- Details
- By Neely Bardwell
Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU) Cross Country and Track & Field student-athletes are seeking a meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum’s decision to fire instructors and staff at their university.
In a letter dated March 2, 2025, the track teams members wrote: "We are writing to SAVE OUR HISTORIC SCHOOL, SAVE OUR EDUCATION, AND SAVE OUR FUTURE."
The request says they will travel to the White House in Washington, D.C. to see the president or he could come to HINU to see them in Lawrence, Kansas.
The request comes on the heels of an executive order that terminated on Feb. 14, 2025 the employment of probationary employees, those with less than two years of service, through the reinstatement of Schedule F. The Trump-era policy that reclassified certain federal positions, simplifying the process of employee termination.
As a result, one in three instructors and staff were terminated at Haskell Indian Nations University. Nearly 40 staff members, including professors, IT personnel, and administrative workers, were laid off. Now, out of the total class of around 900 students, some 520 are left without their instructors in the middle of the semester.
Standingwater, a senior who is majoring in business at Haskell, served as Miss Haskell during the 2023-2024 school year. In addition to her studies, she serves as a tutor to underclass students. She spoke with Native News Online on Native Bidaské.
“Right now the situation is worse than what outsiders think it is. We’ve lost instructors, we’re losing mentors. We’re losing the backbone of Haskell, people that have been here for 25 years and didn’t get their employment federally until a couple of years ago,” Standingwater said.
This has caused severe disruption at the school, and student-athletes sent a letter calling on President Trump for a meeting at either the White House or at Haskell in Lawrence, KS. They are calling on Trump to rescind all February 14 terminations affecting HINU.
The letter was sent to the White House, and they are also calling on Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) to assist in getting the letter to Trump’s desk.
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