Texas judge and Associate Professor of Criminal Justice weighs in on Ward Churchill

Steve Russel, of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, writing for Indian Country Today, speaks up on Ward Churchill:

"The “little Eichmanns” absurdity brings me back to Churchill’s first jury, American Indians. Maybe I don’t get out enough, but I know very few Indians who were not offended enough by that remark to ask “Who is this Indian professor?” All of the mainstream reporting styled Churchill an Indian.

While I too was offended, I remember seeing that card from the United Keetoowah Band on a Web site, so I did not have anything to say about Churchill’s bona fides. If the Keetoowahs wanted to claim him, I support their right to do so. It turns out they didn’t; he abused their trust, and this public insult to the victims of Sept. 11 was more than they could stand. When they told their story, Churchill’s last shred of cover as an Indian was gone.

Churchill’s first jury was the Indian community, to the extent that it is a community, and that jury was not unanimous. There are individuals who are willing to claim Churchill as Indian. Last I looked, however, no individual could confer a tribal identity."

See the full opinion column HERE.

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