:: Newsletter ::
Spring 2006
Haskell History Like Rose Kerstetter, the Oneida elder profiled in this issue, many Indian elders today received their education at Haskell Institute and many of their grandchildren now attend its successor, Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU)
Haskell was initially opened in 1884 as the United States Indian Industrial Training School. In 1887 its name was changed to Haskell Institute in honor of the U.S. Representative from Kansas, Dudley Haskell, who led efforts to have the school built in Lawrence, Kansas. While it initially served only grade school aged children, HINU now only serves college aged students.
As one of the first boarding schools established off-reservation for Indian children, its enrollment quickly grew from 22 to 400 in a few months. Training of these children, grades one through five, concentrated on agriculture skills for boys and domestic skills for girls. “The emphasis in the beginning was on assimilation – teaching the Indian boys and girls to become productive members of the dominant society.” (1a)
Of course, as an off-reservation school, this meant that these “Haskell babies” were separated from their families and communities. Soon after arrival at the school, these young children were stripped of their identities, given Christian names and dressed in “Anglo” clothes.
More information available at: http://www.heard.org/show-exhibit.php
Eventually, Haskell began to serve students through the eighth grade and later through high school students with its curriculum expanding to include more academics, trades, and clerical training. In 1895, Haskell opened its commercial department which later became the business department. The department began with five typewriters and Haskell lays claim to offering the first touch-typing class in Kansas. (4) In the 1930’s, Haskell began to expand its industrial training programs. Eventually the school offered post-secondary vocational-technical programs. The last Haskell high school class graduated in 1965. More changes occurred as the curriculum was expanded to include junior college coursework and was renamed in 1970 to Haskell Indian Junior College.
“Gradually over the years the emphasis changed from assimilation to studying and preserving American Indian culture”. (1b). As such, the curriculum has continued to evolve to address this need and to offer bachelor degree programs. In 1993, the current name of Haskell Indian Nations University was approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Haskell and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque are the only two institutions of higher education directly operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The BIA also awards grants to several tribally controlled colleges and universities. (5)
Today, HINU has an average student enrollment of about 1,000 students per semester. Collectively, the students represent over 150 Indian nations and over 35 states. Due to its significance to the history of the United States and government relations with the American Indian tribes, 12 of Haskell’s early structures were designated as a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 1961. (6)
Beyond these early structures, the significance of Haskell extends up through several generations of Indian people and across many Indian nations. For some students, their Haskell experience was “bittersweet” and for others “their memories are too painful to discuss”. (2b)
Today, students attend Haskell by choice to pursue a variety of bachelor and associate degree options. As part of their studies, they learn about the history and culture of their own tribes and that of their fellow students. Students training to become tribal archivists and tribal museum managers can get “hands on experience working with the Haskell Cultural Center’s museum and archives collections. They can also participate in conducting and transcribing historical interviews with tribal elders”. Opened in 2002, the cultural center “is a living center that celebrates Native culture as a living culture” and is “dedicated in remembrance of the first Haskell students in 1884 and to all students who have attended Haskell”. (1c)
1. a, b, c. http://www.haskell.edu/archive/haskell_archive.htm - http://www.heard.org/show-exhibit.php 2. a,b. http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0402/p14s01-lecs.html 3. http://www.heard.org/exhibits-current.php 4. http://www.haskell.edu/haskell/about.asp 5. http://www.oiep/bia.edu/schools_colleges.html 6. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=228&ResourceType=none |