¢ Michael Yellow Bird, an associate professor of indigenous nations studies at Kansas University, is coming to the defense of Ward Churchill, the University of Colorado professor whose job is in jeopardy because of controversial comments he made about the victims of 9/11. Yellow Bird is quoted in a story posted on InsideHigherEd.com._Yellow Bird said that the criticism of Churchill is “clearly an academic freedom issue and politically motivated” because the university “had vetted his stuff” before hiring and promoting him – and didn’t find any problems until there was a national political outcry about the 9/11 writings.__”This is going to make other people think they have to go with the mainstream views,” Yellow Bird said._