Churchill was born in [[Elmwood, Illinois]]. Both of his birth parents are listed as white on the 1930 census, as are all of his other ancestors on previous censuses and other official documents. <ref>http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3841949,00.html</ref>
Churchill claims ancestry of three different tribes, [[Creek people|Creek]]<ref>[http://www.colorado.edu/EthnicStudies/faculty/churchill.html University of Colorado Ethnic Studies page.]</ref>, [[Cherokee]]<ref>{{cite journal | author=Ward Churchill | title=An American Holocaust? The Structure of Denial | journal=Socialism and Democracy | year=2002 | volume=19 | issue=3 | pages= | url=http://www.sdonline.org/33/ward_churchill.htm}}</ref>, and [[Metis]]<ref>{{cite web | title=Churchill files suit to stop dismissal from CU | work=Indianz.com | url=http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/016686.asp | date=2006-11-01}}</ref><ref>[http://www2.ncsu.edu/univ_relations/humanrights.html North Carolina State Univ., Office of University Relations, posting of Ward Churchill speech. March 28, 2004]</ref> and had statedstates that he wasis an enrolled<ref>[http://www.colorado.edu/EthnicStudies/faculty/churchill.html University of Colorado Ethnic Studies page.]</ref> member of the [[United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians]]. According to tribal chief George Wickliffe, Churchill's claims to Keetowah membership are "are deemed fraudulent by the United Keetoowah Band," and that Churchill "could not prove any Cherokee ancestry." <ref>"Tribe snubs prof: Cherokee band says Churchill's claim of membership a fraud," Rocky Mountain News, May 17, 2005.</ref> Moreover, the [[United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians|United Keetoowah Band]] [[Ward Churchill: Misconduct Issues#Questioned ethnicity|responded]] to Churchill's claim by clarifying that he was not an enrolled member, but an honorary associate member (just as former [[President of the United States|President]] [[Bill Clinton|Bill Clinton]] was) for few months in 1994.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Ward Churchill|title=An American Holocaust? The Structure of Denial|journal=Socialism and Democracy|year=2002|volume=19|issue=3|pages= | url=http://www.sdonline.org/33/ward_churchill.htm}}</ref> The tribal statement said that Churchill's membership claim in the Keetowah tribe after receiving an Associate Membership "is akin to receiving an honorary doctorate, and then claiming to have received eight years worth of university education."<ref>Keetowah tribe press release, May 2005.</ref> The [[Rocky Mountain News]] investigated and found "no evidence of a single Indian ancestor" [of Churchill].<ref>http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3841949,00.html</ref> The [[Denver Post]]'s genealogical investigation resulted in the same conclusion. Ernestine Berry, who was on the tribe's enrollment committee (Keetoowah) and served on the tribal council for four years, told the [[The Denver Post]]: "He (Churchill) was trying to get recognized as an Indian. He could not prove he was an Indian (Cherokee) at all."<ref>{{cite web | author=Howard Pankratz | title=CU prof affirms Indian heritage | work =Denver Post | url=http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_0002689334 | date=2005-02-03}}</ref>
