Haskell Indian Nations University turns 125 this year. The university is recognizing its historical anniversary with a yearlong series of events officials are referring to as a commemoration rather than a celebration. Leaders says they will not dodge the painful elements of the school’s history.
“These things happened. They can’t be ignored,” Barbara Hallum, director of Haskell’s extension, says, referring to the early days when Haskell functioned as a boarding school.
Haskell opened its doors in 1884 as the United States Industrial Training School to 22 elementary school students. Children as young as 4 years old were separated from their families for months at a time as they attended the school, which focused its training on domestic arts. In keeping with the thinking of the day, Indian culture and language were seen as the culprits that kept American Indians from becoming American citizens. Children were routinely punished for speaking their language or disobeying the military-style rules of the school. Punishment included incarceration in a jail on campus. The lock from the jail cell is on display today at the school’s cultural center.
Haskell is the longest continually running federal school for American Indians and in many ways is a mirror for the relationship between tribes and the U. S. government.
A 2002 exhibit at the university’s museum and cultural center honoring children who have died at Haskell was entitled, “Honoring Our Children Through Seasons of Sacrifice, Survival, Change and Celebration.” In many ways, this might be a fitting name for the schools 125th year commemoration. Haskell’s history is, indeed, a long journey from terrible sacrifice to celebration of culture and heritage.
From its early years of forcing American Indians to assimilate into American culture, Haskell has evolved into a beacon for tribal sovereignty, self-determination and cultural preservation.
By 1927, Haskell became an accredited high school, evolving into vocational-technical school in 1935. As American Indians learned more about Western-style education and were influenced by the civil rights movement of the 1960s, they began to demand more from their schools. Haskell began offering a junior college curriculum in 1970 and created its first baccalaureate degree program in 1993. Symbolizing its evolution into a center for Indian education, research and cultural programming, the school changed its name from Haskell Indian Junior College to Haskell Indian Nations University. The university offers four bachelor’s programs in elementary teacher education, American Indian studies, business administration and environmental science.
