Ward Churchill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ward Churchill
|
|
|---|---|
Churchill speaking at the Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair in May 2005.
|
|
| Born |
Ward LeRoy Churchill
October 2, 1947 Urbana, Illinois, United States
|
| Alma mater | Sangamon State University (BA, MA) |
| Occupation | Author |
Ward LeRoy Churchill (born October 2, 1947) is an American writer and activist. He used to be a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1990 to 2007. His work often looks at how the United States government has treated people who disagree with it, especially Native Americans. He shares his strong opinions in a very direct way. Churchill has said he has Native American family, but research has not found proof of this, and he is not a member of a tribe.
In 2005, an essay Churchill wrote in 2001 called "On the Justice of Roosting Chickens" became very well-known. In this essay, he said that the September 11 attacks happened because of past U.S. actions around the world. He used a strong phrase, "little Eichmanns", to describe some of the people working in the World Trade Center. This comparison caused a lot of debate.
In March 2005, the University of Colorado started looking into claims that Churchill had not done his research correctly. He was fired on July 24, 2007. Churchill then sued the university, saying he was fired unfairly. In April 2009, a jury in Denver agreed that he was wrongly fired and awarded him a small amount of money. However, a judge later said the university was protected from this ruling. Churchill tried to appeal this decision, but he was not successful.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Churchill was born in Urbana, Illinois. His parents separated when he was very young, and he grew up in Elmwood. He went to local schools there.
In 1966, he was chosen to join the United States Army. On his resume in 1980, he wrote that he worked as a public information specialist. He said he wrote and edited the battalion newsletter and news releases. In 1987, he also claimed to have gone to paratrooper school and served in Vietnam. However, in 2005, a newspaper reported that his military records showed he was trained as a film projectionist and truck driver, not a paratrooper.
Churchill earned his first degree in technological communications in 1974. He then got his master's degree in communications theory in 1975. Both degrees were from Sangamon State University, which is now the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Career at University of Colorado
In 1978, Churchill started working at the University of Colorado Boulder. He was an officer who helped make sure everyone had equal opportunities. He also gave talks about Native Americans in the United States in the ethnic studies program. In 1990, the university hired him as a professor, even though he did not have the usual doctorate degree. The next year, he was given a permanent teaching position, called tenure, without the normal waiting period.
In 1994, the university's leader, James Corbridge, decided not to act on claims that Churchill was falsely saying he was Native American. Corbridge said it was the university's rule that a person's background was "self-proving."
In 1996, Churchill moved to the new Ethnic Studies Department at the University of Colorado. In 1997, he became a full professor. He was chosen to lead the department in June 2002. University records show that Churchill received his permanent position as a "special opportunity."
In January 2005, during the debate about his 9/11 essay, Churchill stepped down as the head of the ethnic studies department. His term as chair was already set to end in June of that year.
In 2005, the university looked into whether Churchill had lied about his background to make his writings seem more believable. The university committee decided this claim was not part of "research misconduct." The university has stated that it does not hire people based on their background.
On July 24, 2007, Churchill was fired because of problems with his academic work.
Investigation into His Research
Some experts, like legal scholar John LaVelle and historian Guenter Lewy, had serious questions about the quality of Churchill's research. Other critics also said he had not correctly used their work.
In 2005, leaders at the University of Colorado Boulder ordered an investigation. They looked into seven claims that Churchill had not done his research properly. These claims included:
- Three claims of plagiarism (using someone else's work without giving them credit).
- Claims that he made up or changed facts about the history of the Dawes Act and the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990.
- Claims that he falsely said smallpox was intentionally spread to Native Americans by John Smith in 1614 and by the U.S. Army in 1837.
On May 16, 2006, the university shared its findings. The committee decided that Churchill had done "serious research misconduct." This included changing facts, making things up, and plagiarism. The committee was not fully in agreement on what punishment he should receive. After more discussions, on July 24, 2007, the university leaders voted to confirm all seven findings of research misconduct. They then voted to fire Churchill.
The next day, Churchill sued the university. He said he was fired because of his unpopular political views. On April 1, 2009, a jury decided that Churchill had been wrongly fired. They awarded him a small amount of money. However, on July 7, 2009, a judge ruled that the university was protected by a legal idea called "quasi-judicial immunity." This meant the university did not have to pay Churchill any money. Churchill tried to appeal this decision, but higher courts, including the United States Supreme Court, did not take his case.
A report in 2011 by a group called the Colorado Committee to Protect Faculty Rights looked into academic freedom at the University of Colorado. This report stated that Churchill's firing was not justified.
His Writings
The University of Colorado investigation noted that Churchill's academic writings mostly combine and re-explain ideas from other scholars. He did not often do new research using original sources. The investigation also pointed out that he chose to publish his work mostly with smaller, alternative publishers, rather than traditional university presses or journals that review articles before publishing them. Historian Gavriel Rosenfeld said Churchill's work had "many errors showing careless or rushed scholarship."
In 1986, Churchill wrote an essay called "Pacifism as Pathology." In this essay, he criticized pacifist (peace-focused) politics in the U.S. He argued that they were not effective and sometimes unfair. This essay was later published as a book. It caused a lot of discussion among political groups and influenced some protest methods.
Churchill's book Indians Are Us? (1994) continued to explore issues faced by Native Americans in popular culture and politics. In this book, he looked at topics like:
- The movie Black Robe.
- Events at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
- The legal case of Leonard Peltier.
- Sports mascots that use Native American images.
- The Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990.
- Blood quantum laws (rules about how much Native American ancestry a person needs to be recognized).
He called these things tools of genocide. Churchill was especially critical of people who falsely claimed to practice Native American spiritual traditions. John P. LaVelle, a law professor and a member of the Santee Sioux Nation, reviewed Indians Are Us?. He said the book twisted historical facts and was unfriendly toward Native American tribes. In this book, Churchill first claimed that the United States gave "smallpox-infected blankets" to Native American tribes. He repeated this claim many times, but it has been criticized as being false.
Churchill believes that Native American populations in the Americas faced a planned effort to wipe them out by settlers. He says that the greatest series of genocides in history happened in the Americas. He discusses U.S. policies like the Indian Removal Act and the forced schooling of Native American children in American Indian boarding schools. He has compared the idea of manifest destiny (the belief that the U.S. was meant to expand across North America) to the ideas used by Nazi Germany.
Blood Quantum Laws
Churchill argues that the United States created blood quantum laws to gain wealth and political power. For many years, he has written that these laws are meant to lead to genocide. He says, "Set the blood quantum at one-quarter... and eventually Indians will be defined out of existence." This means that if the rules for being recognized as Native American are too strict, eventually fewer and fewer people will meet the requirements.
Churchill's claims about blood quantum were brought up during the investigation into his research in 2005. He has been accused of using his views on the Dawes Act to criticize tribal governments that did not recognize him as a member.
September 11 Essay
In September 2001, Churchill wrote an essay called On the Justice of Roosting Chickens. In it, he argued that the September 11 attacks were a result of U.S. foreign policy. He compared the role of financial workers at the World Trade Center to the role of Adolf Eichmann in the Holocaust. This essay gained a lot of attention in 2005 after Hamilton College invited Churchill to speak. This led to strong criticism of Churchill, but also claims that his critics were trying to silence him. The university's leader said that while Churchill had the right to express his views, his essay on 9/11 had "outraged and appalled" many people.
Art
Churchill's art often features American Indian figures and themes related to Native American Culture. He uses old photographs as inspiration for his works. In the early 1990s, Churchill protested against the 1990 Indian Arts and Crafts Act. This law requires artists to be enrolled in a Native American tribe or recognized by a tribe to sell their work as being by a Native American.
Churchill's 1981 print called Winter Attack was based on a 1972 drawing by artist Thomas E. Mails. Churchill made 150 copies of Winter Attack and sold some of them. He says that when he made the print, he publicly stated it was based on Mails's work. An online art journal has mentioned Churchill's artwork and the debate about its originality.
Personal Life
In 1977, Churchill began living with Dora-Lee Larson. They were later considered to be in a common-law marriage. Larson filed for divorce in 1984.
Churchill later married Marie Annette Jaimes, who also worked at the University of Colorado. Their marriage ended in 1995.
Churchill's third wife was Leah Kelly. In 2000, Kelly, who was 25, was hit by a car and died. Churchill has written that her death deeply affected him.
As of 2005, Churchill was married to Natsu Saito, who is also a professor of ethnic studies.
Ancestry Claims
In 2003, Churchill stated, "I am myself of Muscogee and Creek descent on my father's side, Cherokee on my mother's, and am an enrolled member of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians." He has given different percentages of his claimed Native American ancestry over the years.
In May 2005, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians stated that Churchill was not a member of their tribe. They said he was only given an honorary "associate membership" in the early 1990s because he could not prove any Cherokee ancestry. The Band clarified that Churchill was not eligible for full tribal membership because he did not have a "Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB)." They added that associate membership did not give voting rights or full enrollment in the tribe.
Churchill has said that he does not like the idea of the U.S. government "vetting" (checking) his ancestry.
In June 2005, a newspaper published an article about Churchill's family history. Their research found "no evidence of a single Indian ancestor" among 142 of his direct ancestors. The newspaper reported that both of Churchill's birth parents were listed as white in the 1930 census. However, many members of Churchill's extended family have long-standing stories about Native American ancestors.
Some Native American critics, like Vernon Bellecourt and Suzan Shown Harjo, argue that without proof, Churchill's claims of Native American ancestry might be misleading.
Activism
Churchill has been a leader in protests in Denver against the Columbus Day holiday and its parade. These protests are organized by the Colorado chapter of the American Indian Movement (AIM).
Works
Books, as author and co-author
- A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and the Extermination of Native Americans (1997)
- Pacifism as Pathology: Reflections on the Role of Armed Struggle in North America (1998)
- Acts of Rebellion: The Ward Churchill Reader (2002)
- Kill the Indian, Save the Man: The Genocidal Impact of American Indian Residential Schools (2004)
- To Kill a Civilization: Indian Freedom in the Age of the State (2004)
- Speaking Truth to Power: The Art of Ward Churchill (2007)
- Wielding Words Like Weapons: Selected Essays in Honor of Ward Churchill (2017)
Articles
- "On the Justice of Roosting Chickens" (2001)
Audio and video
- Doing Time: The Politics of Imprisonment, audio CD of a lecture (2001)
- Life in Occupied America (2003)
- In a Pig's Eye: Reflections on the Police State, Repression, and Native America (2002)
- US Off the Planet!: An Evening In Eugene With Ward Churchill And Chellis Glendinning, VHS video (2002)
- Pacifism and Pathology in the American Left, audio CD (2003)
- Z Mag Ward Churchill Audio (2003)
- Churchill Speaks About Academic Freedom – Free Speech Radio News (2005)
- Ward Churchill Under Fire – Free Speech Radio News (2005)
- The Justice of Roosting Chickens: Ward Churchill Speaks – Democracy Now! (2005)
- "A Little Matter of Genocide: Linking U.S. Aggression Abroad to the Domestic Repression of Indigenous Peoples", recorded in North Battleford, Saskatchewan (2005)
- Debate with David Horowitz and Ward Churchill at George Washington University (2006)
See also
In Spanish: Ward Churchill para niños
- List of scientific misconduct incidents
- Pretendian
