The United Keetoowah Band responded on Thursday to Ward Churchill's response to the Oklahoma tribe's original statement on the controversial University of Colorado professor's alleged Indian ancestry.

The UKB says it gave Churchill an honorary "associate membership" in May 1994. But the tribe says it never confirmed that he had Cherokee blood or that he possessed a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood.

"Receiving an Associate Membership is akin to receiving an honorary doctorate, and then claiming to have received eight years worth of university education," the latest statement said [UKB website].

The statement then says further questions should be directed to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and not the tribe. Churchill claimed in a statement [Text] that the UKB council verified his heritage not once but twice.

Get the Story:
Tribe shifts stand, acknowledges Churchill's alleged Cherokee ancestry (The Denver Post 5/20)
Keetoowah Band says Churchill is honorary (The Boulder Daily Camera 5/20)
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Churchill's 9/11 Essay:
"Some People Push Back" On the Justice of Roosting Chickens (Pockets of Resistance September 2001)

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