Weekly Blog 07/22/2026 - Haskell - HLC "Accredited on Notice" - DOI/BIA/BIE(Conflict-of-Interest) - HINU Improvement Act - Save Haskell - Congress Call to Action
The Associated Press story released this week on Native American graduation gains across the 183 Bureau of Indian Education schools demonstrates a national truth First Nations Journal has documented for months. Indian Education succeeds when innovation, accurate data and career technical pathways are present. Chief Leschi Schools in Puyallup is proofâgraduation rates rising, students thriving, and tribal-led programs delivering measurable results.
Native American graduation rates rise at federally funded schools - Los Angeles Times
But this national progress stands in direct contrast to the crisis at Haskell Indian Nations University, where the Higher Learning Commissionâs (HLCâs) sanction findings cite systemic failures, missing data, absent planning, and federal mismanagement so severe that HLC has already imposed a loss-of-accreditation sanction. The AP story shows what happens when tribal schools receive the tools they need. HLCâs sanction shows what happens when a federally funded institution is left without governance, without stability, and without the basic compliance systems every accredited university must maintain.
HLC-Action-Letter-Haskell-Indian-Nations-University-7.8.25.pdf
The contrast is unavoidable. Where tribes lead, students succeed. Where federal mismanagement persists, institutions collapse. The AP story is a national success narrative. HLCâs sanction letter is a federal failure narrative.Â
The HLC sanction is not a procedural inconvenienceâit is a formal warning of institutional failure and the direct precursor to Haskellâs closure. Every federal action, every congressional inquiry, every administrative debate is secondary to the December 2026 HLC determination which will decide whether Haskell continues to exist.Â
The only question that must be resolvedâimmediately and without deflectionâis the amelioration of the HLC findings due in December 2026.  Without accreditation, Haskell closes. This is not conjecture, it is the direct consequences of HLC policy and federal higher education law.Â
The Department of the Interiorâs silence surrounding the sanction is itself dereliction.  The absence of a coordinated federal response signals a failure to grasp the severity of the warning. Haskell has been without a President for one year, and the institution remains under sanction with no credible remediation plan. The DOI FY2027 budget reductions further compound the crisis, making compliance with HLC sustainability standards unattainable without congressional intervention.Â
THE Higher Learning Commissionâs (HLC) sanction of âAccredited on Noticeâ is not a routine compliance matter. It is a declaration that Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU) is at risk of losing accreditationâthe final stage before institutional closure. The seriousness of this sanction cannot be overstated, and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA) must heed it. The HLCâ sanction findings indicate the Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Haskell trustees have violated several HLC standards including Conflict-of-Interest.Â
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA) and Congress cannot turn a âblind eye to the HLC sanction.Â
The HLCâs sanction placed on Haskell is precisely a unique challenge of why SCIA was established by Congress. The SCIA studies the unique challenges faced by American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Native peoples and proposes legislation to alleviate the problems including issues regarding healthcare, education, economic development and land management. The HINU Improvement Act legislation has been proposed by Congress and needs to be advanced by SCIA. The SCIA committee shapes federal policies that uphold the government-to-government federal trust responsibility with Native nations.     Â
For too long, Haskellâs decline was treated as a campus-level issue, a matter of internal management, an Indian problem, of temporary disruption. HLC has now removed all doubt. The accreditor has concluded that the federal trusteeâDepartment of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-has failed to meet the basic standards required of any institution of higher education. This is not conjecture. This is not rumor. This is not political rhetoric. This is the accreditorâs formal finding.Â
This is a âBright Line HLC standard and cannot be ignored. If a law isnât enforced, it might as well not exist. And, if Haskell Indian beneficiaries are too afraid to exercise their rights, then they donât really have those rights at all. Lawmakers have recognized this lack of academic freedom first amendment rights at Haskell.  Â
HLCâs sanction places Congress directly in the center of the Haskell crisis. The accreditor has made clear that Haskellâs governance structure is the problem, and only Congress has the authority to fix it. SCIA cannot defer, delegate, or wait for DOI to act. DOI has already demonstrated that it cannot correct the deficiencies. HLC has confirmed that it will not. The responsibility now rests with Congress alone.
This is why the Haskell Indian Nations University Improvement Act is not simply a policy optionâit is the only option left to save Haskell. The Act provides the governance structure necessary to meet accreditation standards, restore institutional authority, and protect the future of tribal higher education.
S.2140 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): Haskell Indian Nations University Improvement Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress Â
If Congress does not act, Haskell will lose accreditation. If Haskell loses accreditation, Haskell closes. There is no alternative path.Â
The seriousness of this moment demands clarity, urgency and honesty. First Nations Journal will continue to document the crisis for the public record, but the next move belongs to SCIA. The accreditor spoke. The warning has been issued. The time for congressional action is now.Â
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Source: Weekly Blog 07/22/2026 - Haskell - HLC "Accredited on Notice" - DOI/BIA/BIE(Conflict-of-Interest) - HINU Improvement Act - Save Haskell - Congress Call to Action