The Haskell Board of Regents is calling on the federal government to fulfill its legal obligations to Tribal nations and reverse the cuts to staffing.
The board said in a news release Thursday that 35 probationary employees, or about 23% of the total staff at Haskell Indian Nations University, were terminated last week, “jeopardizing the University’s ability to fulfill its educational mission.”
The Trump administration made sweeping, indiscriminate cuts to federal employees nationwide, targeting some based on their unprotected status. (Read more at this link.)
The board has now written to two federal offices asking that Haskell positions be exempted from cuts because the employees are performing legally required functions under the treaty, trust and statutory obligations the federal government has to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Those include “the Snyder Act (25 U.S.C. § 13) and the Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act (1975), mandating the provision of educational services to Tribal Nations,” according to the release.
“The federal government has a duty to uphold its commitments,” board President Dalton Henry said in the release. “Haskell is not discretionary; it is a legal obligation. These workforce cuts are undermining treaty and trust obligations, and we urge immediate action to restore critical staffing levels.”
The board has “received assurances” that Pell grants will continue to be distributed to students, classes will continue “as faculty adjust to fill instructional needs,” and graduations will proceed in May.
The board provided these letters sent to the U.S. Department of the Interior and to the Office of Management and Budget:
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