School of Business

History of Blue Eagle Hall

Blue Eagle Hall was constructed in 1957 and dedicated and named on October 24, 1959. The dedication was part of the 75th anniversary of the school, called Haskell Institute at the time. Mrs. Hildegarde Thompson, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Chief of Education, and Frank Carlson, U.S. Senator of Kansas, spoke at the dedication. Acee Blue Eagle paintings were presented to the school by Mrs. Mae Abbott, longtime friend of Blue Eagle, with the stipulation that they were to be hung in Blue Eagle Hall.*

Blue Eagle Hall, a seven-classroom school building with offices, was used as the Commercial Building from 1959, until the commercial department was moved to Sequoyah in 1965. General education classes occupied the classrooms in Blue Eagle until the fall of 1972, now called Haskell Indian Junior College. In 1972, the business department was re-housed in Blue Eagle, where it has stayed.*

Today, Blue Eagle is the home to the School of Business at Haskell Indian Nations University, and has five classrooms, two office suites and one computer lab. Blue Eagle Hall is located along the outer perimeter road and is a familiar site for business students since a majority of their classes in the final two years of their education are taught there. In keeping with the gift by Ms. Mae Abbott in 1959, the building still houses Blue Eagle’s paintings.