Tribes, Native Students Sue Feds Over Education Cuts

Introduction to the Lawsuit

A coalition of tribal nations and students is suing the federal government over major cuts to a pair of colleges and a federal agency serving Native American students. The staffing cuts, part of President Donald Trump’s effort to reduce the federal workforce, have slashed basic services on the campuses of ​​Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, known as SIPI, in New Mexico. The lawsuit says the feds failed to notify or consult with tribal nations prior to making the cuts.

Background on the Federal Obligation

The lawsuit notes that those schools — as well as the federal Bureau of Indian Education — are part of a system that fulfills the federal government’s legal obligation to provide education for Native people. Tribal nations secured that right in a series of treaties in exchange for conceding land. “The United States government has legal obligations to Tribal Nations that they agreed to in treaties and have been written into federal law,” Jacqueline De León, staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, the legal group leading the lawsuit, said in a statement announcing the case. “The abrupt and drastic changes that happened since February, without consultation or even pre-notification, are completely illegal.”

Impact on Students and Schools

Three tribal nations and five Native students have joined the lawsuit. Asked about the case, federal officials told media outlets they do not comment on pending litigation. According to Haskell student Ella Bowen, cuts to custodial staff have left bathrooms with overflowing trash cans and no toilet paper. SIPI student Kaiya Jade Brown said that school’s campus has suffered from power outages because of a lack of maintenance workers. Both schools lost roughly a quarter of their staff last month after Trump and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency task force ordered major cuts across a slew of federal agencies.

Details of the Cuts and Their Effects

While the schools have since been able to hire back some instructional staff, “[i]t is not even close to enough,” Native American Rights Fund Deputy Director Matthew Campbell said in the statement. Thirty-four courses at Haskell lost their instructors in February, according to the statement. Some students have reported delays in their financial aid, and SIPI students are dealing with brown, unsafe tap water, with repairs put on hold due to the cuts, the statement said. And the school did not have enough faculty to administer midterm exams.

Tribal Nations Involved

The Pueblo of Isleta; the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation; and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are suing the feds. “Despite having a treaty obligation to provide educational opportunities to Tribal students, the federal government has long failed to offer adequate services,” Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Lieutenant Governor Hershel Gorham said in the statement. “Just when the Bureau of Indian Education was taking steps to fix the situation, these cuts undermined all those efforts. These institutions are precious to our communities, we won’t sit by and watch them fail.”

Conclusion

The lawsuit by the tribal nations and Native students against the federal government highlights the significant challenges faced by Native American students in accessing quality education. The cuts to the federal agencies serving these communities have exacerbated existing issues, such as inadequate facilities and lack of resources. The outcome of this lawsuit will be crucial in determining the future of education for Native American students and the federal government’s commitment to its treaty obligations.

FAQs

• Q: Which schools are affected by the federal cuts?
  A: Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) in New Mexico are the two schools directly affected by the cuts.
• Q: What are the tribal nations involved in the lawsuit?
  A: The Pueblo of Isleta, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are the three tribal nations that have joined the lawsuit against the federal government.
• Q: What are the main issues caused by the cuts?
  A: The cuts have led to a lack of basic services on campus, including custodial staff, maintenance workers, and instructional staff. This has resulted in issues such as overflowing trash, power outages, delays in financial aid, and unsafe tap water.
• Q: What is the basis of the lawsuit?
  A: The lawsuit is based on the federal government’s legal obligation to provide education to Native American students, as agreed upon in treaties and written into federal law. The plaintiffs argue that the government failed to notify or consult with tribal nations before making the cuts.
  Originally Published: March 13, 2025 at 1:16 PM EDT
  By Alex Brown, Stateline.org
  ©2025 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.