 IS NOT a member of the Keetoowah Band and was only given an honorary ' associate membership ' in the early 1990s because he could not prove any Cherokee ancestry . " The tribe said that all of Churchill 's " past , present and future claims or assertions of Keetoowah ' enrollment , ' written or spoken , including but not limited to ; biographies , curriculum vitae , lectures , applications for employment , or any other reference not listed herein , are deemed fraudulent by the United Keetoowah Band . "   Two days later , the United Keetoowah Band replaced its statement and acknowledged Churchill 's " alleged ancestry " of being Cherokee :   " 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 tribe 's website now said . " However , Mr. Churchill may possess eligibility status for Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma , since he claims 1 / 16 Cherokee . "   The tribe 's spokesperson , Lisa Stopp , stated the tribe enrolls only members with certified one @-@ quarter American Indian blood . The website statement further clarified that Churchill " was not eligible for tribal membership due to the fact that he does not possess a ' Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood ( CDIB ) " , and the associate membership did not entitle an individual to voting rights or enrollment in the tribe .   Churchill has never asked for CDIB certification , and finds the idea of being " vetted " by the US government offensive .   In June 1994 , the United Keetoowah Band had voted to stop awarding associate memberships . Such honorary associate membership recognizes an individual 's assistance to the tribe , but it has nothing to do with Indian ancestry , and it does not entitle an individual to vote in the tribe as a member . The Keetoowah Band states that Churchill still holds the associate membership and it has not been rescinded . In a separate interview , Ernestine Berry , formerly on the tribe 's enrollment committee and four years on its council , said that Churchill had never fulfilled a promise to help the tribe .   In June 2005 , the Rocky Mountain News published an article about Churchill 's genealogy and family history . It " turned up no evidence of a single Indian ancestor " among 142 direct ancestors [ of Churchill 's ] identified from records . The News reported that both Churchill 's birth parents were listed as white on the 1930 census , as were all but two of his great @-@ great @-@ grandparents listed on previous census and other official documents . The News found that some of Churchill 's accounts of where his ancestors had lived did not agree with documented records . Numerous members of Churchill 's extended family have longstanding family legends of Indian ancestry among ancestors ; but , none was confirmed among the 142 direct forebears of Churchill who were identified .   Documents in Churchill 's university personnel file show that he was granted tenure in a " special opportunity position . " In 1994 , then CU @-@ Boulder Chancellor James Corbridge refused to take action on allegations that Churchill was fraudulently claiming to be an Indian , saying " it has always been university policy that a person 's race or ethnicity is self @-@ proving . "   Some of Churchill 's Native American critics , such as Vernon Bellecourt ( White Earth Ojibwe ) and Suzan Shown Harjo ( Southern Cheyenne @-@ Muscogee Creek ) , argue that his assertion of Native American ancestry without the ability to prove it might constitute misrepresentation and grounds for termination . The University has said that it does not hire on the basis of ethnicity . The University of Colorado 's Research Misconduct Committee conducted a preliminary investigation into whether Churchill misrepresented his ethnicity to " add credibility and public acceptance to his scholarship . " The committee concluded that the allegation was not " appropriate for further investigation under the definition of research misconduct . "   In a 2005 interview in The Rocky Mountain News , Churchill said , " I have never been confirmed as having one @-@ quarter blood , and never said I was . And even if [ the critics ] are absolutely right , what does that have to do with this issue ? I have never claimed to be goddamned Sitting Bull . " The longtime indigenous activist Russell Means said in February of that year , " So I want , from this day forward , every media person nationally , internationally and locally to know that we have ascertained that Ward Churchill is a full @-@ blooded Indian leader . "   = = = Blood quantum = = =   Churchill has responded to requests for verification of his claimed Indian heritage in various ways , including attacking the blood quantum upon which some Native American tribes establish their membership requirements . Churchill argues that the United States instituted blood quantum laws based upon rules of descendancy in order to further goals of personal enrichment and political expediency .   For decades in his writings , Churchill has argued that blood
ĠIS ĠNOT Ġa Ġmember Ġof Ġthe ĠKe eto ow ah ĠBand Ġand Ġwas Ġonly Ġgiven Ġan Ġhonorary Ġ' Ġassociate Ġmembership Ġ' Ġin Ġthe Ġearly Ġ1990 s Ġbecause Ġhe Ġcould Ġnot Ġprove Ġany ĠCherokee Ġancestry Ġ. Ġ" ĠThe Ġtribe Ġsaid Ġthat Ġall Ġof ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġ" Ġpast Ġ, Ġpresent Ġand Ġfuture Ġclaims Ġor Ġassertions Ġof ĠKe eto ow ah Ġ' Ġenrollment Ġ, Ġ' Ġwritten Ġor Ġspoken Ġ, Ġincluding Ġbut Ġnot Ġlimited Ġto Ġ; Ġbi ographies Ġ, Ġcurriculum Ġvit ae Ġ, Ġlectures Ġ, Ġapplications Ġfor Ġemployment Ġ, Ġor Ġany Ġother Ġreference Ġnot Ġlisted Ġherein Ġ, Ġare Ġdeemed Ġfraudulent Ġby Ġthe ĠUnited ĠKe eto ow ah ĠBand Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠTwo Ġdays Ġlater Ġ, Ġthe ĠUnited ĠKe eto ow ah ĠBand Ġreplaced Ġits Ġstatement Ġand Ġacknowledged ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġ" Ġalleged Ġancestry Ġ" Ġof Ġbeing ĠCherokee Ġ: Ġ Ġ Ġ" ĠBecause ĠMr . ĠChurchill Ġhad Ġgene alog ical Ġinformation Ġregarding Ġhis Ġalleged Ġancestry Ġ, Ġand Ġhis Ġwillingness Ġto Ġassist Ġthe ĠUK B Ġin Ġpromoting Ġthe Ġtribe Ġand Ġits Ġcauses Ġ, Ġhe Ġwas Ġawarded Ġan Ġ' ĠAssociate ĠMembership Ġ' Ġas Ġan Ġhonor Ġ, Ġ" Ġthe Ġtribe Ġ' s Ġwebsite Ġnow Ġsaid Ġ. Ġ" ĠHowever Ġ, ĠMr . ĠChurchill Ġmay Ġpossess Ġeligibility Ġstatus Ġfor ĠCherokee ĠNation Ġof ĠOklahoma Ġ, Ġsince Ġhe Ġclaims Ġ1 Ġ/ Ġ16 ĠCherokee Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġtribe Ġ' s Ġspokesperson Ġ, ĠLisa ĠSt opp Ġ, Ġstated Ġthe Ġtribe Ġenroll s Ġonly Ġmembers Ġwith Ġcertified Ġone Ġ@ - @ Ġquarter ĠAmerican ĠIndian Ġblood Ġ. ĠThe Ġwebsite Ġstatement Ġfurther Ġclarified Ġthat ĠChurchill Ġ" Ġwas Ġnot Ġeligible Ġfor Ġtribal Ġmembership Ġdue Ġto Ġthe Ġfact Ġthat Ġhe Ġdoes Ġnot Ġpossess Ġa Ġ' ĠCertificate Ġof ĠDegree Ġof ĠIndian ĠBlood Ġ( ĠCD IB Ġ) Ġ" Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġassociate Ġmembership Ġdid Ġnot Ġentitle Ġan Ġindividual Ġto Ġvoting Ġrights Ġor Ġenrollment Ġin Ġthe Ġtribe Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠChurchill Ġhas Ġnever Ġasked Ġfor ĠCD IB Ġcertification Ġ, Ġand Ġfinds Ġthe Ġidea Ġof Ġbeing Ġ" Ġvetted Ġ" Ġby Ġthe ĠUS Ġgovernment Ġoffensive Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn ĠJune Ġ1994 Ġ, Ġthe ĠUnited ĠKe eto ow ah ĠBand Ġhad Ġvoted Ġto Ġstop Ġawarding Ġassociate Ġmembers hips Ġ. ĠSuch Ġhonorary Ġassociate Ġmembership Ġrecognizes Ġan Ġindividual Ġ' s Ġassistance Ġto Ġthe Ġtribe Ġ, Ġbut Ġit Ġhas Ġnothing Ġto Ġdo Ġwith ĠIndian Ġancestry Ġ, Ġand Ġit Ġdoes Ġnot Ġentitle Ġan Ġindividual Ġto Ġvote Ġin Ġthe Ġtribe Ġas Ġa Ġmember Ġ. ĠThe ĠKe eto ow ah ĠBand Ġstates Ġthat ĠChurchill Ġstill Ġholds Ġthe Ġassociate Ġmembership Ġand Ġit Ġhas Ġnot Ġbeen Ġrescind ed Ġ. ĠIn Ġa Ġseparate Ġinterview Ġ, ĠErn estine ĠBerry Ġ, Ġformerly Ġon Ġthe Ġtribe Ġ' s Ġenrollment Ġcommittee Ġand Ġfour Ġyears Ġon Ġits Ġcouncil Ġ, Ġsaid Ġthat ĠChurchill Ġhad Ġnever Ġfulfilled Ġa Ġpromise Ġto Ġhelp Ġthe Ġtribe Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn ĠJune Ġ2005 Ġ, Ġthe ĠRocky ĠMountain ĠNews Ġpublished Ġan Ġarticle Ġabout ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġgene alogy Ġand Ġfamily Ġhistory Ġ. ĠIt Ġ" Ġturned Ġup Ġno Ġevidence Ġof Ġa Ġsingle ĠIndian Ġancestor Ġ" Ġamong Ġ142 Ġdirect Ġancestors Ġ[ Ġof ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġ] Ġidentified Ġfrom Ġrecords Ġ. ĠThe ĠNews Ġreported Ġthat Ġboth ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġbirth Ġparents Ġwere Ġlisted Ġas Ġwhite Ġon Ġthe Ġ1930 Ġcensus Ġ, Ġas Ġwere Ġall Ġbut Ġtwo Ġof Ġhis Ġgreat Ġ@ - @ Ġgreat Ġ@ - @ Ġgrandparents Ġlisted Ġon Ġprevious Ġcensus Ġand Ġother Ġofficial Ġdocuments Ġ. ĠThe ĠNews Ġfound Ġthat Ġsome Ġof ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġaccounts Ġof Ġwhere Ġhis Ġancestors Ġhad Ġlived Ġdid Ġnot Ġagree Ġwith Ġdocumented Ġrecords Ġ. ĠNumerous Ġmembers Ġof ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġextended Ġfamily Ġhave Ġlongstanding Ġfamily Ġlegends Ġof ĠIndian Ġancestry Ġamong Ġancestors Ġ; Ġbut Ġ, Ġnone Ġwas Ġconfirmed Ġamong Ġthe Ġ142 Ġdirect Ġfore b ears Ġof ĠChurchill Ġwho Ġwere Ġidentified Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDocuments Ġin ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġuniversity Ġpersonnel Ġfile Ġshow Ġthat Ġhe Ġwas Ġgranted Ġtenure Ġin Ġa Ġ" Ġspecial Ġopportunity Ġposition Ġ. Ġ" ĠIn Ġ1994 Ġ, Ġthen ĠCU Ġ@ - @ ĠBoulder ĠChancellor ĠJames ĠCor bridge Ġrefused Ġto Ġtake Ġaction Ġon Ġallegations Ġthat ĠChurchill Ġwas Ġfraud ul ently Ġclaiming Ġto Ġbe Ġan ĠIndian Ġ, Ġsaying Ġ" Ġit Ġhas Ġalways Ġbeen Ġuniversity Ġpolicy Ġthat Ġa Ġperson Ġ' s Ġrace Ġor Ġethnicity Ġis Ġself Ġ@ - @ Ġproving Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠSome Ġof ĠChurchill Ġ' s ĠNative ĠAmerican Ġcritics Ġ, Ġsuch Ġas ĠVernon ĠBelle court Ġ( ĠWhite ĠEarth ĠO j ib we Ġ) Ġand ĠSu zan ĠSh own ĠHar jo Ġ( ĠSouthern ĠChe y enne Ġ@ - @ ĠMus co gee ĠCreek Ġ) Ġ, Ġargue Ġthat Ġhis Ġassertion Ġof ĠNative ĠAmerican Ġancestry Ġwithout Ġthe Ġability Ġto Ġprove Ġit Ġmight Ġconstitute Ġmisrepresent ation Ġand Ġgrounds Ġfor Ġtermination Ġ. ĠThe ĠUniversity Ġhas Ġsaid Ġthat Ġit Ġdoes Ġnot Ġhire Ġon Ġthe Ġbasis Ġof Ġethnicity Ġ. ĠThe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠColorado Ġ' s ĠResearch ĠMisc onduct ĠCommittee Ġconducted Ġa Ġpreliminary Ġinvestigation Ġinto Ġwhether ĠChurchill Ġmisrepresent ed Ġhis Ġethnicity Ġto Ġ" Ġadd Ġcredibility Ġand Ġpublic Ġacceptance Ġto Ġhis Ġscholarship Ġ. Ġ" ĠThe Ġcommittee Ġconcluded Ġthat Ġthe Ġallegation Ġwas Ġnot Ġ" Ġappropriate Ġfor Ġfurther Ġinvestigation Ġunder Ġthe Ġdefinition Ġof Ġresearch Ġmisconduct Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġa Ġ2005 Ġinterview Ġin ĠThe ĠRocky ĠMountain ĠNews Ġ, ĠChurchill Ġsaid Ġ, Ġ" ĠI Ġhave Ġnever Ġbeen Ġconfirmed Ġas Ġhaving Ġone Ġ@ - @ Ġquarter Ġblood Ġ, Ġand Ġnever Ġsaid ĠI Ġwas Ġ. ĠAnd Ġeven Ġif Ġ[ Ġthe Ġcritics Ġ] Ġare Ġabsolutely Ġright Ġ, Ġwhat Ġdoes Ġthat Ġhave Ġto Ġdo Ġwith Ġthis Ġissue Ġ? ĠI Ġhave Ġnever Ġclaimed Ġto Ġbe Ġgodd am ned ĠSitting ĠBull Ġ. Ġ" ĠThe Ġlongtime Ġindigenous Ġactivist ĠRussell ĠMeans Ġsaid Ġin ĠFebruary Ġof Ġthat Ġyear Ġ, Ġ" ĠSo ĠI Ġwant Ġ, Ġfrom Ġthis Ġday Ġforward Ġ, Ġevery Ġmedia Ġperson Ġnationally Ġ, Ġinternationally Ġand Ġlocally Ġto Ġknow Ġthat Ġwe Ġhave Ġascert ained Ġthat ĠWard ĠChurchill Ġis Ġa Ġfull Ġ@ - @ Ġblood ed ĠIndian Ġleader Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠBlood Ġquantum Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠChurchill Ġhas Ġresponded Ġto Ġrequests Ġfor Ġverification Ġof Ġhis Ġclaimed ĠIndian Ġheritage Ġin Ġvarious Ġways Ġ, Ġincluding Ġattacking Ġthe Ġblood Ġquantum Ġupon Ġwhich Ġsome ĠNative ĠAmerican Ġtribes Ġestablish Ġtheir Ġmembership Ġrequirements Ġ. ĠChurchill Ġargues Ġthat Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġinstituted Ġblood Ġquantum Ġlaws Ġbased Ġupon Ġrules Ġof Ġdescend ancy Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġfurther Ġgoals Ġof Ġpersonal Ġenrichment Ġand Ġpolitical Ġexped iency Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFor Ġdecades Ġin Ġhis Ġwritings Ġ, ĠChurchill Ġhas Ġargued Ġthat Ġblood