Two sacred sweat lodges at Haskell Indian Nations University have been vandalized, leaving leaders of the school disappointed and looking for a culprit.

“When I first saw it, I thought it was a hate crime,” said Haskell President Venida Chenault. “But we don’t know the motive. I’m hopeful that it was just foolishness rather than someone who realized what they were really doing.”

American Indians of certain faiths use sweat lodges as place to pray and to seek healing, Chenault said. She said two sweat lodges, which are primarily made of willow branches and other materials, were damaged to the point that they are no longer useable.

Chenault said the damage is believed to have occurred sometime between Jan. 18 and Tuesday. Chenault said the damage was reported to her office on Tuesday, and she went to the site that morning to survey the scene.

“It is very disappointing,” Chenault said. “Our effort is to ensure the sacred ways of all of our students are respected. It is discouraging to see this on our campus.”

People who have information about the incident are asked to call the Haskell President’s office at 749-8497.

The sweat lodges are in a remote part of the Haskell campus, south of the university’s main buildings and dormitories. Chenault said the sweat lodges are somewhat visible from the Haskell rail trail, which is open to the public and runs along the eastern edge of the campus.

“We don’t know if it was a Haskell student or somebody from the community who did this,” Chenault said.

The incident has raised concerns that someone is seeking to disrupt spiritual practices at the school. The Indian Leader, the student newspaper at Haskell, reported that an act of desecration involving certain symbols had occurred in October at a campus site that houses a teepee used by the Native American Church.

Chenault said she has made the Lawrence Police Department aware of the sweat lodge incident and is in the process of filing a formal report. Chenault said she did not know when the sweat lodges might be rebuilt and put back into use. She said the structures were built by students and other members of the Haskell community who practice those ways.

“The support of the university is with those individuals who use the lodges,” Chenault said. “I don’t think these individuals will let this stop them, but it will impact their availability for some time.”