Oklahoma tribe, Churchill dispute claims about his Indian ancestry

DENVER (AP) -- More controversy surrounds University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill.<br/><br/>An Oklahoma Indian tribe says the embattled professor was only given an honorary associate membership

Thursday, May 19th 2005, 6:09 am

By: News On 6

DENVER (AP) -- More controversy surrounds University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill.

An Oklahoma Indian tribe says the embattled professor was only given an honorary associate membership because he couldn't prove any Cherokee ancestry -- a claim Churchill says is false.

In a statement on its Web site, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians says it granted the honorary membership because Churchill promised to write a tribal history -- which he failed to do.

In an email to The Associated Press, Churchill said the tribe's membership committee twice confirmed he has Cherokee ancestors before he was made an associate member. He says he was given a tribal roll number and that the distinction isn't honorary.

Churchill' claim of Indian heritage is under investigation along with allegations he plagiarized others' work.

Churchill wrote an essay comparing some of the World Trade Center victims to Adolf Eichmann, one of the Nazis who orchestrated the Holocaust.

CU leaders said he couldn't be fired over the statements because of First Amendment protections, but they ordered a faculty panel to review the allegations of plagiarism and that he falsely claimed to be an Indian to give his research more credibility.