Posted on 06/05/2005 9:46:41 PM PDT by CHARLITE
University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill fabricated historical facts, published the work of others as his own and repeatedly made false claims about two federal Indian laws, a Rocky Mountain News investigation has found.
The two-month News investigation, carried out at the same time Churchill and his work are being carefully examined by the university, also unearthed fresh genealogical information that casts new doubts on the professor's long-held assertion that he is of American Indian ancestry.
The findings come as Churchill is, essentially, on trial — in the court of public opinion and in the halls of academia. Prickly debates swirl around him on the standards of academic integrity, the limits of free speech and the responsibilities of scholarly writers.
A faculty committee is working behind closed doors, conducting a detailed and time-consuming examination of four allegations — fabrication, plagiarism, mischaracterization of federal Indian laws and misrepresentation of his ancestry.
The stakes are high.
For Churchill, it's a process that ultimately could cost him his job. For Colorado's flagship university, it's a process that could bear heavily on its integrity and reputation.
Churchill has maintained a confident public posture — portraying himself as a renegade who isn't afraid to challenge commonly held beliefs, defiantly scoffing at the allegations he faces, characterizing his scholarly standards as typical and casting himself as the victim of a witch hunt.
"This may be all new and unique to you," he told the News, "and in my personal experience it is to me, too. (But) it's happened about 20 times over the last decade to people who challenge orthodoxy. And they play the script out pretty much the same. And you all are just in lock step."
Churchill has framed the CU investigation not as a look at the rigor and accuracy of his scholarship, but as a right-wing crusade and an attack on academic freedom and free speech.
While it is likely to be months before the university's faculty committee finishes its probe of Churchill's scholarship and ancestry, the News found serious problems in all four of the major areas the panel is examining:
• He accused the U.S. Army of deliberately spreading smallpox among the Mandan Indians of the Upper Missouri River Valley in 1837 — but there's no basis for the assertion in the sources he cited. In fact, in some instances the books he cited — and their authors — directly contradict his assertions.
• He published an essay in 1992 that largely copies the work of a Canadian professor. But the piece is credited to his own research organization, the Institute for Natural Progress. Churchill published that essay — with some minor changes and subtle altering of words — even though the writer, Fay G. Cohen, had withdrawn permission for him to use it.
He also published portions of an essay in a 1993 book that closely resemble a piece that appeared the year before under the byline of Rebecca L. Robbins. However, the News could not determine what occurred. Churchill said he initially wrote the piece and allowed Robbins to publish it under her name. Robbins did not return numerous messages left by the News.
The News also could not determine who actually wrote an essay published under the name of Churchill's former wife, Marie Anne Jaimes, who also goes by Annette Jaimes. A paragraph from that essay also was published in a Churchill essay.
• He mischaracterized an important federal Indian law in repeated writings in the past two decades, saying that the General Allotment Act of 1887 established a "blood quantum" standard that allowed tribes to admit members only if they had at least "half" native blood. Churchill has accused the government of imposing what he called "a formal eugenics code" as part of a thinly veiled effort to define Indians out of existence. The News found that the law — while a legislative low point in Indian history that resulted in many tribes losing their lands — does not contain any requirements for Indian bloodlines.
In addition, the News found, Churchill similarly mischaracterized a more recent piece of legislation, the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990.
• He has repeatedly claimed to have American Indian ancestry, but an extensive examination of genealogical records that traced branches of both sides of Churchill's family to pre-Revolutionary War times turned up no solid evidence of a single Indian ancestor. In addition, the News found that DNA tests taken last year by two brothers prove that the father of Joshua Tyner — Joshua Tyner is the ancestor Churchill most often has cited for his Indian lineage — was not Indian.
During its investigation, the News also unearthed other evidence of possible research misconduct by Churchill that has not been taken to the faculty committee.
In one instance, the News discovered an obscure 1972 pamphlet written by activists in Canada that Churchill later began claiming as his own work.
And in at least three other cases, the News revealed Friday, he published works by others without their permission. Churchill credited authors Robert T. Coulter, Rudolph C. Ryser and Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, but didn't notify them that he was publishing their articles.
Catalyst of controversy
Although he had been an ethnic studies professor at CU for more than a decade, it wasn't until January that Churchill's name — already well-known in some circles — exploded onto the general public's consciousness.
That's when a college newspaper reporter in upstate New York rediscovered an essay that Churchill wrote on Sept. 11, 2001, a now-infamous piece in which he referred to those who died in the terrorist attacks as "little Eichmanns" — a reference to a ranking Nazi who helped carry out the Holocaust.
Within days, talk-radio and cable-television hosts made Churchill a daily staple. Gov. Bill Owens and other political leaders called for his job, and the university's board of regents demanded a careful examination of his work.
Churchill stepped down from his position as head of the ethnic studies department but kept his faculty position.
The series
• Today: Overview of the findings
• Monday: Fabrication charge
• Tuesday: Plagiarism charge
• Wednesday: Mischaracterization charge
• Thursday: Misrepresentation charge
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3830149,00.html
Good update on this.
The question is how many frauds like him are highly placed in Academia.
Thank you for the update.
I am a member of a federally-recognized American Indian Tribe and--unlike Churchill--can prove my ancestory, and have been on the per capita payment lists of another tribe--again, having to prove my quantum ancestory be place on the latter.
I am truly angry at Churchill for what he is trying to pull.
The guy deserves whatever is coming his way. And I hope it's a lot.
It will be difficult for the university not to put him out, given the pervasive pattern of intellectual dishonesty that this man has displayed for so many years. He "mischaracterized" his military service as well, didn't he?
No mention in the article of him plagarizing the artwork as was illustrated on a FR thread several months ago. Someone should contact these authors to make sure they are aware of this additional offense.
"ward" ping
I agree with you entirely. He is a fraud, and apparently has been running quite a misrepresentation racket since before he ever became a college professor.
All native Americans should be furious with this man. I'm wondering why Russell Means is sticking by such an embarrassing buffoon.
Thank you so much for speaking out here, and for sharing your opinions with us.
Char
Excellent observation, tang-soo. You are 100% right! I didn't realize it until you mentioned it, but he was making money with copies of an authentic American Indian's work. Possibly, if you use the link and go to the page, you can find the contact information. These investigative reporters at Rocky Mountain News absolutely should be reminded that they need to include that plagiarism of artwork, in their series this week.
Thanks so much for your excellent reply.
Char
How will a student majoring in "Ethnic Studies" make a living? Answer: "You want fries with that?"
As my son, a recent university of Alaska graduate says of students majoring in such subjects "They are majoring in starvation"
Kind of a no-win situation. If he gets the boot at C.U. he'll be in hot demand on the lefty/academia speaking circuit and probably make a bundle.
We've been on this for ages:
Terror Teacher, Take Two- the vile Ward Churchill Saga
various FR links & stories | 02-02-05 | the heavy equipment guy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1334073/posts
Great that you have been able to identify your ancestry so clearly. We have been trying to identify my wives and my children's Indian ancestry (South American) and have been running into dead ends. We don't want to assume anything due to region. It can get pretty frustrating sometimes, though.
They sure are. If Churchill goes down, thousands and thousands of liberals in academia are open to the same scrutiny. Resume padding, plagiarism, and dishonesty are rampant at college campuses. They will circle the wagons and fight this with everything they have.
"For Churchill, it's a process that ultimately could cost him his job. For Colorado's flagship university, it's a process that could bear heavily on its integrity and reputation."
Not to mention it's enrollment which, unless you actually believe anything else they talk about, is the only thing that concerns them. It is a business afterall.
With any luck, this will destroy the humanities and decimate the social sciences.
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