Haskell Indian Nations University celebrated the campus community’s resilience with their spring powwow Saturday night.
The event came just less than two months after roughly three dozen employees were suddenly and baselessly terminated under orders of the Trump administration and “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE.
Over the following weeks, most employees were reinstated, but the campus was thrust into uncertainty and chaos amid the cuts. Other faculty had to cover 34 classes because of the cuts, for instance.
The federal government has treaty and trust obligations to provide educational services for American Indian and Alaska Native people. Many have argued that the cuts were in violation of treaties and federal statutes.
Saturday evening, however, the community celebrated that they’re still here and refuse to be erased, forgotten or silenced.
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Democrat representing Kansas’ Third congressional district in Washington, D.C., was present at the powwow.
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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.
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Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
