Following severe layoffs at Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, students and tribal leaders are suing the Trump administration for violating treaty obligations related to Indigenous education. Kaiya Brown, a Navajo student, became the lead plaintiff as the cuts disrupted essential support services at her college, affecting financial aid and tutoring programs. The lawsuit is a collective effort to challenge the sweeping federal budget cuts that have detrimental effects on tribal colleges nationwide, undermining the education and future of Native students amid challenging times.
These aren't just people. These are our family members. But in the aftermath of the layoffs, many basic support systems of her college disappeared: tutoring programs ended, financial aid disbursements were delayed, and students were unsure if their classes would resume.
On Valentine's Day, Kaiya Brown was in class at her local tribal college, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when she learned that 20 of her school's faculty and staff members had been laid off.
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