Roland Chrisjohn
Roland Chrisjohn, Ph. D., Director, Program in Native Studies, St. Thomas University,Fredericton, New Brunswick:
I remember the first time I met Professor Churchill in person. At the time several self-styled “Indian activists” had been accusing him publicly of being an agent for the F.B.I. I shook his hand and asked him whether he could get several more agents assigned to the work he was doing: it was, and continues to be, so central to serious work in Native Studies that I can only wish there were a dozen more of him.
Professor Churchill has made deep, serious, and scholarly contributions to so many areas of Native Studies that perhaps he is a dozen people. His works on the Cointelpro program are not only the best resource in the area, they are close to the only resource for a topic many would prefer we forget. The starting place for anyone wishing to understand the dangers of the “New Age” movement’s expropriation of indigenous culture are his articles on Plastic Medicine Men. If one wishes to dispute the bland assertions that Indians have been in the Americas for 15,000 years at most, one can spend several months going through anthropological and archaeological journals… or one can consult his admirable summary of this work. And if one wishes to understand genocide and the North American indigenous peoples, there is no one who produces such consistently insightful, useful, and engaging work.
However, these examples only scratch the surface. I have personally made use of Professor Churchill’s works in virtually every course in Native Studies I have ever taught. I would say that, for anyone seriously interested in Native American scholarship, each new book by Professor Churchill is a major event. His attention to detail and his critical intellect are beyond question, and not only should be congratulated, but emulated.
