Just this morning I started a blog entry with “In the ongoing Ward Churchill saga…”, and here I go again! More news about the beloved professor from U. Colorado.
To get up to speed on this story of ever-growing fascination: (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 (earlier today)
The United Keetoowah Band Cherokee says University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill is not a member of their tribe.
“He’s not in the database at all and is not a member of the Keetoowah,” said Georgia Mauldin, the tribal clerk in Tahlequah, Okla.
In his books and articles, Churchill has described himself as a member of the Keetoowah Cherokee tribe in Oklahoma. In past interviews, he’s claimed to be one-sixteenth Cherokee.
But the Keetoowah say that’s not true.
Attempts to contact Churchill for comment Wednesday on his background were unsuccessful. But Churchill’s claim to American Indian roots has been challenged repeatedly by people in that community.
One Montana woman has an especially personal tale of confronting Churchill on his claim to American Indian heritage. She was taking one of Churchill’s classes at CU in 1994 when she wrote an article for the Colorado Daily newspaper, saying there was no evidence he had any American Indian background.
“For so long it was whispered on campus that he really isn’t an Indian,” said Jodi Rave, who studied journalism at CU. “Here you had the director of the Indian studies program and he’s not an Indian.”
[…]
In one of her journalism classes at CU, Rave was assigned to write a profile, and she decided to profile Churchill.“To have somebody of that stature masquerading as an Indian was intriguing to me,” Rave said. “On two separate days I asked him questions. I was up-front in asking him questions (about his background).”
[…]
When her article came out, Rave says Churchill was furious and insisted that he did have American Indian lineage.“He called me and said, ‘Jodi Rave, this is your professor and I need to talk to you right away.’ He was surprised I had a story published that called into question his identity.”
He also defended his American Indian background and said her story was unfair.
Rave said she was enrolled in one of Churchill’s classes when the article came out, and her grade went from an A to a C-minus.
She says Churchill can write what he wants, but his claim of American Indian heritage is bogus.
“There’s no denying what he writes resonates with a lot of people, but when he says this is something he’s experienced as a Native American man, that’s fraudulent,” Rave said. […]
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