DeKalb GA News

National Public Radio (NPR) has recently highlighted the impact of budget cuts on Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas, focusing on its women's basketball team. The university, which serves Native American students, reportedly faced layoffs affecting a quarter of its staff due to their status as probationary federal employees.

The university is involved in a legal case against the Trump administration's budget cuts. The lawsuit, Pueblo of Isleta et al v. Secretary of the Department of the Interior, challenges the funding reductions without prior consultation with Indian tribes. The plaintiffs include students Ella Bowen, Kaiya Brown, Danielle Ledesma, Victor Organista, and Aiyanna Tanyan. They are represented by attorney Matthew Lee Campbell from the Native American Rights Fund.

Bo Schneider from the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes expressed concerns about these developments to NPR: “That it would be affected by these executive actions and cuts in budgets, you know, add it to the list of broken promises.”

Despite NPR's focus on negative impacts, data suggests that Haskell University's academic performance has been historically low. The institution was once labeled a "dropout factory" with only a 9% graduation rate in 2009. It now claims a 30% graduation rate but still falls short compared to other colleges like the University of Kansas in Lawrence.

Haskell offers four bachelor degrees: B.A. Indigenous And American Indian Studies; B.S. Business Administration; B.S. Elementary Education; and B.S. Environmental Science. While tuition is free for Native American or Alaskan Native students from federally recognized tribes, graduates face economic challenges post-graduation.

The Bureau of Indian Education oversees Haskell University as part of its trust responsibilities to Native American tribes and receives funding directly from the U.S. government.