photo by: Lauren Fox
Haskell Indian Nations University professor Daniel Wildcat is pictured on campus outside of Hiawatha Hall on March 10.
Haskell Indian Nations University professor Daniel Wildcat has been an advocate for over two decades for restoring one of the campus’ central buildings, and now he wants to tie it to another project: a place to discuss justice.
The building is Hiawatha Hall, a structure built in 1898 that used to serve a variety of functions — chapel space, a gym for female students, a location for theater performances. But for over 20 years, Wildcat estimates, the building has sat dormant and in disrepair. Wildcat said the idea to use the building as a place to discuss justice issues “just kind of hit me like a thunderbolt” while he was thinking about events and tensions of the past year, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement and the nation’s stark political divisions.