Haskell Indian Nations University
Haskell Indian Nations University is a public tribal land-grant university in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1884 as a residential boarding school for Native American children, the school has developed into a university operated by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs that offers both associate and baccalaureate degrees. The college was founded to serve members of federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States. It is the oldest continually operating federal school for American Indians.
Approximately 140 Tribal nations and Alaska Native communities are represented at Haskell, which is funded directly by the Bureau of Indian Education as a U.S. Trust Responsibility to Native American Tribes. While the school does not charge tuition, students are responsible for paying yearly fees.
Twelve campus buildings have been designated as U.S. National Historic Landmarks. Haskell is home to the Haskell Cultural Center and Museum, the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame, the Indian Leader, the oldest Native American student newspaper in the country; and numerous student clubs and organizations. Faculty and students built the Haskell Medicine Wheel Earthwork in 1992, and the Haskell-Baker Wetlands are important for migrating birds. The renowned Rinehart Collection is housed in the Haskell Cultural Center. Numerous sculptures and murals are located throughout the campus. Haskell also is a member of the American Council on Education, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, the Higher Learning Commission, and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
The university hosts cultural and academic events that attract visitors from across the country and abroad. Such events include the annual Haskell Indian Art Market, the Stories-n-Motion Film Festival, and the Haskell Commencement and Pow-Wow. These public events are held along with numerous educational conferences, workshops, and presentations.
History
The history of Haskell Indian Nations University reflects both U.S. Indian policy and self-determination efforts by American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Haskell was founded during an era following the Indian Wars when the federal government believed that Native Americans needed to assimilate into the majority culture in order to survive. The US government had earlier provided some schools on reservations according to treaties, which were usually administered by religious missions. In the late 19th century, it also began to establish off-reservation boarding schools. Native American children were recruited from a variety of tribes to attend for their education, and were expected to abandon their tribal traditions while there. The Carlisle Indian Industrial School, founded in 1879 in Pennsylvania, became the model for federal immersion programs in education. In 1882 the United States Congress authorized three new boarding schools to be established in Nebraska, Kansas, and Indian Territory, and the Carlisle school was the model for these soon-to-be-constructed institutions, including what became Haskell in Kansas.When Haskell opened in 1884, it was called "United States Indian Industrial Training School". It had 22 elementary school-age students the first year. Soon boys were taught skills in tailoring, wagon making, blacksmithing, harness making, painting, shoe making, and farming, reflecting trades common to their mostly rural and small town environments of reservations. Girls studied cooking, sewing and homemaking. As was typical of many such rural schools, most of the students' food was produced on the associated Haskell farm. Older students were expected to work while at the school, as in the model of Tuskegee Institute and similar independent institutions.
According to many sources, school living conditions during the 1880s and 1890s were harsh. Organized under the semi-military system of the Carlisle Indian School, students wore uniforms to enforce conformity and end tribal identification. Their hair was cut when they entered school, which was especially painful for the boys, as in most tribes, adult men kept long hair. The children marched to classes and exercised regularly. Students were often physically punished if they failed to follow the rules of the institute. At least 103 children died while attending the school.
In 1887, the school was renamed "Haskell Institute" in honor of Dudley Haskell, the U.S. representative from Kansas's 2nd district who achieved having the school built in Lawrence.
In 1889, Charles T. Meserve was appointed as the fifth superintendent in Haskell's five-year history. His discharge of many employees brought criticism from the president of the National Education Association. Students reacted to his harsh treatment by sending four protesting petitions to the BIA in Washington, DC. A Special Indian Agent, appointed to investigate the incident, whitewashed the whole situation.
In the early 20th century, Haskell continued to evolve while operated by the federal government. It added classes for upper grades, and in 1927 received accreditation as a Kansas high school. By 1935 it was classified as a vocational-technical school.
From the 1900s through the 1930s, Haskell became famous for its football teams. In competition with teams from colleges such as Harvard, Yale, and Brown, Haskell was known as the "Powerhouse of the West". From 1902 to 1919, Haskell won five of eleven games played against the University of Texas.
During the 1960s, Native Americans organized to assert their cultures and work to realign the relationships between federally recognized tribes and the federal government. Among the areas they wanted to change was education of their children. They wanted more from the schools. They were encouraged by the civil rights movement of African Americans to press for fulfillment of treaty conditions. At Haskell, students and activists wanted to reconfigure the school's pedagogical approach to better serve Indian country and Alaska Native communities. In 1965, Haskell graduated its last high school class.
Two years later, with more curriculum development, the school in 1967 was renamed as "Haskell Indian Junior College", able to award associate degrees and certificates in special skills programs. was president of Haskell Indian Junior College in Lawrence, Kansas, from 1969 to 1981. By the late 1980s, planning began to develop the institution as a four-year, bachelor-degree granting university.
In 1993, the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Ada Deer, approved that development, which had been built on expansion of the curricula and programs. It was renamed Haskell Indian Nations University. Haskell offered its first four-year baccalaureate degree program in elementary teacher education. Within a few years, Haskell had developed its own, specialized bachelor's degree program in American Indian Studies; Business Administration and Environmental Sciences degree programs soon followed.
In 1994, Congress designated this college and 31 other tribal colleges as land-grant colleges, to provide them with benefits of related programs.
At the turn of the 21st century, Haskell had become a tribal-based university with a curriculum serving general Native American and Alaska Native goals. In 2013 it had about 1,000 students. Today, Haskell's alumni work in numerous areas to serve Indian country and Alaska Native communities.
The university faced national scrutiny in 2024 after a Bureau of Indian Education report revealed that university officials routinely failed to report or adequately respond to sexual harassment and assault complaints. The investigation found that students’ reports of sexual abuse were often ignored, and in some cases, survivors were denied support or faced retaliation, including expulsion following academic struggles related to their experiences. The BIE report also documented that accused individuals were sometimes allowed to remain on campus and that staff accused of misconduct were reassigned rather than disciplined. These findings led to a congressional hearing, where lawmakers criticized the university’s culture of neglect and the BIE’s inadequate oversight, prompting calls for policy reforms and improved campus safety measures.
On February 14, 2025, in the middle of the school year, Haskell was forced to lay off a quarter of its staff due to budget cuts by the Trump administration.
Campus
The Haskell campus has 12 buildings that have been designated as U.S. National Historic Landmarks. In addition to its historic architecture, Haskell is recognized for its collection of public sculptures, murals, photographs, and paintings. Examples include the well-known sculpture, Comrade in Mourning, by Allan Houser.The Haskell-Baker Wetlands span approximately on the south side of the Haskell campus. These wetlands are home to 243 species of birds, 21 species of fish, 22 species of reptiles, and 26 species of plants. This area serves as a feeding and breeding ground for the migratory birds that breed in Canada and migrate to Mexico and South America. The Northern Crawfish Frog is an endangered species and its critical habitat is the wetlands.