First, the American Indian Movement puts out a statement saying that Ward “Little Eichmanns” Churchill has misrepresented himself as a member of their movement.
Now it appears that the embattled Colorado professor may also be a heap big artistic fake.
Here’s a report from the CBS affiliate in Boulder, Colo.:
“Boulder County resident Duke Prentup has been a fan of native American art for as long as he can remember. That love of art took him to the home of Ward Churchill in the early 1980’s, where Prentup bought several pieces of Churchill’s art, including a serigraph titled ‘Winter Attack.’
“’I have enjoyed them ever since immensely, they’re obviously up inside my house,’ Prentup said.
“Last month came a stunning revelation, though, as as Prentup flipped through a 1972 book called The Mystic Warriors of the Plains written and illustrated by the late artist Thomas E. Mails. He found a sketch that was strikingly similar to the Churchill piece.
“’I opened it up, and Wham, there it was,’ he said. ’It’s the exact same thing, only mirror imaged virtually to every detail.’
“Intellectual property attorney James Hubbell compared the two works side by side, concluding it was likely no accident….”