Note: The Lawrence Times runs opinion columns and letters to the Times written by community members with varying perspectives on local issues. These pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Times staff.
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Did you know that Haskell Indian Nations University students, university officials and staff do not enjoy the same civil rights as do University of Kansas students?
It’s true. Indian education is governed by three Supreme Court cases decided two centuries ago. Those cases are Johnson v. McIntosh (1823), Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) and Worcester v. Georgia (1832).
These three cases decided that Indians were “ward of the guardian.” This status means Indians at Haskell are defenseless when it comes to legal recourse when problems occur.
Unfortunately, Haskell has been plagued with problems in recent years. These problems include lack of academic freedom, censorship and, most damning, sexual assault.
In July, a joint Congressional committee heard testimony on the disarray at Haskell. This committee featured Rep. Tracy Mann (R-Kansas), whose First Congressional district includes Haskell, and Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyoming) who read aloud part of the detailed written testimony of one Haskell student and sexual assault survivor during the hearing.
“To say this is unacceptable is an understatement,” said Hageman, who was quoted in the Lawrence Times on July 24.
In September 2024, the Haskell Faculty Senate wrote an open letter published in the Lawrence Times that said “university officials cannot speak on Haskell’s behalf without prior approval from the (federal) government.”
The Bureau of Indian Affairs governs Haskell. This governance neglect has become malfeasance and breach of trust. The BIA must be removed from trusteeship.
The BIA is in conflict of interest regarding its trustee/guardianship over Haskell. The BIA serves the interest of the BIA and not the student ward of the guardian.
The BIA appoints the president of Haskell. Six Haskell presidents in eight years is unacceptable. Haskell is the flagship of Indian education and impacts nearly every Indian family in the United States, including Alaska. As such, Haskell deserves much better from the federal government.
Haskell students, staff and officials should not have to surrender their civil rights to receive treaty-obligated education from the federal government. Indian education is not a gratuity.
Trust responsibility also includes the protection of infrastructure on campus and natural resources critical to Indian people, namely the Haskell wetlands. The Haskell federal wetlands, a sanctuary for Haskell students, have been allowed to deteriorate in ruins.
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), a former member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, has called for systemic change at Haskell. I agree with Moran. I have written him that systemic change must include removal of antiquated federal Indian education policy and include implementation of academic freedom, the cornerstone of university education. We need the Haskell Board of Regents to be given autonomy by Congress.
I also have asked Moran to conduct a Senate field hearing on the campus of Haskell for all stakeholders. Such a hearing would give Haskell students, staff and officials a voice for their own free destiny and genuine Indian Self-determination.
You can help make such a field hearing a reality by contacting Moran and Mann and asking them to bring Washington, D.C., to Haskell here in Lawrence. This would represent a first step in making Haskell stronger. And a strong, academically independent Haskell makes our Lawrence community a greater and better place to live.
— Steve Cadue, Lawrence
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More Community Voices:
Letter to the Times: Haskell needs self-determination; BIA has been negligent
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Shawn Alexander: Say his name – Fred Harvey Smith (Column)
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