Post updated to add photos at 11:12 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21:
More than 200 people packed a Lawrence church Friday evening in hopes of helping those who lost their jobs at Haskell Indian Nations University.
Haskell students, including Angel Ahtone Elizarraras, Haskell Student Government Association president, spoke at the meeting.
Although uncertainty looms, students said they’re unafraid to push back against recent cuts to their faculty and staff.
“If it took 140 years for us to build this, it’s going to take that same amount of time to break us down,” said Ahtone Elizarraras, Wichita Tribe of Oklahoma.
Nearly 40 Haskell employees were terminated from their jobs without cause when the Trump administration on Feb. 14 made sweeping, indiscriminate cuts to federal employees nationwide, targeting some based on their unprotected status.
Dan Wildcat, Haskell faculty member and Yuchi member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, shared some updates at the meeting as he’s been in consultation with administrators, but he was clear he was not speaking on behalf of the university.
Wildcat implored people not to take the university administration’s silence as apathy. Haskell is a federal institution governed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, specifically the Bureau of Indian Education. University President Frank Arpan was not present at the meeting Friday, and although he was invited, he told Wildcat he was not approved to attend.
“I don’t know of any institution of higher education in the United States where the president cannot speak unless his statements are cleared in Washington, D.C., by the Bureau of Indian Education,” Wildcat said.
Communication is just one aspect with barriers.
‘Our family took a very hard hit’
Wildcat said since the layoffs, the university has only four custodians to cover the around 270,000 square feet of the campus. Local tribes have offered help in that area, he said.
Cuts were made in most every university department — faculty, student services, athletics, IT and more.
“We consider ourselves a family, and so our family took a very hard hit last Friday,” Wildcat said.
People have expressed interest in volunteering to fill vacancies across the campus. But volunteers are required to be put through federal background checks first. That process can take four to six weeks at minimum, Wildcat said, and Haskell has to front the approximate $500 bill per background check.
Previously, Haskell was able to contract out some temporary lecturers and professors, who are not federal employees. Wildcat said there’s currently a hiring freeze, per executive order, preventing the university from filling any vacancies.
“At least I know two, maybe three, of the people fired on the academic side, you know what the sad part is? A year ago, they were contractors,” Wildcat said. “And they wanted desperately to be permanent employees at Haskell, because they love our institution so much. And we had just hired them with the promise of a career at Haskell Indian Nations University, and they were terminated. If they had stayed as contractors, they’d still have a job.”
Wildcat said he gleaned from a meeting with administrators Friday that it’s not likely the terminations will be rescinded. But he and others are working on a way to crowdsource funding to potentially rehire those laid off, and he said more details will be shared Monday.
Support in the meantime
Steve Cadue, Elder of the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas and community advocate, led a prayer and shared some words at the beginning of Friday’s meeting.
He emphasized that the federal government has treaty, trust and statutory obligations and that the entire Lawrence community has a stake in this issue.
“If there’s one thing that I can relay today, Indian treaties are made for Indian education in perpetuity,” Cadue said.
Several people inquired about finding loopholes to volunteer at Haskell, but Wildcat recommended for now on that front to “sit tight.”
Community members will need to continue getting creative about ways to support Haskell at this time.
Advocates can write letters to or call their state representatives. The 5 Calls organization, which has information on its website and also has a mobile app, helps connect people to their Congressional representatives.
Donating to Just Food, the Douglas County food bank, could also help support employees who were laid off in addition to students, Kansas Sen. Marci Francisco said. And when Cadue asked Francisco if she’d request Gov. Laura Kelly make a statement in support of Haskell, she said she’d honor it.
Just Food operates a food bank at Haskell Light, 137 Pawnee Ave. on Haskell’s campus. Elizarraras said Haskell Light provides warm meals to students and employees and is currently accepting clothing and food donations. Community potluck meals can also be held on campus.
Haskell students are planning to protest at the state capitol building on Monday, first meeting on campus at 9 a.m. and then heading to Topeka at 10 a.m.
Read more coverage of the situation at Haskell at the links below.
Note: A name in this post has been corrected.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Molly Adams (she/her), photojournalist and news operations coordinator for The Lawrence Times, can be reached at molly@lawrencekstimes.com. Check out more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
More coverage — Haskell Indian Nations University:
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Latest Lawrence news:
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
