Haskell commencement to honor past, present students

Haskell Indian Nations University will pay tribute to a former state legislator and two World War II veterans during its commencement Friday.

“We are going present a ‘Friend of Haskell’ award to Jessie Branson,” said university spokeswoman Lori Tapahonso. “And we’ll be presenting honorary high school diplomas to George Whitewater and Donald Hughes, who left the old Haskell Institute to join the military.”

Hughes, a member of the Creek Nation, is mayor in Dalton, Mo., population 141.

“It’s an honor for them to be honoring me,” he said, noting he wasn’t at Haskell very long before enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1945.

“If times had been different I would have stayed, but all the younger boys were enlisting, so I did, too,” Hughes said in a telephone interview. He later served in the Philippines.

Hughes said he might not be able to attend the ceremony.

“I’m 77 years old — that’s old, man,” he said. “My kids want me to go, but I’ve been sick. I don’t know if I can make it.”

Attempts to reach Whitewater were unsuccessful. He is a Kickapoo and lives near Horton.

Branson represented Lawrence’s 44th District in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1981 to 1991. She was longtime member of the Haskell Foundation board of directors and currently serves on the Haskell Endowment governing board.

“I’m thrilled,” Branson said. “I’ve always thought Haskell was an important part of the Lawrence community. My interest has always been to help the students there in whatever way I can.”

Julie Sharp is Haskell Indian Nation University's 2005 Student of the Year. She will be one of the speakers at the commencement ceremony Friday.

Haskell officials expect more than 2,000 people to attend the 2005 graduation ceremonies, which begin at 10 a.m. in the Coffin Sports Complex.

“We have 170 students receiving degrees this year,” Tapahonso said. Last year, 162 students graduated.

Speakers include Haskell President Karen Swisher and student of the year Julie Sharp.

“Coming to Haskell was one of the best choices I’ve ever made in my life,” said the 23-year-old Sharp, a member of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.

Sharp, who played softball at Garden City Community College for two years before transferring to Haskell in 2002, said she hoped to teach elementary school in Lawrence or Wichita next semester.

“I’m excited to be moving on to the next phase of my life,” said Sharp, who grew up in Wichita. “That’s probably what I’ll talk about: Making decisions about our futures.”

She’s likely to mention Lori Greenfield, a second-grade teacher at Prairie Park School.

“I student taught under her,” Sharp said. “She was great. She really got me prepared to teach.”

The annual graduation powwow begins at 7 p.m. Friday at the Coffin Sports Complex on the southwest corner of the Haskell campus. The powwow resumes Saturday with grand entries at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Tickets to the Friday and Saturday powwows are $3 and $5, respectively.

Friday10 a.m. – Commencement ceremonies at Coffin Sports Complex.Noon – Class of 1955 post-commencement luncheon at Curates Hall. Admission $5.1 p.m. – Walking tour of campus, beginning at Stidham Union.1 p.m., National Haskell Alumni Assn. Board meeting, Stidham Union.1 p.m., Greenhouse Dedication, Tam-I-Nend Hall.1 to 4 p.m. – Day Care Open House at Haskell Little Nations Academic Center.2 p.m. – “War Mother” statue dedication at Haskell Cultural Center and Museum.3 p.m. – Memorial Service at Haskell Cemetery.7 p.m. – Haskell Powwow Grand Entry at Coffin Sports Complex.Saturday1 and 7 p.m. – Haskell Powwow grand entries, Coffin Sports Complex.