First Nations Journal

Haskell Indian Nations University is in a devastating loss of accreditation crisis and for nearly a year First Nations Journal has documented a simple truth:  Haskell is not in a crisis because of its students, faculty, or tribal nations, it is in crisis because the federal trustee has failed to uphold its federal fiduciary trust responsibility.  The Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Indian Affairs, (BIA), Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) trustees’ mismanagement has now been confirmed in Haskell Faculty Senate and Haskell Board of Regents letters respectively dated March 9 and May 1, shared with campus stakeholders.     

Click to access Public-Disclosure-Notice-Haskell-Indian-Nations-University.pdf

Haskell’s governance structure is “severely dysfunctional” as described in congressional hearings and that dysfunction originates inside the DOI, BIA and BIE.  The Haskell letters reveal the real crisis; a federal system that has failed its trust responsibility to Indian beneficiaries. The Haskell letters read together reinforce what FNJ has been reporting for months—the Higher Learning Commission’s accreditation warning is not about Haskell’s people—it is about the federal system that governs them.  Indians pay the price. 

The Haskell letters agree on the root cause: Federal Mismanagement.  The Faculty Senate warns that Haskell faces an existential threat because of chronic underfunding, unsafe facilities, and unstable operations.  Their letter states that the charter bills “fail to uphold federal treaty obligations” ad that Haskell’s day-to-day operations are already fragile. 

The Haskell Board of Regents in its response makes a parallel point from a different angle.  It states that the federal status quo “provides no statutory guarantee of tuition-free attendance, no minimum funding floor, and no protection against the kind of workforce disruption Haskell experienced in February 2025. 

Both Haskell letters describe the same reality.  The federal trustee has not provided the structure, stability or accountability required to operate a modern university.  This is exactly what the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) warned when it placed Haskell on accreditation notice findings rooted in lack of governance, lack of planning, and lack of institutional capacity. 

The Haskell letters confirm the Congressional Record: “Severely Dysfunctional” as testified under oath.  The Faculty Senate and Board of Regents’ letters now provide documentary evidence of the dysfunction:

• Deferred maintenance exceeding $110 million
• Annual operating needs far above current appropriations
• Leadership turnover spanning a decade
• A federal workforce vulnerable to federal political actions
• No statutory protection for tuition-free access
• No endowment authority, no fundraising authority, no funding floor

These are not campus-level failures.  These are federal structural failures.

First Nations Journal has said this repeatedly:  Haskell’s accreditation crisis is the predictable outcome of a federal system that has never been designed to support a university.  Haskell has been set up to fail.  Indians pay the price.

The Haskell federal trustee has failed, and Congress must correct that failure.  The Haskell Indian Nations University Improvement Act contains promising mechanism, but it also contains gaps.  These gaps are not reason to abandon reforms—they are the fiduciary duty of Congress to fix.  The Haskell letters reveal what HLC already saw: Lack of Structure and Accountability.  The HLC placed Haskell on notice because of:

• Governance instability
• Lack of planning
• Lack of institutional capacity
• Lack of Accountability

The HINU Improvement Act is not perfect; it contains gaps that must be addressed:

• Explicit protection of tuition-free access
• Explicit protection of land-grant and TCU status
• A realistic transition timeline
• Full remediation of deferred maintenance
• Guaranteed continuity of services
• Mandatory consultation with students, faculty, and tribal nations

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2140

These are not optional.  They are the fiduciary obligations of Congress under the federal trust responsibility.  Reform is necessary—but only if it strengthens, not weakens, the federal obligation to Indian student beneficiaries. 

First Nations Journal presses Congress to amend the HINU Improvement Act to fully honor the treaty and trust responsibility—and finally give Haskell the stable, accountable, and sovereign-respecting structure it has always deserved.   

The FNJ looks forward to the Path forward and genuine Indian Self-Determination in our nation’s 250^th anniversary. 

                                                           FIRST NATIONS JOURNAL

M’gwitch, 🪶

Steve Cadue

Kickapoo Nation Kansas