Deferred Maintenance at Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU) is not an accountability category, a facilities backlog, or a budget inconvenience. It is a federal trust responsibility—one that the Department of the Interior (DOI) has knowingly evaded for decades. First Nations Journal documents that the strongest evidence of this breach comes from three independent federal and accreditation authorities: the U S Government Accounting Office, the Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General, and the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Together, these bodies establish the most complete record of federal mismanagement of Haskell in the institution’s history.
HLC-Action-Letter-Haskell-Indian-Nations-University-7.8.25.pdf
The HLC’s accreditation standards require institutions to maintain facilities that support academic, quality, student safety, and mission fulfilment, i.e., cultural relevant education for Indians, the historical context behind the formation and evolution of Haskell as cited in the findings of the Haskell Indian Nations Univerfsity Improvement Act (S,2140/H.R. 4085). Critical and central to cultural relevant Indian education for HINU students is the Haskell Wetlands. The Haskell Wetlands have cultural significance and academic mission need of Indigenous communities.
Cultural relevant education the academic mission of Haskell Indian Nations University is rooted in the land and sentient to our being.
Land and natural resources for Native American people are not merely commodities, to be bought, sold, or extracted. Instead, they are deeply sacred and form the foundation of Indigenous identity, spirituality, culture, and survival. Indigenous traditions recognize the earth, water, air, and all living creatures as interconnected relatives. The land requires humans to interact with it through respect and stewardship. Our Indigenous practices are passed down across generations in the principle of the coming Seventh Generation.
University research drives major breakthroughs that help us live healthier and longer lives. They innovate to keep our troops and our loved ones safe. Research grows our economy. Federally funded university research has fueled U. S. scientific dominance. Research has resulted in new discoveries and innovations that have improved our health, created new jobs and economic growth, and strengthened our nation.
Research and development programs are appropriated in the Haskell Indian Nations University Improvement Act. (S.2140/H.R. 4085).
Wetlands constitute a resource of great economic, cultural, scientific and recreational value to human life by providing provisioning, regulating and supporting ecosystem services. Wetlands and people are ultimately interdependent. Wetlands are an essential component of the global water cycle and play a key role in climate regulation. The progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands needs to be stopped, and measures must be taken to conserve and make wise use of wetland resources.
The Haskell Wetlands are treated as expendable land, ignored by the Department of the Interior (DOI), and left without scientific infrastructure, academic integration, or federal maintenance
First Nations Journal writes of the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) Wetland Inventory/Land Acknowledgement as a model of scientific, rigor, federal compliance, and campus-wide ecological stewardship—and it provides exactly the precedent that demonstrates what Haskell should already have under federal trust and treaty responsibility.
UMD Wetland Inventory | Facilities Management | University of Minnesota Duluth
The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) stands as one of the most comprehensive, scientifically disciplined, and federally aligned campus wetland program in the United States. It is not merely an environmental mapping exercise, it is a full institutional framework that integrates classification, assessment, regulatory compliance, field validation, and long-term ecological monitoring across the entire Duluth campus.
First Nations Journal asserts the UMD Wetland Inventory demonstrates what a federally Indian university like Haskell Indian Nations University should already have under federal trust responsibility. UMD’s model exposes the severe dysfunction at Haskell by showing what competent, science-based stewardship looks like when a university takes wetlands seriously as educational assets, research platforms, and protected ecological systems.
Land Acknowledgment | About UMD | University of Minnesota Duluth
Across the country, universities that steward sensitive ecological lands operate under clear, science-based frameworks that protect wetlands, ensure compliance with federal environmental law, and maintain public accountability. One of the strongest examples is the UNMD hydrology, vegetation, wildlife habitat, and ecological function across UMD’s protected lands. It is a model of how institutions should treat wetlands as irreplaceable public assets requiring rigorous oversight, transparent reporting and continuous scientific evaluation.
FNJ presents this example for one reason: Haskell Indian Nations University deserves the same standard of care. Instead, the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Indian Education have allowed the Haskell Wetlands—federally protected trust land—to fall into administrative neglect, regulatory ambiguity, and operational dysfunction. The contrast is not academic. It is a direct reflection of how federal agencies treat Tribal trust resources versus how universities treat their own ecological holdings.
UMD’s inventory uses hydrological modeling, soil sampling, vegetation surveys and GIS-based mapping to classify wetlands by type, function, and ecological sensitivity. This is not a one-time exercise. It is a living dataset updated as conditions change, storms alter hydrology, or restoration projects succeed or fail.
This is the baseline standard for any institution claiming to “protect” wetlands. Haskell has never been provided such a baseline—because DOI has never funded or required one.
UMD’s wetlands inventory adheres to Regulatory Compliance and Public Accountability and is tied directly to:
- Clean Water Act jurisdictional determinations
- State environmental permitting
- Federal reporting requirements
- Public transparency obligations
The inventory ensures UMD cannot quietly degrade wetlands, authorize construction, or ignore ecological damage. Every action is documented, reviewed and publicly accessible.
Haskell, by contrast, has no such system. DOI’s failure to maintain a wetlands inventory means:
- No baseline ecological data
- No compliance framework
- No public transparency
- No enforceable accountability
This is not an oversight. It is a breach of trust responsibility.
UMD’s wetlands inventory is not just a regulatory tool—it is an academic engine. Faculty and students use it for:
- Ecological monitoring
- Climate-change research
- Restoration projects
- Environmental justice studies
The inventory is a platform for learning, discovery, and community engagement. Haskell’s wetlands could serve the same purpose. Instead, DOI’s neglect has turned a potential national research asset into a liability.
The Haskell Wetlands are not university property. They are federal trust land held for Tribal nations. That status imposes a higher legal duty than any state university faces. Yet UMD’s wetlands receive more scientific care, regulatory oversight, and administrative attention than Haskell’s federally protected wetlands.
The UMD’s Wetland Inventory is not a single report—it is a multi-chapter institutional system:
- Introduction & Purpose
- Classification & Assessment Methods
- Regulatory Framework (Clean Water act Sections, 404 LOP-05-MN & RGP-03-MN)
- Inventory Results
- Photo Logs, Field Studies, Limnology Data, and NRRI Research Integration
This structure mirrors the standards used by federal agencies, including the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency. It is the level of rigor expected for any federally connected land base-precisely the standard Haskell should meet.
This multi-system approach ensures wetland standards are not only mapped but understood in terms of:
- Hydrology
- Vegetation
- Geomorphology
- Ecology function
- Susceptibility to degradation
This is the standard for wetland science. Haskell has none of these systems in place—despite being a federal Indian university with a trust-protected land base.
This level of scientific infrastructure is what a federal trustee should provide to Haskell—and what Department of the Interior and U S Burau of Indian Education have systematically failed to deliver. The Haskell Wetlands should be treated as living laboratories, central to the university’s scientific mission. Haskell’s wetlands are treated as expendable land, ignored by Department of the Interior, and left without scientific infrastructure, academic integration, or federal maintenance.
UMD’s Wetland Inventory is part of a statewide, multi-agency, decade-long update of Minnesota’s National Wetland Inventory. This update:
- Provides location, extent, and type of wetlands
- Supports regulation, restoration, and conservation
- Uses standardized federal classification systems
- Includes quality assurance and topologic consistency checks
- Is funded by the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund
- Is executed by Ducks Unlimited, St. Mary’s University and the Minnesota DNR
This is what coordinated federal-state university partnership looks like. Haskell has never received such coordinated support—despite being a federal Indian University with trust-protected wetland system.
The UMD’s Wetland Inventory is a template for what a competent wetland stewardship looks like in contrast to the neglect of DOI/BIE’s violation of federal trust responsibility. Haskell’s wetland program should include classification, assessment, regulatory compliance, field validation, scientific integration, and long-term monitoring. If a state university can maintain this level of wetland stewardship, a federal Indian University—held in trust by the United States—should exceed it.
UMD’s Wetland Inventory proves that wetland stewardship is not optional—it is a scientific, regulatory and educational obligation. The federal government’s failure to provide Haskell with an equivalent system is a breach of trust responsibility, a failure of federal maintenance, and a direct contributor to the severe dysfunction documented across the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Education.
First Nations Journal asserts that the federal government must immediately adopt a wetlands inventory framework for Haskell modeled on the UMD standard. This includes:
- Full ecological mapping
- Hydrological and soil analysis
- Wildlife and habitat documentation
- Annual updates
- Public transparency
- Integration with Haskell’s academic programs
This is not optional. It is the minimum standard of trust responsibility. UMD’s inventory proves that such a system is feasible, affordable, and academically beneficial. The only missing ingredient at Haskell is federal will.
The findings cited in the HINU Improvement Act cites the need for culturally relevant education for Indians, the historical context behind the formation and evolution of Haskell Indian Nations University. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA) purpose is to examine problems in Indian Affairs and make recommendations to Congress. The SCIA must advance the HINU Improvement Act in their recommendation to Congress.
First Nations Journal will continue to press the federal government to achieve Haskell’s academic mission of excellence, cultural and intellectual prominence and holistic education that addresses the needs of Indigenous communities.
FNJ Calls on the Congress to Action.
FIRST NATIONS JOUIRNAL
M’gwitch, 🪶
Steve Cadue
Kickapoo
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