Tribe clarifies stance on prof

Milder statement explains Churchill's 'associate' label

Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 21, 2005 at midnight

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A new statement from the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians says the tribe has found no legal records to show Ward Churchill is a federally recognized American Indian.

The statement also seeks to clarify why the University of Colorado professor was awarded an "associate membership" by the Tahlequah, Okla.-based tribe in 1994 and what that signifies.

"Because Mr. Churchill had genealogical information regarding his alleged ancestry, and his willingness to assist the UKB in promoting the tribe and its causes, he was awarded an 'Associate Membership' as an honor," the statement, dated Thursday, reads.

It was the second statement issued by the tribe concerning Churchill in a week, and it takes a milder tone than the first, which warned that any claim by Churchill that he was enrolled in the Keetoowah Band was to be deemed "fraudulent."

The most recent statement reports, "He was not eligible for tribal membership due to the fact that he does not possess a 'Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood' (CDIB) - which is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Interior/Bureau of Indian Affairs."

The latest dispatch also notes: "However, Mr. Churchill may possess eligibility status for Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, since he claims 1/16 Cherokee."

The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma is a separate entity from the United Keetoowah Band.

In a previous interview with the Los Angeles Times, Chad Smith, principal chief of the 250,000-member Cherokee Nation, said there was no evidence of Churchill having Cherokee heritage and that he was ineligible for enrollment in that tribe.

Churchill's Indian identity is being examined by a CU standing committee on research misconduct to determine whether he misrepresented himself to gain employment-related benefits or to add credibility or gain acceptance for his scholarship.

Suzan Shown Harjo, president of the Morningstar Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based Indian rights organization, and a woman who has sparred for years with Churchill over his claimed Indian ancestry, said the latest statement from the United Keetoowah Band changes nothing.

"It sounds to me like his lawyer called their lawyer and they issued something saying the same thing they'd said before and saying to Churchill, 'If you want to verify, if you want to pursue it, go to the Cherokee Nation, or go the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but don't come to us, because as far as we're concerned, you're not eligible,' " Harjo said.

David Lane, Churchill's attorney, said he knew nothing about the United Keetoowah Band's new statement until he saw it in print.

He interprets it as meaning that "Ward's position, that he is in fact part Native American, is correct."

"My further statement is that there is absolutely no legal significance to whether Ward Churchill is or is not Native American," Lane said. "He is Ward Churchill, and this entire inquiry by the press and public has reached proportions of epic ridiculousness.

"As far as the CU inquiry into his race is concerned, it is an unconstitutional inquiry. Ward Churchill does not need or require anyone's 'certification' or

'blessing' to be whatever he knows he is."

Churchill could not be reached for comment.

The United Keetoowah Band issued "associate" tribal memberships only from 1991 to 1994, ceasing the practice shortly after Churchill was given his.

"Receiving an Associate Membership is akin to receiving an honorary doctorate and then claiming to have received eight years worth of university education," their latest bulletin states.

brennanc@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2742

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