photo by: Mike Yoder

A display of Haskell Indian Nation University history is pictured at the Haskell Cultural Center and Museum, 2411 Barker Ave., in this file photo from April 2012.

Haskell Indian Nations University’s Cultural Center and Museum will close indefinitely after its operating grant expires on Friday, according to a university official.

“We have been working diligently to secure more funding in order to reopen it later this semester,” said Julia Good Fox, dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences, at the university.

The source of the grant funding wasn’t immediately clear to the Journal-World on Thursday.

The campus center had three employees, Good Fox confirmed.

Good Fox said the center would be using the time that it’s closed to update the museum’s inventory and assess the status of its archival items to ensure their protection.

The museum’s collections date back to 1884, according to its website. It includes items related to the history, mission and activities of Haskell. It also contains items from several tribal cultures of students represented in the history of Haskell, as well as artwork by American Indian artists, Haskell students, faculty and alumni.

Good Fox is confident the center, at 2411 Barker Ave., will reopen later this year.

“We hope to have a couple of partnerships in place including with the Smithsonian and other museums, which will enhance our cultural center,” Good Fox said in an email to the Journal-World. “The public will be excited to see what’s in store.”

Good Fox has been working with Haskell’s Indigenous and American Indian studies faculty to offer two new museum studies courses in conjunction with a faculty member trained in this field. That person will also assist with the Cultural Center and Museum.

“The CC is one of the gems of Haskell, and we will ensure that when it reopens it will be fully staffed and funded in the way it deserves,” Good Fox said.