Members of the faculty senate at Haskell Indian Nations University say proposed federal budget cuts amounting to about 90% of funding would devastate tribal colleges and violate the government’s legal obligations.
“In one fell swoop, this administration asks Congress to sign off on a budget that defunds Tribal Colleges beyond any hope of functionality and without appropriate due process,” the faculty senate wrote in a news release Friday.
ProPublica reported earlier this month that the Trump administration proposed the massive cut in a budget request from the Department of the Interior to Congress.
The document mentions only the two federally controlled tribal colleges, Haskell and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, but the request for funds for 37 postsecondary programs will drop from more than $182 million this year to just more than $22 million for 2026. Haskell’s budget alone for fiscal year 2024 was about $19.7 million.
The administration also suspended Department of Agriculture grants that funded scholarships and research, and tribal college presidents were trying to fend off deep cuts to the Pell Grant program for low-income students, ProPublica reported.
“The threat that Haskell, as well as all its sister Tribal Colleges and Universities face, is both existential and occurring on multiple levels,” faculty senate said in their release. “Limiting Pell Grants and programs such as TRIO significantly impacts Native American students — putting their access to college education at an even higher risk.”
In addition, they wrote, Haskell in February had to fire about 25% of its faculty and staff on campus under federal orders.
“Those employees were reinstated, but the combination of losing staff who either chose not to return to federal service or who took one of the early retirement options, along with the hiring freeze impacts the day-to-day functions of the university,” faculty senate members wrote. “The looming threat of a ‘reduction in force’ also further endangers Haskell’s ability to operate.”
They wrote that Haskell has survived “persistent neglect,” but the proposed budget cuts are “a clear and distinct sign that we are at a critical breaking point. Any further budgetary cuts would be a grave blow to our ability to function and exist at all.”
The message emphasizes that the budget would be cutting tribal college funding to the bone without due process of consultation with tribal nations, in violation of federal law. The budget also violates the legal obligation to uphold treaty and trust responsibilities, they wrote.
“These responsibilities arose from agreements between sovereign nations and the federal government; they carry the weight of congressional law,” the faculty senate wrote. “As foundational obligations rooted in the United States’ legal and moral framework, these are not optional commitments. They remain legal and moral imperatives that we, the faculty at Haskell, respectfully implore our members of Congress to uphold. “
In addition, their message stated that Native Americans fall under a political identity category because their status is defined not just by race or ethnicity, “but by their legal status as members of sovereign Tribal Nations that have a government-to-government relationship with the U.S. federal government. It is not part of a diversity initiative, but rather a key component of this partnership.”
Haskell students come from across the country, and 153 federally recognized tribes are currently represented on campus, according to their message.
Education that focuses on the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students “remains key for self-determination. It also aids in restoring cultural knowledge, promoting language revitalization, correcting systematic inequities that directly impact our students,” they wrote. “While these ideals and values are worth fighting for, they have perpetually been underfunded and under existential threat.”
Douglas County commissioners during their June 18 meeting agreed to draft a letter to the federal delegation that represents the county in Congress, asking them to stand up for funding for Haskell.
Read more on how federal funding cuts and policy changes are directly affecting Lawrence and Douglas County community members in the articles linked on this page.
Contact information for the congressional delegation representing Lawrence and Douglas County is available at this link. The nonprofit 5 Calls, 5calls.org, has phone numbers and templates of scripts to help people make their voices heard on several federal issues.
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