stating that Churchill's writing was "subjected to a line-by-line review for evidence of academic malfeasance solely as a punishment for his political statements."cite news
first=Mike
last=Littwin
authorlink=
coauthors=
date=2006-05-18
title=Witch hunt apparently pays off at CU
work=Rocky Mountain News
url=http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2006/may/18/blittwinb-witch-hunt-apparently-pays-off-at-cu/
accessdate=2007-01-25] [cite web
url=http://www.swans.com/library/art12/zig094.html
author=Tom Mayer
title=The Report On Ward Churchill
work=Swans Commentary
date=2006-06-19
accessdate=2006-07-13] [cite news
url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050307/shapiro
title=Free Speech Fights
accessdate=2007-07-31
date=2005-03-07
last=Shapiro
first=Bruce
work=The Nation] Eleven professors have signed a complaint against the investigation and its findings, claiming the Committee's research violates standard scholarly practices by using biased information and suppressing information favorable to Churchill. [cite news
url=http://archive.boulderweekly.com/080907/coverstory.html
title=Unfinished Business
author=Pamela White
work=Boulder Weekly
date=2007-08-09]
Margaret LeCompte, who is chair of CU's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, views the Churchill case as a "key precedent that could lead to curtailing academic freedoms." [cite news
url=http://www.denverpost.com/ci_6015760
title=Churchill part of bigger fight
author=Christopher N. Osher
work=Denver Post
date=2007-05-30] In addition, scholars, activists and organizations including the ACLU, the National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Drucilla Cornell, and Immanuel Wallerstein, have issued statements objecting to the circumstances of Churchill's firing. [cite web
url=http://wardchurchill.net/blog/contact-us/
title=Statements in support of Ward Churchill
date=2007-10-17]

According to Thomas Brown, one of Churchill's critics in the academy, support for Churchill has dwindled. Brown states that in February 2005, 199 CU faculty members signed a newspaper article supporting Churchill, but in July 2007, only four CU faculty signed another letter protesting his imminent firing.cite journal
author=Thomas Brown
title=Ward Churchill's Twelve Excuses for Plagiarism
journal=Plagiary
year=2007
volume=2
issue=7
pages=1–12
url=http://www.plagiary.org/2007/twelve-excuses.pdf]

Artwork

Churchill's subjects are often American Indian figures and other themes associated with Native American Culture, using historical photographs as source material for works.cite web |url=http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/news/artnetnews2/artnetnews3-15-05.asp |title=Artnet News: Art Troubles for WTC "Little Eichmanns" Critic |Publisher= Artnet Magazine |date= 2005-03-15 |accessdate=2007-07-26 |format= |work= ]

There have been allegations that Churchill’s pieces infringe copyrights. For example, his 1981 serigraph "Winter Attack" was, according to Churchill and others, based on a 1972 drawing by artist Thomas E. Mails. [cite web
url=http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43054
title=Ward Churchill copied 'original' art piece
date=2005-02-26] Churchill printed 150 copies of "Winter Attack" and sold at least one of them; other copies have been made available for purchase online. Churchill maintained that at the time he produced "Winter Attack", he publicly acknowledged that it was based on Mails' work. [cite web | last =Chohan | first =Raj | authorlink = | coauthors = | title ='Original' Churchill Art Piece Creates Controversy | work = | publisher =KCNC-TV (CBS Broadcasting) | date =February 24, 2005 | url =http://cbs4denver.com/local/ward.churchill.raj.2.541927.html | format =HTML | doi = | accessdate =2008-01-16 ] The online journal Artnet mentions Churchill's artwork and the controversy surrounding its originality.

Works

Books

*cite book
editor=
author= Churchill, Ward (ed.)
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=1984
title=Marxism and Native Americans
edition=
publisher=South End Press
location=Boulder CO
id=ISBN 978-0-89608-177-2 (hardcover: ISBN 978-0-89608-178-9)
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=Elisabeth Lloyd
year=1984
title=Culture versus Economism: Essays on Marxism in the Multicultural Arena
edition=
publisher=Indigena Press
location=
id=
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=Jim Vander Wall
year=1988
title=Agents of Repression: The FBI's Secret Wars Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement
edition=
publisher=South End Press
location=Boulder CO
id=ISBN 978-0-89608-293-9 (hardcover: ISBN 978-0-89608-294-6)
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=Jim Vander Wall
year=1990
title=The COINTELPRO Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret War Against Domestic Dissent
edition=
publisher=South End Press
location=Boulder CO
id=ISBN 978-0-89608-359-2
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=1992
title=Fantasies of the Master Race: Literature, Cinema, and the Colonization of American Indians
edition=
publisher=Common Courage Press
location=
id=ISBN 978-0-87286-348-4
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=Jennie and Jim Vander Wall (eds.)
year=1992
title=Cages of Steel: The Politics of Imprisonment in America
edition=Activism, Politics, Culture, Theory, Vol. 4
publisher=Maisonneuve Press
location=
id=ISBN 978-0-944624-17-3 Re-released as cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=Jim Vander Wall (eds.)
year=2004
title=Politics of Imprisonment in the United States
edition=
publisher=AK Press
location=
id=ISBN 978-1-904859-12-3
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=1993
title=Struggle for the Land: Indigenous Resistance to Genocide, Ecocide and Expropriation in Contemporary North America
edition=
publisher=Common Courage Press
location=
id=ISBN 978-1-56751-000-3 (hardcover: ISBN 978-1-56751-001-0) Released in a revised and expanded edition as cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=2002
title=Struggle for the Land: Native North American Resistance to Genocide, Ecocide and Colonization
edition=
publisher=City Lights Books
location=San Francisco CA
id=ISBN 978-0-87286-414-6 (hardcover: ISBN 978-0-87286-415-3) (One essay in this book has been accused of containing a plagiarized paragraph).
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=1994
title=Indians Are Us?: Culture and Genocide in Native North America
edition=
publisher=Common Courage Press
location=
id=ISBN 978-1-56751-020-1 (hardcover: ISBN 978-1-56751-021-8)
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=1995
title=Since Predator Came: Notes from the Struggle for American Indian Liberation
edition=
publisher=Aigis Press
location=
id=ISBN 978-1-883930-03-5
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=1996
title=From a Native Son: Selected Essays on Indigenism 1985-1995
edition=
publisher=South End Press
location=Boulder CO
id=ISBN 978-0-89608-553-4
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=Sharon Venne (eds.)
year=1997
title=Islands in Captivity: The International Tribunal on the Rights of Indigenous Hawaiians
edition=
publisher=South End Press
location=Boulder CO
id=ISBN 978-0-89608-567-1 (hardcover: ISBN 978-0-89608-568-8) Re-released as cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=Sharon Venne (eds.)
year=2005
title=Islands in Captivity: The Record of the International Tribunal on the Rights of Indigenous Hawaiians
edition=
publisher=South End Press
location=Boulder CO
id=ISBN 978-0-89608-738-5)
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=Mike Ryan (introduction by Ed Mead)
year=1998
title=
edition=
publisher=Arbeiter Ring
location=
id=ISBN 978-1-894037-07-5
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=1998
title=A Little Matter Of Genocide: Holocaust And Denial In The Americas 1492 To The Present
edition=
publisher=City Lights Books
location=San Francisco CA
id=ISBN 978-0-87286-323-1 (hardcover: ISBN 978-0-87286-343-9)
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=2000
title=Draconian Measures: The History of FBI Political Repression
edition=
publisher=Common Courage Press
location=
id=ISBN 978-1-56751-058-4 (hardcover: ISBN 978-1-56751-059-1)
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=2002
title=Acts Of Rebellion: The Ward Churchill Reader
edition=
publisher=Routledge
location=
id=ISBN 978-0-415-93156-4 (library binding: ISBN 978-0-415-93155-7)
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=2002
title=Perversions of Justice: Indigenous Peoples and Angloamerican Law
edition=
publisher=City Lights Books
location=San Francisco CA
id=ISBN 978-0-87286-411-5 (hardcover: ISBN 978-0-87286-416-0)
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=2003
title=On the Justice of Roosting Chickens: Reflections on the Consequences of U.S. Imperial Arrogance and Criminality
edition=
publisher=AK Press
location=
id=ISBN 978-1-902593-79-1
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=2004
title=Kill the Indian, Save the Man: The Genocidal Impact of American Indian Residential Schools
edition=
publisher=City Lights Books
location=San Francisco CA
id=ISBN 978-0-87286-434-4
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=2004
title=Speaking Truth in the Teeth of Power: Lectures on Globalization, Colonialism, and Native North America
edition=
publisher=AK Press
location=
id=ISBN 978-1-904859-04-8
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=2005
title=To Disrupt, Discredit And Destroy: The FBI's Secret War Against The Black Panther Party
edition=
publisher=Routledge
location=
id=ISBN 978-0-415-92958-5 (hardcover: ISBN 978-0-415-92957-8)
*cite book
editor=
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=Natsu Saito (eds.)
year=2006 (forthcoming)
title=Confronting The Crime Of Silence: Evidence Of U.S. War Crimes In Indochina
edition=
publisher=AK Press
location=
id=ISBN 978-1-904859-21-5

Articles

*cite journal
first=Ward
last=Churchill
year=1992
month=July-Sept.
title=I Am Indigenist: Notes on the Ideology of the Fourth World
journal=Z Papers
volume=1
issue=3
pages=
url=http://www.zmag.org/Chiapas1/wardindig.htm
*cite paper
first=Ward
last=Churchill
year=1994
title=Let's Spread the Fun Around
url=http://www.coloradoaim.org/Wardchurchillspreadthefunaround.htm First published as "Crimes Against Humanity" in cite book
author=Margaret Anderson and Patricia Hill (eds.)
title=Race, Class and Gender: An Anthology
year= 1994 |publisher=Wadsworth |location=Belmont, CA |pages=366-73 Also published under the titles "The Indian Chant and the Tomahawk Chop" and "Using Indian Names as Mascots Harms Native Americans".
*cite journal
first=Ward
last=Churchill
year=1998
month=November
title=Smoke Signals: A History of Native Americans in Cinema
journal=LiP Magazine
url=http://www.lipmagazine.org/articles/revichurchill_35.htm
*cite journal
first=Ward
last=Churchill
year=2003
month=Winter-Spring
title=An American Holocaust? The Structure of Denial
journal=Socialism and Democracy
volume=21
issue=2
pages=25–76
url=http://www.sdonline.org/33/ward_churchill.htm
doi=10.1080/08854300308428341
*cite journal
first=Ward
last=Churchill
authorlink=
coauthors=
year=2005
month=Spring
title=The Ghosts of 9-1-1: Reflections on History, Justice and Roosting Chickens
journal=Alternative Press Review
volume=9
issue=1
pages=45–56
id=
url=http://www.altpr.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=352&page=1
*cite journal
first=Ward
last=Churchill
year=2007
month=July/Aug
journal=Left Turn
volume=25
pages=25–29
title=The Fourth World: Struggles for Traditional Lands and Ways of Life
url=http://www.leftturn.org/?q=node/695

Audio and video

*"Doing Time: The Politics of Imprisonment", audio CD of a lecture, recorded at the Doing Time Conference at the University of Winnipeg, September 2000 (AK Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-902593-47-0)
*"Life In Occupied America" (AK Press, 2003, ISBN 978-1-902593-72-2)
*"In A Pig's Eye: Reflections on the Police State, Repression, and Native America" (AK Press, 2002, ISBN 978-1-902593-50-0)
*"US Off The Planet!: An Evening In Eugene With Ward Churchill And Chellis Glendinning", VHS video recorded July 17, 2001 (Cascadia Media Collective, 2002)
*"", 2003 audio CD recorded at a AK Press warehouse in Oakland (AK Press Audio)
* [http://www.zmag.org/churchillaudio.html Z Mag Ward Churchill Audio] August 10, 2003 and earlier
* [http://www.fsrn.org/news/20050209_news.html Churchill Speaks About Academic Freedom] - Free Speech Radio News February 09, 2005
* [http://www.fsrn.org/news/20050203_news.html Ward Churchill Under Fire] - Free Speech Radio News, February 03, 2005.
* [http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/02/18/157211 The Justice of Roosting Chickens: Ward Churchill Speaks] The [http://www.pacifica.org Pacifica] Network Show, [http://democracynow.org/ Democracy Now!] from February 18, 2005 features extended Audio/Video exclusive interview with Churchill.
* [http://www.makingthelinksradio.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=2 A Little Matter of Genocide: Linking U.S. Aggression Abroad to the Domestic Repression of Indigenous Peoples] ", recorded in North Battleford, Saskatchewan on March 19, 2005
*Debate with David Horowitz and Ward Churchill at George Washington University April 6, 2006
**cite web
title = Full two hour audio of debate with David Horowitz
work = rightalk.listenz.com
url = http://rightalk.listenz.com/!ARCHIVES/ChurchillVSHorowitz2-64-44M.mp3
accessdate=2006-07-02
**cite web
title = David Horowitz vs. Ward Churchill - Round 1
work = Young Americans Foundation
url = http://media.yaf.org/latest/03_21_06.cfm
accessdate=2006-07-02 Video and audio (excerpt)
**cite web
title =David Horowitz vs. Ward Churchill
work = insidehighered.com
url =http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/04/07/debate
accessdate=2006-07-02

References

External links

* [http://www.zmag.org/bios/homepage.cfm?authorID=62 Ward Churchill's ZNet Homepage] contains some of his writing.
* cite web
title = Ward Churchill: The Research Misconduct Inquiry
work = News Center
publisher = University of Colorado at Boulder
url = http://www.colorado.edu/news/reports/churchill/
accessdate=2006-07-03
* [http://www.wardchurchill.net Ward Churchill Solidarity Network] includes several of Churchill's responses to the University of Colorado's moves against him.

Persondata
NAME=Churchill, Ward
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Political activist
DATE OF BIRTH=October 2, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH=Elmwood, Illinois, USA
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=