MUSKOGEE, Oklahoma — The hallways of Bacone College are cold and dark. In the main hall, there are no lectures to be heard, only the steady hum of the space heater keeping the administrative offices warm. 

Students aren’t attending classes here this semester but work still needs to be done. In the college’s historic buildings, there are leaks to plug, mold to purge and priceless works of Native American art to save from ruin. Not to mention devising a plan to keep the college from shuttering for good. It’s a daunting task for the nine remaining employees. 

But on this rainy December morning, the college’s president is running a DoorDash order. “If we have the money, we can pay,” Interim President Nicky Michael said regarding salaries. 

Founded in 1880 as a Baptist missionary college focused on assimilation, Bacone College transformed into an Indigenous-led institution that provided an intertribal community, as well as a degree. With the permission of the Muscogee Nation Tribal Council, Bacone’s founders used a treaty right to establish the college at the confluence of three rivers, where tribal nations had been meeting for generations. 

Throughout the 20th century, the center of this was Bacone’s Native American art program, which produced some of the most important Indigenous artists of their time, including Woody Crumbo, Fred Beaver, Joan Hill and Ruthe Blalock Jones. 

They and their contemporaries pushed the boundaries of what was considered “Native American art.” During a period of intense hostility against tribal sovereignty by the U.S., Bacone became defined by the exchange of ideas its Native faculty and students created and represented a new opportunity for Indigenous education and academic thought. 

“Bacone was the only place in the world where that could happen for Native people,” said Robin Mayes, a Cherokee and Muscogee man who attended Bacone in the ’70s and taught silversmithing there in the ’90s. “It’s a tragedy to think that it’s going to be discontinued.”

For decades, the college has been plagued by poor financial choices and inconsistent leadership, triggering flashpoints between administration, students and staff over the mission and cultural direction of the college. 

Some have accused recent administrations of embezzlement, fraud and intimidation, resulting in multiple lawsuits. Students expressed frustration with a lack of resources and cultural competency among some school leaders. The college also has had trouble maintaining its accreditation. 

Last year, a lawsuit crippled Bacone’s finances. Ultimately, Michael made the decision to suspend classes for the spring semester. She hopes the deferment is temporary, but if the college can’t muster up millions of dollars, Oklahoma’s oldest continually operating college likely will close its doors. 

“It has endured for over 140 years through terrible decisions,” said Gerald Cournoyer, an instructor who was hired in 2019 to restart the college’s art program. 

“Providing oversight for Bacone has been a struggle because of the leadership or lack thereof,” said Cournoyer, who also is a renowned Lakota artist. Some presidents focused time and money on athletic programs, others on Bacone’s Baptist missionary roots. “When you put absolutely no money, nothing, not $20, not $10, into your fundraising efforts, this is what you get.” 

During the time Patti Jo King was the director of the Center for American Indians at Bacone from 2012 to 2018, leadership wanted to build a state-of-the-art museum to replace the 80-year-old building housing many priceless pieces of Native art. 

“We didn’t even have the money to keep it open seven days a week,” said King, now a retired Cherokee professor, writer and academic. 

Even when she first arrived on campus, King said Bacone’s financial debts already had caught up to it. The student dorms didn’t have hot water, staff were severely underpaid and graduation rates among the college’s remaining students were low. 

Still, she and other faculty endeavored to make it a place where Native students could find community, but Bacone’s old problems never went away. Like Cournoyer, after years of working toward rebuilding, she left in frustration. 

Today, the old museum is empty. Its artifacts were moved to another location so they wouldn’t be exposed to extreme temperatures. 

The remaining staff act as caretakers of the historic stone buildings that predate Oklahoma, themselves important pieces of the past. In the museum, Ataloa Lodge, the fireplace is made of stones sent to the college from Indigenous communities across the country: one from the birthplace of Sequoyah, one from the grave of Sitting Bull, another from the field where Custer died. Five hundred in all, each stone a memory. 

Michael, the interim president, and others have been cleaning up buildings in hopes they might soon host graduation banquets and student gatherings. Other staff chase off looters. Rare paintings still hang across campus, including pieces by members of the Kiowa Six, who became internationally famous a century ago, and Johnnie Diacon, a Muscogee painter and alumnus whose work can be seen in the background of several episodes of the television show Reservation Dogs. 

A few years ago, experts from a museum in Tulsa warned that many of the paintings are contaminated with mold, which will spread to other nearby works of art. Leslie Hannah, a Cherokee educator who sits on the college’s board of trustees, said he’s concerned, but the cost of restoring them falls far down the list, behind broken gas lines, flooded basements and a mountain of debt. 

Bacone’s current financial crisis stems partially from a lawsuit brought by Midgley-Huber Energy Concepts, a Utah-based heating and air company that sued the college over more than $1 million in unpaid construction and service fees. Twice last year, the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office put Bacone’s property up for sale to settle the debt. Both times the auction was called off, most recently in December. 

MHEC owner Chris Oberle told KOSU last month that he intended to purchase the historic property. Attorneys for MHEC have not returned repeated requests for comment from The Associated Press. 

Alumni have called the validity of any sale of the property into question, pointing to the  

treaty right that established the campus and its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Attorneys for the college declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation. 

Michael said she doesn’t know what stalled the auction, but she is grateful for more time to try to save Bacone. 

 
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AUSTIN, Texas — As Republicans cheer on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s escalating feud with the Biden administration over immigration enforcement, some governors are considering deploying National Guard members to the border — again.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday was among the first to commit more personnel to Texas, announcing he would send hundreds of additional guard members as tensions grow between state authorities and the U.S. government over who has the power to enforce immigration policies, where and how.

Republicans say tougher actions along the border are needed in response to record levels of illegal crossings, but sending guard members to the border is not new.

DeSantis is one of more than a dozen Republican governors who have sent state National Guard units to the southern border since 2021. His latest deployment comes as Texas continues to deny U.S. Border Patrol agents entry to a popular crossing spot for migrants in the border city of Eagle Pass.

Here’s what to know about National Guard on the border to date:

What is happening at the Texas border?

At the center of the clash between Texas officials and the federal government is Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, which has become one of the busiest locations for people attempting to cross into the U.S. illegally from Mexico. Earlier this month, troops from the Texas National Guard seized the park and began turning away federal immigration authorities despite pleas from U.S. government officials.

Immigration enforcement is typically a federal responsibility.

Abbott has said he will continue implementing new immigration measures, calling it a “constitutional right to self-defense.” Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal agents were allowed to remove razor wire placed by Texas officers along the border with Mexico, including in Shelby Park.

Texas has since installed more razor wire in Eagle Pass, which was not prohibited under the Supreme Court’s order. The Biden administration has argued that the wiring makes it difficult and dangerous for federal agents to perform their duties.

Other measures taken by Abbott as part of his border security initiative include a floating barrier installed in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, which has also been challenged by federal officials.

Who is sending guard members?

Florida has already sent more than 1,000 guard members, troopers and other officers to the Texas border since last May, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

At least a dozen governors have sent deployments ranging in size from a few dozen guard members to more than 100, including those of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Virginia and West Virginia.

South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem was the first to send 50 guard members to Texas in 2021, which were paid for by a private Republican donor who offered $1 million to make the mission possible. Two years later, she deployed at least 50 more.

Some governors have also looked beyond the National Guard, including Idaho Gov. Brad Little, who said last week he would send additional members of the state police to Texas.

What do they do?

The most recent guard deployments have been in support of Abbott’s border mission known as Operation Lone Star, which began shortly after President Joe Biden took office.

Many have been used for surveillance, such as spotting illegal crossings. Migrants are then turned over to federal immigration authorities, although Abbott has also empowered Texas National Guard members to arrest migrants on misdemeanor trespassing charges in some areas. National Guard members have also installed barricades and razor wire.

After Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds sent more than 100 Guard members and more than 30 state police to Texas last year, she credited the deployments with being directly involved in dozens of human smuggling cases and arrests.

But South Dakota records show that some days troops had little to do. During a rushed deployment of Texas National Guard members at the start of the mission, some also complained of low morale and uneventful patrols.

Trespassing arrests have been a key part of Abbott’s nearly $10 billion border mission, but may soon be phased out under a new state law, set to take effect in March, which allows police anywhere in Texas to arrest migrants who are suspected of entering the U.S. illegally.

How else is the National Guard used?

Not all National Guard members are helping Texas.

In Massachusetts, Democratic Gov. Maura Healey activated hundreds of guard members last August to aid with an influx of migrants. The members helped coordinate food, transportation, medical care and other basic needs at shelters and hotels.

National Guard members from across the country are also in Texas helping with the border security operations under the command of federal authorities, including from states that have not deployed soldiers to help with Operation Lone Star.
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Cairo — U.S. military retaliatory strikes on pro-Iranian militia forces inside both Syria and Iraq early Saturday have prompted condemnation from both the Syrian and Iraqi governments, as well as several countries that are allies of both Damascus and Baghdad.

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad said in a statement the U.S. attacks “will seriously increase tensions in the region.” Syrian state TV quoted the Syrian defense ministry, which claimed the U.S. “attacked Syrian government forces which are fighting the Islamic State terrorist group,” alleging the U.S. is trying to help the terrorists “regroup.”

Rami Abdul Rahman, with the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told Arab media the U.S. attacks targeted pro-Iranian militia and Syrian government forces along the border with Iraq in the area between al-Bukamal and Deir el-Zour, in addition to the Iraqi border post of al-Qaim.

He said that Iranian al Quds Forces, as well as Iranian Revolutionary Guard Forces and pro-Iranian militia forces, were hit in the U.S. strikes on the Syrian border region between al-Bukamal, Al-Mayadeen and Deir el-Zour.

Rahman argues, though, that the militiamen had been alerted to the strikes and were hiding in underground tunnels for the most part.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani declared an official period of mourning for the victims of the U.S. attacks on the pro-Iranian Hashd al-Shaabi militia headquarters in al Qaim and the town of Al Kashat. At least 18 people were killed, according to an Iraqi government spokesperson. The Hashd also claimed to have struck the al Harir U.S. base in the Kurdistan capital of Irbil. That was not confirmed.

Iraqi state TV reported that government spokesperson Bassem al Awadi denied U.S. reports it had consulted with the Iraqi government before the U.S. strikes, claiming the U.S. was “trying to mislead world opinion,” adding that the U.S. attacks “put Iraq on the brink of a precipice.”

The Iraqi parliament convened an urgent session to discuss the “repercussions of the U.S. strikes,” and the “presence of foreign forces on Iraqi soil.”

The Iraqi foreign ministry said it would summon U.S. Charge A’affaires David Baker to express its consternation.

Iran, which supports the militia forces targeted by the U.S., called the attacks “a violation of Syrian and Iraqi sovereignty and their territorial integrity.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani termed the U.S. attacks “a serious strategic mistake.”

Russia, which is an ally of both Syria and Iran, accused the U.S. of “sowing chaos and destruction in the Middle East.”

London-based Iran analyst Ali Nourizadeh tells VOA that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was extremely concerned about a possible U.S. strike against Iranian territory and dispatched his Quds Forces commander Ismail Ka’ani to Baghdad several days ago to warn them “not to kill Americans and provoke them to retaliate.”

“(Ka’ani’s) advice was you shouldn’t go to kill Americans,” Nourizadeh said. “A strike should be limited just to show to the people that we are in action, and we do something, but not killing Americans, because on that basis the Americans are not going to tolerate it.”

U.S. Senator Jack Reed, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, had harsh words for Iran, however, saying that “Iran’s proxy forces in Syria and Iraq have been dealt a significant blow, and Iranian-linked militias around the Middle East should understand that they, too, will be held accountable.”

In Cairo, top political leaders of the Palestinian Hamas group, which controls Gaza, have been meeting with Egyptian intelligence chief Gen. Abbas Kamel to discuss a prisoner exchange and cease-fire with Israel to bring a halt to the nearly 4-month-old conflict.

Egyptian government sources have been tight-lipped about the talks, but Arab media claims that Israel has agreed to a six-month cease-fire and that Hamas is ready to trade over a hundred Israeli captives in return for around 300 Palestinian prisoners. VOA could not independently confirm the report. 
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washington — In a second wave of retaliatory attacks against Iran-backed groups, the United States and Britain struck at least 36 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday.

The strikes mark the third time the U.S. and Britain have conducted a large, joint operation against Houthi weapon launchers, radar sites and drones. But the Houthis have made it clear that they have no intention of scaling back their assaults.

In a statement Saturday, the Pentagon said the U.S. and Britain hit 36 Houthi targets across 13 locations in Yemen using U.S. F/A-18 fighter jets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier. The USS Gravely and the USS Carney Navy destroyers also fired Tomahawk missiles from the Red Sea, U.S. officials told The Associated Press.

“These precision strikes are intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade, and the lives of innocent mariners, and are in response to a series of illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing Houthi actions since previous coalition strikes on January 11 and 22, 2024, including the January 27 attack which struck and set ablaze the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker M/V Marlin Luanda,” the statement said.

“We remain committed to protecting freedom of navigation and international commerce and holding the Houthis accountable for their illegal and unjustifiable attacks on commercial shipping and naval vessels,” it continued.

Saturday’s strike specifically targeted sites associated with the Houthis’ deeply buried weapons storage facilities, missile systems and launchers, air defense systems, and radars.

Hours before the latest joint operation, the U.S. hit another site in Yemen, destroying six anti-ship cruise missiles.

The strikes were the second wave of attacks that began Friday when the U.S. hit more than 85 targets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and its proxies in Iraq and Syria, in retaliation for last Sunday’s deadly drone attack on an American military base in Jordan.

White House spokesperson John Kirby said three facilities were hit in Iraq and four in Syria.

U.S. President Joe Biden said the strikes demonstrate to “all those who might seek to do us harm” that “if you harm an American, we will respond.”

According to the U.S. Central Command, the retaliatory strikes reportedly killed nearly 40 people and injured about 23. The operation included long-range B-1 bombers flown from the U.S. that used more than 125 precision munitions, according to U.S. military officials.

A U.S. official said Saturday that an initial battle damage assessment showed the U.S. had struck each of its planned targets.

“We hit exactly what we meant to hit,” said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, who serves as the operations director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He said the air assault took place over about 30 minutes, and three of the sites struck were in Iraq and four were in Syria.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that 23 people were killed in the Syria strikes, all rank-and-file fighters, while Iraqi government spokesperson Bassim al-Awadi said in a statement Saturday the strikes in Iraq near the Syrian border killed 16, including civilians, and there was “significant damage” to homes and private properties.

Iraq, but not Iran, was informed before the strikes, according to U.S. officials.

“This is the start of our response,” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said after the strikes.

“We do not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else, but the president and I will not tolerate attacks on American forces,” Austin said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Nasser Kanaani contended the airstrikes were “violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Syria and Iraq, and they represent “another adventurous and strategic mistake by the United States that will result only in increased tension and instability in the region.”

In an interview with The Associated Press in Baghdad, Hussein al-Mosawi, spokesperson for Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the main Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, condemned the U.S. strikes, though he struck a more conciliatory tone, saying that “we do not wish to escalate or widen regional tensions.”

Mike Johnson, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, was critical of the Biden administration’s weeklong delay in launching a retaliatory attack. “The public handwringing and excessive signaling undercuts our ability to put a decisive end to the barrage of attacks endured over the past few months.”

Senator Jack Reed, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee disagreed. “These strikes, in concert with wise diplomacy, send a clear signal that the United States will continue to take appropriate action to protect our personnel and our interests.”

Senator Roger Wicker, the panel’s senior Republican, said Biden’s move was too little, too late.

“These military strikes are welcome but come far too late for the three brave Americans who died and the nearly 50 wounded,” Wicker said. “Iran and its proxies have tried to kill American soldiers and sink our warships 165 times while the Biden administration congratulates itself for doing the bare minimum. Instead of giving the Ayatollah the bloody nose that he deserves, we continue to give him a slap on the wrist.”

“There will be additional response actions taken in [the] coming days,” said Kirby on a call Friday with journalists.

Russia has requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday afternoon, Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s foreign deputy permanent representative to the U.N. said on social media platform X.

VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin also contributed.
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WASHINGTON — The United States launched airstrikes on Iraqi and Syrian targets linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the militias Tehran backs, following an attack on one of the many sites across the Middle East where the U.S. has a military presence.

Here is what we know about the U.S. military presence in the Middle East:

Where are US bases in the Middle East?

The U.S. has operated bases around the Middle East for decades. At its peak, there were more than 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan in 2011 and over 160,000 personnel in Iraq in 2007.

While the number is far lower after withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, there are still about 30,000 U.S. troops scattered across the region. In addition, since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, the U.S. has temporarily sent thousands of additional troops to the region, including on warships.

The largest U.S. base in the Middle East is located in Qatar, known as Al Udeid Air Base and built in 1996. Other countries where the U.S. has a presence include Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The U.S. has roughly 900 troops in Syria, in small bases like al Omar Oil field and al-Shaddadi mostly in the northeast of the country. There is a small outpost near the county’s border with Iraq and Jordan, known as the Al Tanf garrison.

There are 2,500 personnel in Iraq, spread around facilities like Union III and Ain al-Asad air base, though talks are ongoing about the future of those troops.

Why are US troops stationed in the region?

U.S. troops are stationed in the Middle East for different reasons and with the exception of Syria, they are there with the permission of each country’s government.

In some countries like Iraq and Syria, U.S. troops are there to fight against Islamic State militants and are also helping advise local forces. But they have come under attack from Iran-backed forces over the past several years and have taken action against them. 

Jordan, a key U.S. ally in the region, has hundreds of U.S. trainers and they hold extensive exercises throughout the year.

In other cases, like in Qatar and the UAE, U.S. troops have a presence to reassure allies, carry out training and are used as needed in operations in the region.

Are there foreign military bases in the US?

While Washington’s allies sometimes send their troops to train or work with U.S. troops, there are no foreign military bases inside the U.S.

Tower 22 in Jordan

Tower 22, a base in Jordan at the most northeastern point where the country’s borders meet Syria and Iraq, was hit in a drone attack on January 28 that killed three Army Reserve soldiers.

Washington blamed Iran-backed, Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah.

Specifically, Tower 22 is near Al Tanf garrison, which is located across the border in Syria, and which houses a small number of U.S. troops. Tanf had been key in the fight against Islamic State and has assumed a role as part of a U.S. strategy to contain Iran’s military build-up in eastern Syria.

Do US bases in the region get attacked often?

U.S. bases are highly guarded facilities, including with air defense systems to protect against missiles or drones.

Facilities in countries like Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait are not usually attacked.

But U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria have come under frequent attack in recent years. Since October 7, U.S. troops have been attacked more than 160 times by Iran-backed militia, injuring about 80 troops, even prior to Sunday’s attack on Tower 22, which injured around 40 more.

A new wave of violence in the Middle East erupted after October 7 when Islamist Palestinian Hamas fighters burst into Israel and killed 1,200 Israelis and took 253 others hostage. In response, Israel unleashed a military campaign that has killed more than 27,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities, and caused a severe humanitarian crisis in the densely populated Gaza Strip. 
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