Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU) is a federal institution university owned, operated and fully funded by the federal government. Haskell is operated by the trustee U S Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland recently announced a sweeping reorganization plan that includes Haskell and Indian education. Secretary Burgum’s recent unilateral reorganization plan is administrative changes and maintains the same administrative system that caused the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) to issue a sanction “Accredited on Notice” letter at risk to Haskell Indian Nations University (HLC). The DOI has failed as trustee management of Haskell for decades. The DOI cannot meet HLC standards under the current structure.
- Reorganization ≠ governance
- Reorganization ≠ statutory authority
- Reorganization ≠ compliance
- Reorganization ≠ trust responsibility
Fiscal Year 2027 is shaping up exactly as First Nations Journal has warned. Secretary Burgum advanced a sweeping BIA reorganization at the same moment he submitted the FY 2027 Interior budget to Congress—yet tribal leaders testified that the reorganization was undertaken without consultation, without transparency and without any visible alignment to the budget documents DOI provided to Congress. The absence of any reference to the reorganization in the FY2027 budget raises the question of whether DOI withheld information from Congress and from the Higher Learning Commission during a period of active accreditation risk at Haskell.
Congress must not continue to turn the blind eye to the DOI mismanagement of Haskell. Indians pay the price.
To cut staff and resources undermines the recovery plan to address the Higher Learning Commission “Accredited on Notice” ‘At Risk letter issued to Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU). Haskell’s lack of compliance with HLC criteria warns of loss of accreditation and closure. The DOI is responsible for the HLC accreditation crisis.
Public-Disclosure-Notice-Haskell-Indian-Nations-University.pdf
Haskell is the flagship of Indian education in the United States. Education is the Key to Quality of Life—yet our Indian people remain at the bottom of every social-economic measure. Every national dataset shows the same pattern:
- Lowest educational attainment
- Lowest income
- Lowest life expectancy
- Highest exposure to structural barriers
This is not accidental. It is the predictable outcome of a federal trustee that refuses to meet its legal obligations in Indian education. Education is the pathway to health, stability, and opportunity—and the federal government has kept that pathway blocked for generations. Secretary Burgum’s arbitrary BIA reorganization without mandated meaningful consultation without Indian leaders ensures the genuine Indian Self-determination pathway blocked. The DOI does not deny their trustee mismanagement and failure of Haskell as their silence is complicit.
The DOI Secretary trustee has turned a blind eye to the mismanagement breach of Haskell as described by Representative Tracey Mann (R-KAN). The DOI blind eye practice has led to the HLC loss of accreditation letter issued to Haskell. Representative Mann further comments that Haskell should be the crown jewel of Indian education for Native Americans and Kansas. The neglect of fiduciary trust responsibilities from the Bureau of Indian Education is Congress’ basis for the Haskell Indian Nations University Improvement Act.
The Haskell problems are not isolated but is evidence of a systemic federal breach. The features at Haskell are not “campus issues”. They are:
- treaty violations
- federal trust responsibility failures
- civil rights failures
- budgetary chronic neglect
- administrative indifference
When the DOI federal trustee fails at Haskell it directly controls, it signals the depth of the
National crisis in Indian education. First Nations Journal makes it clear these failures harm every Indian student, every Indian family, and every Indian sovereign nation.
Haskell Indian Nations University is a treasured educational, cultural and historical place for Indians and society. Haskell should be the crown jewel for Indian education, for Kansas, the United States and the world. The commitment to genuine Indian Self-Determination embodied in the Haskell Indian Nations University Improvement Act can establish the Haskell crown jewel of Indian education as visualized by Representative Mann (R-KAN).
First Nations Journal writes because silence is complicity. We document because Accountability requires a record. We press Congress because the law requires action, not excuses. FNJ looks forward to the Congress’ enactment of the HINU Improvement Act.
FIRST NATIONS JOURNAL
M’gwitch, 🪶
Steve Cadue
Kickapoo Nation Kansas
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