Haskell's History
Haskell Indian Nations University, the only four-year Native American university in the country, has grown over the last century from a school designed to assimilate Indian children into the white culture to a fully accredited university that celebrates the diversity and culture of the dozens of federally-recognized Indian tribes throughout the country.
The federally financed university traces its roots to one of the bitterest legacies of the Indian wars of the 19th century, which followed white migrations west and the confiscation of Native American lands.
The U.S. government founded Haskell as a training school for Indians, in part to fulfill numerous treaties that promised to educate Indians in exchange for their land. It was opened Sept. 1, 1884, under the name of the United States Indian Industrial Training School.
The government used Haskell and similar boarding schools elsewhere in an effort to indoctrinate young Indians in the "civilized" ways of the white man. The children were separated from their homes and families and they were forbidden to speak their native languages or practice their native religion. The students wore uniforms, their long hair was cut and discipline was severe.
Massachusetts Sen. George F. Hoar suggested in 1882 that "one-fourth of the youth of any tribe put at school away from the tribe will be of sufficient hostage against an Indian war."
In 1890 Congress named the school after the late U.S. Rep. Dudley C. Haskell, former chairman of the House committee on Indian affairs and a congressman from the second district of Kansas.
When the school opened in 1884 a small class of 22. Living conditions were bad and heating was inadequate for the bitter winter that followed, which proved disasterous for many of the first students.
You can still visit a half-acre cemetery behind a small sewage plant on the Haskell campus, bordered on one edge by woods and surrounded by a five-foot chain link fence. The cemetery's first occupant was a six-month-old Cheyenne boy called Harry White Wolf. He was among nine Haskell children who died during the cold winter of 1885. Ten died in 1886, seven in 1877, 16 in 1888. The burials for the most part ceased by 1913.
Despite sometimes dreadful conditions, enrollment quickly increased to more than 400 students. The early trades for boys included tailoring, wagon-making, black smithing, harness-making, painting, shoe-making and farming. Girls studied cooking, sewing and homemaking. Most of the students food was produced on the Haskell Farm and students were expected to participate in various industrial duties.
Only ten years passed before the school expanded its academic training beyond the elementary grades. A "normal school" was added because teachers were needed in the student's home communities. The commercial department, which is now the school's business department, opened in 1895 with five typewriters.
According to Haskell records, it is believed the first touch-typing class in Kansas was taught at Haskell.
By 1927, Haskell's high school classes were accredited by the state of Kansas and Haskell began offering post high school courses in a variety of areas.
Part of Haskell's attraction was not only its post high school curriculum but also it's success in athletics. Haskell football teams in the early 1900's to the 1930's are legendary, producing famed athletes such as Jim Thorpe. And even after the 1930's, when the emphasis on football began to decrease, athletics remained a high priority to Haskell students and alumni. Billy Mills, an Olympic gold medalist in the 10,000 meters, regularly comes back to Haskell to speak at functions. Today, Haskell continues to pay tribute to Thorpe, Mills and other great athletes by serving as the home of the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.
Industrial training became an important part of the curriculum in the early 1930s. By 1935 Haskell began to evolve into a post-high school vocational-technical institution. Gradually, the high school program was phased out, with the last class graduating in 1965.
In 1970, Haskell began offering a junior college curriculum and became Haskell Indian Junior College.
In 1992, after a period of planning for the 21st century, the national Haskell Board of Regents recommended a new name to reflect its vision for Haskell as a national center for Indian education, research and cultural preservation. In 1995, the assistant secretary approved the change, and Haskell became Haskell Indian Nations University.
Today, Haskell has an average semester enrollment of 800. Students represent federally recognized tribes from across the United States and are as culturally diverse as the country's geography, including tribes from the Southwest and from Alaska.
Students select programs that will prepare them to enter the baccalaureate program in elementary teacher education; to transfer to another baccalaureate degree granting institution; or to enter directly into employment.
Haskell continues to integrate American Indian/Alaskan Native culture into all it's curricula.
Haskell has also been actively involved in the Lawrence community. Lawrence High School and Lawrence Free State High School play their home football games at Haskell Stadium. And Haskell also has a strong relationship with South Junior High School, a local public junior high school on its southwest border.
Haskell's annual Indian art market in the fall draws thousands of visitors and artists from throughout the country.
However, not all of the relationships between Haskell and the community are rosy. Haskell and its board of regents have taken a strong stand against local government efforts in recent years to build the South Lawrence Trafficway near the school's southern border and its open-field prayer wheel on its south campus.