'Ward LeRoy Churchill' (born
October 2,
1947) is an
American writer and
political activist.
His work primarily concerns the
United States and its historical treatment of political dissenters and of
American Indians. In these subject areas, he has made numerous controversial and provocative claims, often in a confrontational style.
In January 2005, while a professor of
ethnic studies at the
University of Colorado at Boulder, Churchill was widely discussed and criticized in the
mass media for a 2001 essay in which he disputed the innocence of people killed in the
World Trade Center attacks.
In March 2005, the University began to investigate media allegations that Churchill had engaged in research misconduct. The university reported in June 2006 that Churchill had engaged in serious research misconduct. The University fired Churchill on
July 24,
2007.
Background
Early life
Churchill was born in
Elmwood, Illinois. He attended local schools, including Elmwood High School.
[1]
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."
[2]
In a 1987 profile on Churchill, the ''
Denver Post'' stated 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.
[3]
The Denver Post reported in 2005 that Churchill's military records show that he was trained as a projectionist and light truck driver, and gave no indication that he went to paratrooper school or trained for LRRP.
The Post also reported that Churchill was politically radicalized as a result of his experiences in Vietnam, and that he had worked with the
Students for a Democratic Society and
Weather Underground in the late 1960s, teaching members of the Weather Underground how to make bombs and fire weapons.
Education and academic career
Following his military service, Churchill received his
B.A. and
M.A. in
Communication 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.
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.
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 was promoted to full professor in 1997.
He became chairman of the Ethnic Studies department in 2002.
[4][5][6]
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.
[7]
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.
[8]
Ethnic background
Main articles: Ward Churchill misconduct issues
Churchill claims ancestry from three Indian tribes,
Creek,
Cherokee and
Métis, and had stated that he was an enrolled member of the
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians.
[9][10][11] However, the
United Keetoowah Band responded to Churchill's claim by clarifying that he was never an enrolled member, but was enrolled as an honorary associate member in 1994, as were
Bill Clinton and other honorees. Keetoowah enrollment committee member Ernestine Berry stated that, " [Churchill] could not prove he was an Indian at all."
[12][13][14]
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.
[15] 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."
[16]
In 1994, then CU-Boulder Chancellor James Corbridge rejected 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."
[17]
The University of Colorado's Research Misconduct Committee conducted a preliminary investigation into whether Churchill misrepresented his ethnicity in order to "make his scholarship more widely accepted"; they concluded that such issues are not ones of "research misconduct".
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 he claims 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.
[18]
The University of Colorado investigation 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, defacto
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.
[19]
''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.
''
From a Native Son: Selected Essays on Indigenism, 1985-1995'' (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 ''
On the Justice of Roosting Chickens: Reflections on the Consequences of U.S. Imperial Arrogance and Criminality'' (2003) by
AK Press. The book features two other chapters, one listing US military interventions, another listing 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 ''
Kill the Indian, Save the Man: The Genocidal Impact of American Indian Residential Schools'' (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.
Activism
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 Vernon and
Clyde Bellecourt, claiming that all AIM chapters are autonomous. The
schism continues, with the national AIM leadership claiming that the local AIM leaders, such as Churchill, are tools of the government which uses them 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."
[20]
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.
[21][22] As early as 2004, Churchill has claimed that the
Ninth Amendment rights of native Americans not to be subjected to such displays overrides the
First Amendment of non-native Americans and that such parades are unconstitutional. Legal scholars have dismissed this argument as carrying no practical weight in higher U.S. courts.
[23][24]
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 AIM treaties.
Churchill is supported by the
Ward Churchill Solidarity Network and he maintains a
ZNet Homepage.
9/11 essay controversy
Main articles: Ward Churchill 9/11 essay controversy
Churchill wrote an essay in September 2001 entitled "
On the Justice of Roosting Chickens" about the
September 11, 2001 attacks, in which he argued that
U.S. foreign policies provoked the attacks. In 2005, this essay was widely publicized when
Hamilton College invited him to give a speech. Churchill questioned the innocence of some of the 9/11 victims and compared their role in what he describes as ongoing genocidal American imperialism to the role played by
Adolf Eichmann in organizing the Holocaust. This led to both condemnations of Churchill and counter-accusations of
McCarthyism from Churchill and his 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
Main articles: Ward Churchill misconduct issues
The controversy attracted increased attention to Churchill's research, which had been criticized by Professors John LaVelle,
Guenter Lewy
and Thomas Brown, among others.
[25][1][1][1]
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.
[29]
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.
[30]
The Standing Committee on Research Misconduct, after examining the findings of the Investigative Committee, disagreed on what sanctions should be imposed on Churchill. 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.
[31]
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.
Churchill has contested the finding of misconduct.
[32][33][34][35]
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."
[36][37][38]
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's.
[39]. CU Professor Margaret LeCompte, for example, views the Churchill case as a "key precedent that could lead to curtailing academic freedoms."
[40]
On
July 24,
2007, he was fired from his position for
academic misconduct including
plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification.
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."
On the following day, Churchill filed a lawsuit in state court claiming that the firing was retribution for expressing politically unpopular views.
The University filed for dismissal on September 4, 2007.
[44]
Artwork
Churchill has exhibited his own
lithographs, woodcuts and drawings in galleries of the
American Southwest and elsewhere. His subjects are often
American Indian figures and other themes associated with
Native American Culture, using historical photographs as source material for works.
[45]
There have been allegations that a few of Churchill’s pieces infringe on other's copyrights. For example, it has been pointed out that there is a strong similarity between his serigraph "Winter Attack," which he made in 1981, and a 1972 drawing by artist
Thomas E. Mails. 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's, however no credit was ever given to the original artist.
[46]
The online journal
Artnet mentions Churchill's artwork and the controversy surrounding its originality.
Works
Books
★
Marxism and Native Americans, Churchill, Ward (ed.), , , South End Press, 1984, ISBN 978-0-89608-177-2 (hardcover: ISBN 978-0-89608-178-9)
★
Culture versus Economism: Essays on Marxism in the Multicultural Arena, , Ward, Churchill, Indigena Press, 1984,
★
Agents of Repression: The FBI's Secret Wars Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement, , Ward, Churchill, South End Press, 1988, ISBN 978-0-89608-293-9 (hardcover: ISBN 978-0-89608-294-6)
★
The COINTELPRO Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret War Against Domestic Dissent, , Ward, Churchill, South End Press, 1990, ISBN 978-0-89608-359-2
★
Fantasies of the Master Race: Literature, Cinema, and the Colonization of American Indians, , Ward, Churchill, Common Courage Press, 1992, ISBN 978-0-87286-348-4
★
Cages of Steel: The Politics of Imprisonment in America, , Ward, Churchill, Maisonneuve Press, 1992, ISBN 978-0-944624-17-3 Re-released as
Politics of Imprisonment in the United States, , Ward, Churchill, AK Press, 2004, ISBN 978-1-904859-12-3
★
Struggle for the Land: Indigenous Resistance to Genocide, Ecocide and Expropriation in Contemporary North America, , Ward, Churchill, Common Courage Press, 1993, ISBN 978-1-56751-000-3 (hardcover: ISBN 978-1-56751-001-0) Released in a revised and expanded edition as
Struggle for the Land: Native North American Resistance to Genocide, Ecocide and Colonization, , Ward, Churchill, City Lights Books, 2002, 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).
★
Indians Are Us?: Culture and Genocide in Native North America, , Ward, Churchill, Common Courage Press, 1994, ISBN 978-1-56751-020-1 (hardcover: ISBN 978-1-56751-021-8)
★
Since Predator Came: Notes from the Struggle for American Indian Liberation, , Ward, Churchill, Aigis Press, 1995, ISBN 978-1-883930-03-5
★
From a Native Son: Selected Essays on Indigenism 1985-1995, , Ward, Churchill, South End Press, 1996, ISBN 978-0-89608-553-4
★
Islands in Captivity: The International Tribunal on the Rights of Indigenous Hawaiians, , Ward, Churchill, South End Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-89608-567-1 (hardcover: ISBN 978-0-89608-568-8) Re-released as
Islands in Captivity: The Record of the International Tribunal on the Rights of Indigenous Hawaiians, , Ward, Churchill, South End Press, 2005, ISBN 978-0-89608-738-5)
★
'', 2003 audio CD recorded at a AK Press warehouse in Oakland (AK Press Audio)
★ Z Mag Ward Churchill Audio August 10, 2003 and earlier
★ Churchill Speaks About Academic Freedom - Free Speech Radio News February 09, 2005
★ Ward Churchill Under Fire - Free Speech Radio News, February 03, 2005.
★ The Justice of Roosting Chickens: Ward Churchill Speaks The Pacifica Network Show, Democracy Now! from February 18, 2005 features extended Audio/Video exclusive interview with Churchill.
★ 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
★
★ Full two hour audio of debate with David Horowitz
★
★ David Horowitz vs. Ward Churchill - Round 1 Video and audio (excerpt)
★
★ David Horowitz vs. Ward Churchill
External links
★ Ward Churchill: The Research Misconduct Inquiry
References
1.
2. Questions stoke Ward Churchill's firebrand past
3. Denver Post, January 18, 1987. photostat of ''Denver Post'' article (the text)
4. Churchill tenure questioned: Prof was granted job security without usual review process
5. Churchill's file details rise at CU: Professor rewarded after Sept. 11, 2001, essay written
6. Honorary Degrees, 1990-1999
7. Ward Churchill Resigns Administrative Post, University of Colorado at Boulder,
Jan. 31, 2005
8. CU regents fire Ward Churchill
9. University of Colorado Ethnic Studies page.
10. An American Holocaust? The Structure of Denial, Ward Churchill, , , Socialism and Democracy, 2002
11. North Carolina State Univ., Office of University Relations, posting of Ward Churchill speech. March 28, 2004
12. CU prof affirms Indian heritage: Tribe says he's not full member
13. Tribe snubs prof: Cherokee band says Churchill's claim of membership a fraud
14. Tribe clarifies stance on prof: Milder statement explains Churchill's 'associate' label
15. Special report: The Churchill files; The charge: Misrepresentation Kevin Flynn
16. Appendix C - Best Practices
17. Red-flagged career: Churchill's tenure at CU marked by warnings of trouble
18. Submission of Professor Ward Churchill to the Board of Regents of the University of Colorado Ward Churchill
19. L.A. Kauffman (December 10, 1999). "Who were those masked anarchists in Seattle?". Salon.com.
20. Bellecourt, Vernon. ''United States Government War Against the American Indian Movement'', AIM Council on Security and Intelligence, November 3, 1999
21. "Columbus parade could see less strife: Churchill, conflict having an effect" By Charlie Brennan, ''Rocky Mountain News'', September 24, 2005
22. Chronology of Events Concerning (Transform) Columbus Day
23. Ward Churchill: What Did I Really Say? And Why Did I Say It? February 21, 2005 and video of Question#4
24. Colorado and other legal scholars on 9th vs. 1st issue. February 4, 2005
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32. A Travesty of an "Investigation" Ward Churchill
33. Summary of Fallacies in the University of Colorado Investigative Committee Report of May 9, 2006
34. Research Misconduct Complaint against Professor Michael Radelet and Investigative Committee
35. Research Misconduct Complaint against Professor Marjorie McIntosh and Investigative Committee
36. Witch hunt apparently pays off at CU, , Mike, Littwin, Rocky Mountain News, 2006
37. The Report On Ward Churchill Tom Mayer
38. Free Speech Fights
39. Unfinished Business Pamela White
40. Churchill part of bigger fight Christopher N. Osher
41. 'I'm going nowhere' says Churchill after firing
42. Colorado Prof Fired After 9-11 Remarks
43. First amended complaint & jury demand
44. CU seeks dismissal of Churchill lawsuit Arthur Kane
45. Artnet News: Art Troubles for WTC "Little Eichmanns" Critic
46. 'Original' Churchill Art Piece Creates Controversy
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