What is it about the Cherokee that attracts so many wanna-bes? (I’m thinking particularly of the Ward Churchill situation.) I believe the answer is that the Cherokee were led in the 19th century by an apparent mixed-blood elite: Chief Ross (who some commentators wrote had blue eyes), Elias Boudinot, the younger Ridge, and the genius Sequoya. Ross, I think, comes closest to the wanna-be ideal: the amount of Cherokee blood in his veins was rather small, yet he was beloved by the tribe, led them through the “Trail of Tears” and played a truly significant role in the history of Native Americans.

Professor Ward Churchill appears to be a wanna-be white man with a great deal of anger. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Mr. Churchill has put that anger at the disposal of the Red Power movement, and sadly enough, some of the members have embraced his message of hate. I do not believe in advocating armed revolt in my class rooms to a captive audience, as Churchill apparently does, neither do I believe in physical intimidation, as it is reported that the six foot five inch Churchill practices–especially with university women. This is all too easy to do in the air-conditioned buildings of the University of Colorado. What I do believe is that Professor Churchill should pack up his anger, turn his back on privilege and become Mr. Churchill. Let him take his anger into real-time America and decide what he is: a criminal or a law-abiding citizen, and begin from there. What Professor Ward Churchill is doing now is the equivalent of wearing a six-shooter strapped to his hip while teaching a creative writing class. Surely there’s a more admirable way. Chief Ross took the plight of the Cherokee to the Supreme Court and won. Elias Boudinot lectured to hundreds of average Americans in the early years of the 19th century and, with his intellect and his eloquence, convinced his audiences that Native Americans were more than capable of being thinkers and leaders. Sequoya showed whites that genius was also found among the indigenous tribes. These were non-violent men, who believed in rationality and law. I believe that Ward Churchill should take his obvious charisma, his dubious intellect and his apparent energy and enter the only “real-time” arena that counts–politics. That’s the true way to help “his” people and to bring about change in a civilized society–bombs won’t do it, preaching to the converted won’t do it, and speaking from both sides of one’s mouth about oneself and about the methods one advocates surely won’t do it.