 the Chicago office of the Students for a Democratic Society ( SDS ) in the late 1960s , and briefly taught members of the Weather Underground how to build bombs and fire weapons .   In 2005 , the Denver Post reported that Churchill 's military records show he was trained as a film projectionist and light truck driver , but they do not reflect paratrooper school or LRRP training . The 75th Ranger Regiment Association found no record of Churchill having been a member of the unit , or a LRRP team .   Churchill received his B.A. in technological communications in 1974 and M.A. in communications theory in 1975 , both from Sangamon State University , now the University of Illinois at Springfield .   = = Career = =   In 1978 , Churchill began working at the University of Colorado Boulder as an affirmative action officer in the university administration . He also lectured on American Indian issues in the ethnic studies program . In 1990 , the University of Colorado hired him as an associate professor , although he did not possess the academic doctorate usually required for the position . The following year he was granted tenure in the Communications department , without the usual six @-@ year probationary period , after having been declined by the Sociology and Political Science departments .   He has long been interested in issues associated with the Dawes Act , which broke up the communal reservation lands and assigned plots to individual households . Connected with that was the federal government 's first use of " blood quantum " to define individual membership in tribes , for what became known as the Dawes Rolls . Since re @-@ establishing self @-@ governments , federally recognized tribes have established their own criteria for enrollment as members , often related to descent from recognized historical lists , but less often requiring proofs of blood quantum . Some of his published works address these issues , which he has interpreted as part of the federal government 's policy of genocide against Native Americans .   In 1995 Churchill discussed his views with David Barsamian in an interview :   You could say that five hundred years ago was the basis of blood quantum in Ibero @-@ America . But in Anglo @-@ America , while there was some preoccupation with it , it was not formalized until the passage of the General Allotment Act , mid @-@ 1880s . At that point they began to define Indian as being someone who was demonstrably and documentably of at least one @-@ quarter by quantum blood indigenous in a given group . You couldn 't be an eighth Cheyenne and an eighth Arapaho and be an Indian . You had to be a quarter Cheyenne or a quarter Arapaho or hopefully a quarter and a quarter . The reason for this was quite clear . They were identifying Indians for purposes of allotting them individual parcels of land in the existing reservation base at that point . If they ran out of Indians identifiable as such , then the rest of the land would be declared surplus . So it was clearly in the interests of the government to create a definition of Indianness that would minimize the number of Indians that were available . It was an economic motivation for the application of this genetic criteria to Indianness in the first place . It 's become increasingly so ever since . " ( David Barsamian ( December 1995 ) . " Interview with Ward Churchill : Historical and Current Perspectives " . Z Magazine . )   In 1996 , Churchill moved to the new Ethnic Studies Department of the University of Colorado . In 1997 , he was promoted to full professor . He was selected as chairman of the department in June 2002 .   In January 2005 , during the controversy over his 9 / 11 remarks , Churchill resigned as chairman of the ethnic studies department at the University of Colorado — his term as chair was scheduled to expire in June of that year . On May 16 , 2006 , the Investigative Committee of the Standing Committee on Research Misconduct at the University of Colorado concluded that Churchill had committed multiple counts of academic misconduct , specifically plagiarism , fabrication , and falsification . On July 24 , 2007 , Churchill was fired for academic misconduct in an eight to one vote by the University of Colorado 's Board of Regents .   = = Genealogy and Tribal affiliation = =   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 . " In 1992 , Churchill wrote elsewhere that he is one @-@ eighth Creek and one @-@ sixteenth Cherokee . In 1993 , Churchill told the Colorado Daily that " he was one @-@ sixteenth Creek and Cherokee . " Churchill told the Denver Post in February 2005 that he is three @-@ sixteenths Cherokee .   In a statement dated May 9 , 2005 , and posted on its website , the United Keetoowah Band initially said ,   " The United Keetoowah Band would like to make it clear that Mr. Churchill
Ġthe ĠChicago Ġoffice Ġof Ġthe ĠStudents Ġfor Ġa ĠDemocratic ĠSociety Ġ( ĠS DS Ġ) Ġin Ġthe Ġlate Ġ1960 s Ġ, Ġand Ġbriefly Ġtaught Ġmembers Ġof Ġthe ĠWeather ĠUnderground Ġhow Ġto Ġbuild Ġbombs Ġand Ġfire Ġweapons Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ2005 Ġ, Ġthe ĠDenver ĠPost Ġreported Ġthat ĠChurchill Ġ' s Ġmilitary Ġrecords Ġshow Ġhe Ġwas Ġtrained Ġas Ġa Ġfilm Ġprojection ist Ġand Ġlight Ġtruck Ġdriver Ġ, Ġbut Ġthey Ġdo Ġnot Ġreflect Ġpar atro oper Ġschool Ġor ĠLR RP Ġtraining Ġ. ĠThe Ġ75 th ĠRanger ĠRegiment ĠAssociation Ġfound Ġno Ġrecord Ġof ĠChurchill Ġhaving Ġbeen Ġa Ġmember Ġof Ġthe Ġunit Ġ, Ġor Ġa ĠLR RP Ġteam Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠChurchill Ġreceived Ġhis ĠB . A . Ġin Ġtechnological Ġcommunications Ġin Ġ1974 Ġand ĠM . A . Ġin Ġcommunications Ġtheory Ġin Ġ1975 Ġ, Ġboth Ġfrom ĠSang amon ĠState ĠUniversity Ġ, Ġnow Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠIllinois Ġat ĠSpringfield Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠCareer Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ1978 Ġ, ĠChurchill Ġbegan Ġworking Ġat Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠColorado ĠBoulder Ġas Ġan Ġaffirmative Ġaction Ġofficer Ġin Ġthe Ġuniversity Ġadministration Ġ. ĠHe Ġalso Ġlect ured Ġon ĠAmerican ĠIndian Ġissues Ġin Ġthe Ġethnic Ġstudies Ġprogram Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1990 Ġ, Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠColorado Ġhired Ġhim Ġas Ġan Ġassociate Ġprofessor Ġ, Ġalthough Ġhe Ġdid Ġnot Ġpossess Ġthe Ġacademic Ġdoctor ate Ġusually Ġrequired Ġfor Ġthe Ġposition Ġ. ĠThe Ġfollowing Ġyear Ġhe Ġwas Ġgranted Ġtenure Ġin Ġthe ĠCommunications Ġdepartment Ġ, Ġwithout Ġthe Ġusual Ġsix Ġ@ - @ Ġyear Ġprobation ary Ġperiod Ġ, Ġafter Ġhaving Ġbeen Ġdeclined Ġby Ġthe ĠSoci ology Ġand ĠPolitical ĠScience Ġdepartments Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠHe Ġhas Ġlong Ġbeen Ġinterested Ġin Ġissues Ġassociated Ġwith Ġthe ĠDaw es ĠAct Ġ, Ġwhich Ġbroke Ġup Ġthe Ġcommunal Ġreservation Ġlands Ġand Ġassigned Ġplots Ġto Ġindividual Ġhouseholds Ġ. ĠConnect ed Ġwith Ġthat Ġwas Ġthe Ġfederal Ġgovernment Ġ' s Ġfirst Ġuse Ġof Ġ" Ġblood Ġquantum Ġ" Ġto Ġdefine Ġindividual Ġmembership Ġin Ġtribes Ġ, Ġfor Ġwhat Ġbecame Ġknown Ġas Ġthe ĠDaw es ĠRolls Ġ. ĠSince Ġre Ġ@ - @ Ġestablishing Ġself Ġ@ - @ Ġgovernments Ġ, Ġfederally Ġrecognized Ġtribes Ġhave Ġestablished Ġtheir Ġown Ġcriteria Ġfor Ġenrollment Ġas Ġmembers Ġ, Ġoften Ġrelated Ġto Ġdescent Ġfrom Ġrecognized Ġhistorical Ġlists Ġ, Ġbut Ġless Ġoften Ġrequiring Ġproofs Ġof Ġblood Ġquantum Ġ. ĠSome Ġof Ġhis Ġpublished Ġworks Ġaddress Ġthese Ġissues Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhe Ġhas Ġinterpreted Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġthe Ġfederal Ġgovernment Ġ' s Ġpolicy Ġof Ġgenocide Ġagainst ĠNative ĠAmericans Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ1995 ĠChurchill Ġdiscussed Ġhis Ġviews Ġwith ĠDavid ĠBars am ian Ġin Ġan Ġinterview Ġ: Ġ Ġ ĠYou Ġcould Ġsay Ġthat Ġfive Ġhundred Ġyears Ġago Ġwas Ġthe Ġbasis Ġof Ġblood Ġquantum Ġin ĠI ber o Ġ@ - @ ĠAmerica Ġ. ĠBut Ġin ĠAnglo Ġ@ - @ ĠAmerica Ġ, Ġwhile Ġthere Ġwas Ġsome Ġpre occup ation Ġwith Ġit Ġ, Ġit Ġwas Ġnot Ġformal ized Ġuntil Ġthe Ġpassage Ġof Ġthe ĠGeneral ĠAll ot ment ĠAct Ġ, Ġmid Ġ@ - @ Ġ1880 s Ġ. ĠAt Ġthat Ġpoint Ġthey Ġbegan Ġto Ġdefine ĠIndian Ġas Ġbeing Ġsomeone Ġwho Ġwas Ġdemonstr ably Ġand Ġdocument ably Ġof Ġat Ġleast Ġone Ġ@ - @ Ġquarter Ġby Ġquantum Ġblood Ġindigenous Ġin Ġa Ġgiven Ġgroup Ġ. ĠYou Ġcouldn Ġ' t Ġbe Ġan Ġeighth ĠChe y enne Ġand Ġan Ġeighth ĠA rap aho Ġand Ġbe Ġan ĠIndian Ġ. ĠYou Ġhad Ġto Ġbe Ġa Ġquarter ĠChe y enne Ġor Ġa Ġquarter ĠA rap aho Ġor Ġhopefully Ġa Ġquarter Ġand Ġa Ġquarter Ġ. ĠThe Ġreason Ġfor Ġthis Ġwas Ġquite Ġclear Ġ. ĠThey Ġwere Ġidentifying ĠIndians Ġfor Ġpurposes Ġof Ġallot ting Ġthem Ġindividual Ġparcels Ġof Ġland Ġin Ġthe Ġexisting Ġreservation Ġbase Ġat Ġthat Ġpoint Ġ. ĠIf Ġthey Ġran Ġout Ġof ĠIndians Ġidentifiable Ġas Ġsuch Ġ, Ġthen Ġthe Ġrest Ġof Ġthe Ġland Ġwould Ġbe Ġdeclared Ġsurplus Ġ. ĠSo Ġit Ġwas Ġclearly Ġin Ġthe Ġinterests Ġof Ġthe Ġgovernment Ġto Ġcreate Ġa Ġdefinition Ġof ĠIndian ness Ġthat Ġwould Ġminimize Ġthe Ġnumber Ġof ĠIndians Ġthat Ġwere Ġavailable Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġan Ġeconomic Ġmotivation Ġfor Ġthe Ġapplication Ġof Ġthis Ġgenetic Ġcriteria Ġto ĠIndian ness Ġin Ġthe Ġfirst Ġplace Ġ. ĠIt Ġ' s Ġbecome Ġincreasingly Ġso Ġever Ġsince Ġ. Ġ" Ġ( ĠDavid ĠBars am ian Ġ( ĠDecember Ġ1995 Ġ) Ġ. Ġ" ĠInterview Ġwith ĠWard ĠChurchill Ġ: ĠHistorical Ġand ĠCurrent ĠPerspect ives Ġ" Ġ. ĠZ ĠMagazine Ġ. Ġ) Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ1996 Ġ, ĠChurchill Ġmoved Ġto Ġthe Ġnew ĠEthnic ĠStudies ĠDepartment Ġof Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠColorado Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1997 Ġ, Ġhe Ġwas Ġpromoted Ġto Ġfull Ġprofessor Ġ. ĠHe Ġwas Ġselected Ġas Ġchairman Ġof Ġthe Ġdepartment Ġin ĠJune Ġ2002 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn ĠJanuary Ġ2005 Ġ, Ġduring Ġthe Ġcontroversy Ġover Ġhis Ġ9 Ġ/ Ġ11 Ġremarks Ġ, ĠChurchill Ġresigned Ġas Ġchairman Ġof Ġthe Ġethnic Ġstudies Ġdepartment Ġat Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠColorado ĠâĢĶ Ġhis Ġterm Ġas Ġchair Ġwas Ġscheduled Ġto Ġexpire Ġin ĠJune Ġof Ġthat Ġyear Ġ. ĠOn ĠMay Ġ16 Ġ, Ġ2006 Ġ, Ġthe ĠInvestigative ĠCommittee Ġof Ġthe ĠStanding ĠCommittee Ġon ĠResearch ĠMisc onduct Ġat Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠColorado Ġconcluded Ġthat ĠChurchill Ġhad Ġcommitted Ġmultiple Ġcounts Ġof Ġacademic Ġmisconduct Ġ, Ġspecifically Ġplagiar ism Ġ, Ġfabrication Ġ, Ġand Ġfals ification Ġ. ĠOn ĠJuly Ġ24 Ġ, Ġ2007 Ġ, ĠChurchill Ġwas Ġfired Ġfor Ġacademic Ġmisconduct Ġin Ġan Ġeight Ġto Ġone Ġvote Ġby Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠColorado Ġ' s ĠBoard Ġof ĠReg ents Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠGene alogy Ġand ĠTribal Ġaffiliation Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ2003 Ġ, ĠChurchill Ġstated Ġ, Ġ" ĠI Ġam Ġmyself Ġof ĠMus co gee Ġand ĠCreek Ġdescent Ġon Ġmy Ġfather Ġ' s Ġside Ġ, ĠCherokee Ġon Ġmy Ġmother Ġ' s Ġ, Ġand Ġam Ġan Ġenrolled Ġmember Ġof Ġthe ĠUnited ĠKe eto ow ah ĠBand Ġof ĠCherokee ĠIndians Ġ. Ġ" ĠIn Ġ1992 Ġ, ĠChurchill Ġwrote Ġelsewhere Ġthat Ġhe Ġis Ġone Ġ@ - @ Ġeighth ĠCreek Ġand Ġone Ġ@ - @ Ġsix teenth ĠCherokee Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1993 Ġ, ĠChurchill Ġtold Ġthe ĠColorado ĠDaily Ġthat Ġ" Ġhe Ġwas Ġone Ġ@ - @ Ġsix teenth ĠCreek Ġand ĠCherokee Ġ. Ġ" ĠChurchill Ġtold Ġthe ĠDenver ĠPost Ġin ĠFebruary Ġ2005 Ġthat Ġhe Ġis Ġthree Ġ@ - @ Ġsix teenth s ĠCherokee Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġa Ġstatement Ġdated ĠMay Ġ9 Ġ, Ġ2005 Ġ, Ġand Ġposted Ġon Ġits Ġwebsite Ġ, Ġthe ĠUnited ĠKe eto ow ah ĠBand Ġinitially Ġsaid Ġ, Ġ Ġ Ġ" ĠThe ĠUnited ĠKe eto ow ah ĠBand Ġwould Ġlike Ġto Ġmake Ġit Ġclear Ġthat ĠMr . ĠChurchill