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- By Levi Rickert
Three weeks into the second Trump administration, the negative impact of the president’s efforts to gut the federal government’s workforce is being felt in Indian Country.
On Friday, Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU) in Lawrence, Kansas, was instructed to lay off nearly 40 staff members, including professors, IT workers, and administrative staff. The lay offs are the result of President Donald Trump's executive order reinstating Schedule F for federal employees. The executive order reclassifies certain positions in the federal workforce and makes it easier for agencies to terminate employees, has led to the termination of a number of staff members at HINU.
Haskell Indian Nations University is operated by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Education.
The cuts, which primarily affect probationary employees, have left HINU students without essential teachers, clubs without sponsors, and many employees out of work.
According to a list of “talking points” from Haskell’s president, Frank Arpan, obtained by the Lawrence Journal-World, university administrators were instructed to tell terminated employees:
- “You will receive an email with a letter that will formally notify you that your probationary employment is being terminated, effective February 14, 2025.”
- “Please ensure to return all property, including your PIV card and keys/badges are returned to (your) supervisor by the close of business today.”
- “You will be in paid status through February 14, 2025. Employee benefits will continue for 30 days from separation.”
- “The Department appreciates your contributions to Indian Affairs during your time here and wish(es) you the best in your future endeavors.”
For the 2023-2024 academic year, Haskell had a student body of nearly 900, with a total staff of 165. Of that total, 42 were instructors, both full- and part-time.
“For HINU students, the effects are immediately visible. Several courses are now left without their original instructors, putting students’ educational experience in jeopardy. While some faculty members are being asked to take on additional classes to cover the vacancies, this has put an immense strain on the remaining staff. Teachers are now burdened with larger workloads, and the quality of education is at risk as educators juggle responsibilities beyond their capacity,” according to an article published Friday in The Indian Leader, Haskell’s student newspaper.
The university was once an Indian boarding school. It opened in 1884 under the name of United States Indian Industrial Training School with an enrollment of 22 Native American students. Within a semester the enrollment grew to 400 Native students from various tribes from various points of the country.
During the early 1970s, the school began offering a junior college curriculum and was known as Haskell Indian Junior College. In 1999, the U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs approved a change in the name, which became the “Haskell Indian Nations University.”
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