Had he convinced himself his Native students were truly tacit and would stand for publication of their names, thoughts and ideas without consent?
Gulliford, director of the Center for Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., borrowed from their private conversations, final exams and classroom discussions for recent use in an academic journal.
His students mystified him. "Some students have extraordinary sensitivities. They can detect the presence of spirits from centuries past."
At times they floored him with questions. "Why can't you white people handle Indian sexuality?"
It was a valid question relative to the iconic Kokopelli figure. And it was raised in a classroom setting, but one certainly never intended for international publication. Nor was the private information about a traditional ceremony involving a student's sick mother. And neither were the comments from a student who revealed a life with drunken parents.
He spelled this out, including sacred cultural information, in his essay, "Kokopelli Conundrum: Lessons Learned from Teaching Native American Students."
And that's where Gulliford created his own conundrum.
The essay not only violated student trust, but was peppered with stereotypes. Ironically, he colored students as "quiet almost to a fault, slow to speak up, reticent to challenge professors."
Since the essay's publication, students have turned that supposition on its head.
They met with Fort Lewis College president Brad Bartel on Wednesday, insisting the professor be held accountable for violations of the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. They also created the Student Alliance for Appropriate Representation, an organization intended to give a voice to Native students across the country, and a measure to protect their intellectual property rights.
"We're all vulnerable to this kind of exploitation," said Lakota student Bill Mendoza. "Because we're in school does not mean those can be harvested and exploited or molested."
Native professor Carey Vicenti is left to wonder what would happen to a professor if it were white students quoted. He sees a college that seems ready to overlook the infraction.
College administrators have said Gulliford might be protected by freedom of speech. And an internal review board said his essay fell short of meeting academic research standards, thereby offering some reprieve.
"I refuse to accept the argument he's not educated and schooled in the methods of his profession," Mendoza said. "As freshmen, these things are pounded into our head. You have to cite your sources. If you use human subjects, there are specific guidelines."
Gulliford has a doctorate in philosophy.
Excluding tribal colleges, Fort Lewis College has the country's highest percentage of Native students, who make up 18 percent of the student body. And those faculty and students who've stepped forward have now said Gulliford's essay is more than an isolated incident. It's reflective of a campus entrenched in a "pervasive environment of racism," Vicenti said. It falls in place with Durango's "frontier-chic attitude," where Natives make good props but don't receive respect, he said.
And Native students frequently feel the pinch of racism because they attend school free of tuition as part of a 1911 land exchange between Natives and the state.
And then there's professor Gulliford, whose actions provide yet another example of arrogant paternalism, the kind Natives frequently experience when associated with so-called white "Indian experts."
It's part of today's modern racism, "the kind where people might love their Indians but they never conclude these Indians have the same intellectual capacity, the same career potential as themselves," Vicenti said.
Gulliford's future now rests with college president Bartel, who is reviewing the matter. He is expected to release his findings in about two weeks, according to David Eppich, special assistant to the president.
Many on campus are wondering how he will handle it, given the recent forced resignation of a Hispanic faculty member. She kicked a white male student who she said backed his rear end into her face while she was seated at a restaurant. He was "showing off" his Republican-inspired T-shirt that read: "Join us now, or work for us later."
The college agreed the student had a right to free speech.
In that vein, Native students at Fort Lewis need to keep talking.
Gulliford has apologized since the article's publication. "If I mentioned sensitive subjects, I apologize for my ignorance," he said in an interview with Kaeleen McGuire of the online Reznet news site. "I beg forgiveness of anyone I've hurt."
But not all Native students are ready to forgive. "He says he loves Indians," Mendoza said. "That he cares for Indians. But he doesn't understand us. He doesn't know anything about us."
Jodi Rave covers Native issues for Lee Enterprises. She can be reached at 1-800-366-7186, Ext. 299, or by e-mail at jodi.rave@missoulian.com.
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