"This past year, the Haskell Indian Nations University admissions office rejected an application for attendance from a 1950s graduate of Haskell Institute. She was not turned away based on grades, aptitude or any other matter related to achievement or lack thereof. This Haskell Institute alumnus was not allowed to pursue a higher education degree at the very school where she was a high school graduate, because her tribe, the Nanticoke in Delaware, is not recognized by the federal government. At Haskell, the BIA listed her as half Indian by blood. Years ago, Haskell was one of few options for an accredited high school education for the Nanticoke community as the area white and black schools prohibited their attendance.

Also rejected were a member of the MOWA Choctaw in Alabama, a daughter of a MOWA Choctaw who attended the Bureau of Indian Education funded Choctaw Central High School near Philadelphia, Miss., as well as the grandson of a Haskell attendee from the Pamunkey reservation in Virginia. Prior to these rejections, Haskell alumni from both federal and non-federal tribes who attended historically Indian schools met with the Haskell administration on the campus in Kansas in order to understand how they and their descendants could not attend their own alma mater. Five minutes prior to meeting, after some elders had traveled in excess of 1,000 miles to attend, the former Haskell president called in sick leaving the remaining Haskell staff members with no decision-making authority. Because who wants to tell a brown, identifiable alumni that they are not Indian anymore?

At first, administrators at the BIE rejected the notion that “non-recognized” tribes had ever attended their schools. Office of Federal Acknowledgment Director Lee Fleming, a white-identifiable member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, did one better a couple of years earlier when presented with the information by saying that “sometimes the federal government makes mistakes.”

After documentation was presented to the BIE showing lengthy attendance, BIE administrator Stephanie Birdwell, another white-identifiable member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the tribe whose administration sanctions the wholesale attack on “non-federal” Indians, responded, “Based on the documentation and information enclosed with your letter, the Haskell Endangered Legacy Project (H.E.L.P.) consortium’s support of Haskell alumni promotes a valuable effort in showcasing the rich history that the respective ‘non-federally’ recognized tribal communities have played in the Haskell legacy.”"

Get the Story:
Cedric Sunray: White privilege in action at Haskell (Indian Country Today 11/19)