New questions about Churchill

References cite secret documents available to few

Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 12, 2007 at midnight

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Did University of Colorado ethnic studies professor Ward Churchill see secret Canadian government files about child abuse in Indian boarding schools?

Highly unlikely, says a Canadian researcher who reviewed the files and cited them in his 1999 book about the history of the infamous boarding schools.

So how did references to those documents end up in Churchill's 2004 book on the schools?

"Unless he got himself into one of those black suits that Tom Cruise used in that movie and snuck himself into the Department of Indian Affairs at midnight, he's not seen the documents," said John S. Milloy, a professor at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario.

This is not the first time Churchill has been accused of stealing facts from someone else's research.

Churchill's dismissal was recommended last year after a faculty investigation revealed plagiarism and fabrication of facts in his previous works. His case is on appeal before a faculty grievance panel.

Churchill did not return phone calls or an e-mail message about this latest allegation. His attorney, David Lane, declined to comment.

Churchill's book, Kill the Indian, Save the Man, and Milloy's book, A National Crime, deal with an ugly chapter in U.S. and Canadian history.

Beginning in the late 19th century, Indian children in both countries were taken from their parents and sent to boarding schools, where they were forced to adopt European culture.

Boarding school shame

Milloy, who published first, had access to files of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada because he was a researcher with the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, a massive government probe into mistreatment of Indians.

Milloy said he was the only person, apart from Department of Indian Affairs officials, with access to the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada files. Even his graduate assistants had to stay outside the room where he reviewed the materials, he said.

Patricia Valladao, an Indian and Northern Affairs Canada spokeswoman, said some of the agency's files are public, and some parts of secret files are available, but heavily redacted.

Still, she said, leaks from closed files are possible.

Milloy was given copies of documents, but only under promises not to share them. He said all of the references in his book were to confidential documents.

Churchill, in three cases in his book, cites documents with the same file numbers as the ones Milloy quotes.

"If he's quoting INAC," Milloy said, "then he's taken it from me, plain and simple, no doubt."

The footnotes in both books are not the only similarities between Milloy's work and Churchill's work.

Nine of the 31 photographs in Churchill's book are the same as ones in Milloy's work, including six from Anglican Church of Canada archives.

Churchill credits the photos to the church, but a church archivist, Nancy Hurn, said if he had permission to use the pictures, it's not in her records.

Hurn said the photos, however, have been widely reproduced and are in the public domain.

"It's a concern, because we are pretty open with the use of our photographs, but we request people make the request directly from us before they reproduce them," Hurn said.

Churchill credits the Cumberland County (Pa.) Historical Society for five other pictures.

"We were surprised to see those pictures," said Barbara Landis, who studies the Carlisle Indian School, which is in the area served by Cumberland.

A University of Minnesota researcher said she also was surprised last year to find a photograph she had taken in Churchill's book. It was credited to her, but the information in the caption was incorrect, Brenda Child said.

Elaine Katzenberger, Churchill's editor at City Lights Books in San Francisco, said no one has complained to her about misuse of photos. She declined to comment on the references to confidential documents.

"I stand behind this book as it is until someone proves to me that Ward stole something," Katzenberger said.

Churchill - or anyone else - can quote the confidential Indian and Northern Affairs Canada documents without violating any academic code simply by crediting his book, Milloy said.

"As long as he says where he gets it from, that's fine. If he's pretending he's seen the document, simply by quoting from it and then footnoting it, that's a bit close to the wind," Milloy said.

Churchill's book is heavy on footnotes. The 82 pages of text have 546 footnotes, including 78 that cite Milloy. However, five references to INAC documents do not credit Milloy.

"I'm not going to spend any time on it," Milloy said.

"I talked to my publisher and he said, 'That's interesting. What are we supposed to do and who cares?' "

The Churchill files: an update

University of Colorado ethnic studies professor Ward Churchill continues to collect his $96,000 annual salary while his dismissal winds through an appeals process.

• Dismissal: Rrecommended last June after a faculty investigation confirmed academic misconduct, including plagiarism and fabricating facts.

• Appeal: Filed by Churchill with the Faculty Council's Privilege and Tenure Committee.

• Lawsuit: Churchill filed suit, claiming CU was responsible for some of his legal fees. A court turned him down.

• Report to president: The Privilege and Tenure Committee is expected to issue a report to CU President Hank Brown. If Brown disagrees, he will have 15 days to ask the committee to alter its decision, followed by another 15 days for the committee to respond. Meanwhile, Churchill's attorney and the attorney who represented CU before the committee will file briefs with Brown. Brown will send his decision to the Board of Regents.

• Reject or recommend: If Brown rejects dismissal, the decision is final. If Brown recommends dismissal, Churchill can file a written appeal with Brown, after which the regents will hold a private hearing. The regents must vote in a public meeting.

• The regents: The issue won't come up at the regents' March meeting, but might emerge by April. Churchill's attorney, David Lane, said he will go to court if the regents vote for dismissal.

morsonb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5209

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