Tribes, students: Indian education changes break the law - ICT
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Renewed federal lawsuit challenges Trump administration’s Bureau of Indian Education layoffs and restructuring of treaty-mandated programs

Kevin Abourezk
ICT

Feb. 11, 2025 – Valentine’s Day – is a day Ella Bowen won’t soon forget.

That day, more than a quarter of the staff at Haskell Indian Nations University lost their jobs after President Donald Trump ordered a mass layoff of federal employees. Haskell is one of two Native universities that are federally funded and operated.

As a result of those layoffs at Haskell, in Lawrence, Kansas, 34 courses lost their instructors; a welcome-back powwow was postponed; its Student Success Center closed; and student financial aid was delayed. As all but three custodial staff were laid off, trash cans overflowed, bathrooms ran out of toilet paper, and cafeteria tables went uncleaned.

Bowen, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a Haskell student, lost her academic advisor to the layoffs and decided to do something about it.

She became a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed on behalf of three tribes – the Pueblo of Isleta, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, and Cheyenne Arapaho tribes – along with two other Native students – Kaiya Brown and Danielle Ledesma.

“It’s a very close-knit student body, and with our professors it’s really like a family, so it felt more like they were laying off our friends,” she told ICT. “They were losing a lot more than just their job, and we were losing a lot more than just our professors.”

The Native American Rights Fund filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs on March 7, 2025, alleging the federal government failed to consult with tribes before laying off employees at the Bureau of Indian Education and at BIE-run schools, including students at Haskell and at Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute, or SIPI – all of which saw many layoffs.

Last month, NARF added to its lawsuit, challenging the Trump administration’s 2025 decision to transfer more than a dozen U.S. Department of Education programs to the Departments of Interior and Labor as part of its plan to dismantle the Department of Education. In its amended complaint, NARF alleges that federal officials again failed to consult with tribes before making these changes, which the legal advocacy organization said has led to federal Indian education programs being overseen by agencies that lack expertise in those programs and resources to implement them.

“The federal government is attempting to radically restructure how it provides education for our children without consulting Tribal Nations despite federal law that gives us a clear say here,” said Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Chairman Joseph Rupnick in a statement.

The BIE operates 55 elementary and secondary schools and funds another 128 elementary and secondary schools operated by tribes under contracts and grants that collectively serve about 40,000 students. The BIE also operates Haskell and SIPI, which respectively serve about 975 students and 200-300 students.

NARF’s lawsuit asserts that BIE has a well-documented history of fiscal mismanagement and failure to provide adequate and hospitable educational facilities, in large part because of its underfunding and understaffing. To address these inadequacies, Congress enacted laws that require federal officials to consult with tribes before taking action regarding BIE and BIE schools.

The Trump administration’s mass layoff of federal employees and its decision to restructure Indian education programs constituted violations of these federally mandated consultation rules, NARF’s lawsuit claims.

NARF offered several examples of tribes’ concerns about the restructuring of federal Indian education programs and staff cutbacks and how they have affected – and continue to affect – those programs. Among those examples are:

  • The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are concerned that firings at Haskell could cause future classes to be canceled, potentially impacting students ability to access financial aid, student housing and student meal plans, as well challenging their ability to maintain full-time student status. Those tribes have also expressed concern that workforce reductions and restructuring of Indian education programs have led to reduced student admissions at Haskell and are jeopardizing the university’s accreditation.
  • The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes expressed concern in the lawsuit that a youth education grant funded and administered by the BIE has been overseen by three different specialists since October and the BIE has failed to respond to questions regarding the grant.
  • The Pueblo of Isleta stated that it has struggled to maintain communication with federal officials regarding management and funding of its school programs and has also experienced inconsistencies in staffing and funding related to its special education program, complicating the tribe’s ability to implement its programs. On July 21, 2026, BIE informed Isleta that a portion of its childhood learning disability program funding was “on hold” and that there was no anticipated release date for those funds.

Paige Willett, Citizen Potawatomi Nation and acting communications director for the Bureau of Indian Education, declined to comment on the lawsuit.

“As a matter of policy, the BIE does not comment on pending litigation,” she said.

Matthew Marinelli, NARF’s deputy director, said the federal government’s responsibility to consult with tribes before making changes to Indian education programs was established through treaties and federal law. He said NARF and its clients haven’t been able to determine how Indian education programs are being transferred out of the Department of Education.

“The United States is still not providing information,” he told ICT. “BIE has a responsibility to provide students with a safe and healthy learning environment. The federal government is required to consult with tribal nations meaningfully. These decisions that BIE has made are unlawful.”

He said the plaintiffs are seeking to have the federal government reverse its decisions by replacing employees who lost their jobs last year and leaving Indian education programs within the Department of Education.

Bowen, the Haskell student who is seeking a bachelor’s degree in Indigenous and American Indian Studies, said staff layoffs and funding cuts have forced students to find funding for their own events, including powwows and other student events. They have hosted raffles, cakewalks and other fundraisers to ensure they can continue to experience cultural programming, she said.

“This lawsuit accomplishes some justice as far as people realizing that this school isn’t just a waste of tax dollars,” she said. “This school helps heighten our statistics as Native Americans trying to get their degrees.”

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