Post last updated at 3:35 p.m. Thursday, March 13:
Haskell Indian Nations University faculty members and many employees who were terminated in baseless federal job cuts have been reinstated.
Haskell President Frank Arpan, Yankton Sioux, shared the news in a campus update, which the Haskell Student Government Association shared online.
The federal government had forced the university to terminate about three dozen employees on Feb. 14.
Previously, Haskell instructors who had been terminated were brought back on adjunct contracts to finish out the semester. The cuts had resulted in 34 classes that other faculty had to cover. As of Wednesday, faculty who were terminated have been reinstated, according to Arpan’s update.
In addition, “Coaches, dining, and housing personnel lost in the probationary terminations have been reinstated. Haskell will continue to work with the Haskell Foundation to fill needs,” Arpan wrote in the update.
Also, a federal judge in California ruled Thursday that the White House’s Office of Personnel Management had made cuts using a loophole to fire probationary workers and ordered agencies including the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior and the Treasury to offer employees reinstatement, the Associated Press reported.
It was not entirely clear from Arpan’s update whether employees of Haskell’s Student Success Center would be reinstated; however, it was dated with Wednesday’s date, which was before the federal judge’s ruling.
In addition, the status of some kitchen staff, custodial staff and IT employees was not yet clear.
“Please know that leadership is actively working with key partners to address challenges and make informed decisions. There are still questions, and we are continuing to work through them,” Arpan wrote. “Our priority is to provide accurate updates once information and resources are finalized rather than release details that are not confirmed. We appreciate your patience and will keep you informed as plans are finalized.”
Julia White Bull, Standing Rock Sioux, was fired without cause from her job as a student success coach in the Student Success Center.
She said on Thursday afternoon she had not yet received a phone call from the school’s human resources department, as she said faculty members did when they were reinstated, but she’s optimistic that could happen soon.
“It might be today, tomorrow, maybe next week,” White Bull said. “I’m just excited to go back, if we go back. Just waiting for that phone call.”
The past month has been emotionally exhausting, White Bull said, as she’s been grappling with next steps while grieving. She’s still waiting on her unemployment check. But she said reinstated faculty have received back pay and is hopeful that’ll be the case for all impacted employees.
Haskell student Kylie Standingwater, a member of the Choctaw and Cherokee nations of Oklahoma, said students are “thrilled that we are supposed to be getting our mentors and family back.”
“This campus has not been the same,” Standingwater said Thursday afternoon.
She said students have been working hard to make their voices heard, and with “our teachers, friends, and family being put back into their rightful positions we are hopeful for the future and the continued growth of HINU.”
The university was already planning a Spring Resilience Powwow. That’s set for Saturday, April 5; read more at this link.
A group of tribal nations and students filed a lawsuit against federal government officials last week over the terminations of nearly five dozen people serving Haskell and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute. That case was assigned to a judge Thursday morning. It was not immediately clear how or whether that case could be impacted by the other judge’s ruling.
Note: This post has been corrected from a previous version.
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— Reporter Cuyler Dunn contributed to this article.
Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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.
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