Ward Churchill has reponded to the University of Colorado’s preliminary investigation into charges of research misconduct. The actual document has not been posted anywhere that we we can find yet, but an article in the Rocky Mountain News provides some interesting tidbits. For instance, responding to one of the two major charges — that Churchill fabricated American Indian status in order to gain credibility and a wider audience for his writings and speeches — Churchill’s attorney said:

“He thinks it would be equally offensive for them (the faculty committee) to certify him as an Indian, as it would be to say he’s not an Indian - but he showed conclusive proof to say he is Native American; but he is telling them it’s none of their business.”

Churchill’s ‘conclusive proof’ of Indian heritage seem to be based on 1) self-identification, and 2) a tribal membership described by members as essentially honorary.

It’s astounding that Churchill claims his falsified ethnicity is not an issue. CU wouldn’t have hired Churchill — holder of a master’s in Communications from Sangamon State University — for a tenured professorship if he didn’t have the benefit of his claimed heritage.

Don’t take our word for it. In February, the Rocky Mountain News reported that “Ward Churchill received tenure without the usual scrutiny at a time when the University of Colorado was anxious to add minority teachers, one player in his hiring said …” That source was the chairman of the department that hired him.

Churchill has traded on his ‘identity’ his entire professional career. He lied about it. It’s a little late in the game for him to declare that it’s out of bounds.

[Use the search field on our home page to find more of our Ward Churchill coverage]

[Update May 19: the tribe which he claimed membership in now says he could not prove any Indian ancestry to them. According to the AP, “the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians said it gave Ward Churchill an “honorary associate membership” because he promised to write a tribal history. “]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 17th, 2005 at 10:32 pm by A Senior Administration Official and is filed under Brilliant, but uncategorizable, Nemesises ... Nemesi?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.