- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Alaska Native students learn about heritage through internship at Sequoyah National Research Center

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 13:40:09 +0000

Two Alaska Native students are getting in touch with their heritage by serving as interns at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Sequoyah National Research Center.�� The goal of the Native American Student Internship Program is to provide students an experiential learning environment in which to acquire an understanding of the value of archives and the research potential of the collections of the center and to engage in academic research and practical archival activities related to tribal culture, society, and issues. The interns work 25 hours a week from June 4 to July 27 and receive on-campus housing and a $2,000 stipend. Recent ��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduate Heidi Davis and senior Stephanie Rabaduex, who are continuing internships from last summer, spend their internships archiving an important part of their Native Alaskan heritage. They are both Alaska Natives who are members of the Haida and Tlingit tribes. In 2014, the center acquired the, which included 1,263 videos. Thanks to a $24,000 grant from the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council, Rabaduex and Davis now decipher the videos, cataloging names, dates, places, and issues for the center’s archives. While growing up in the small village of Kake, Alaska, Davis, 29, fondly recalls tuning into “Heartbeat Alaska” as a child to watch the show’s host, Jeanie Greene, broadcast heartfelt stories of Alaska.

Heidi Davis works on digitizing photos of the Jeanie Greene collection on Alaska Natives at the Sequoyah National Research Center.��

“I would have been happy to do anything interning here, but the Jeanie Greene productions were special,” Davis said. “I grew up watching her shows in Alaska. Jeanie Greene actually babysat my dad, so my dad can tell me stories about her, but she is like a celebrity to me since I never met her.” Davis, who graduated in May with bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice and political science, will attend William H. Bowen School of Law in the fall. One day Davis would like to return to Alaska to represent Alaska Natives in the court system. Davis worked for the Alaska Court System before she and her husband moved with their two small children to North Little Rock, following her husband’s return from the Coast Guard. While she enjoys living in the Natural State, working on the Jeanie Greene collection gives Davis a little piece of home. “It was pretty hard to adjust the first couple of years I was here and then I found Sequoyah and they kept reaching out to me,” Davis said. “I’m all the way in Little Rock working on a project that is close to my heart, so it’s amazing. I have family members on these videos who have passed away, so anytime I am watching and come across a family member, it is really exciting. It definitely gives me a new perspective because I grew up in southeast Alaska, but my kids will not grow up there, so it’s important for me to keep informing them on who they are.”

Stephanie Rabaduex works on digitizing photos of the Jeanie Greene collection on Alaska Natives at the Sequoyah National Research Center.��

On the other hand, Rabaduex, who will graduate this summer with a Bachelor of Art in English with an emphasis in creative writing, grew up in Ward, Arkansas. Her mother was adopted from Alaska and grew up in San Diego, so Rabaduex sees the Jeanie Greene project as a way to learn more about her heritage. “I didn’t know anything about my heritage. I have never even been to Alaska,” Rabaduex said. “Having the opportunity to see the videos, I’ve learned so much, so it’s important for everybody who wants to learn about the cultures of the Alaska Natives to have access to the videos.” Rabaduex, who also works at Baptist Health, learned about Sequoyah National Research Center when she took a tour during a mythology class. At first, she didn’t know the center also did research on Alaska Natives. “Erin Fehr (archivist) mentioned all these scholarships and the summer internships, and I never realized they would accept me, so that is a real thrill,” Rabaduex said. “I like the atmosphere here. Everyone makes you feel at home, like you are just part of this place since day one. It was an amazing opportunity for me to experience, not just my culture, but Alaska Native culture in general. I encourage anyone who has Native American background should come check out the Sequoyah National Research Center. You never know what you might find.” For more information about the Sequoyah National Research Center, contact Erin Fehr at ehfehr@ualr.edu or 501-569-8336. In the upper right photo, the Sequoyah National Research Center has selected four students for its 2018 Native American Student Internship Program. The interns (L to R) include Kevin Briceland, from Southern Methodist University, Courtney Peyketewa, from Oklahoma Central University, Heidi Davis, and Stephanie Rabadeux, both from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Photo by Ben Krain/��Vlog��ý Little Rock Communications.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host open house, film screening exploring health and illness among native populations

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 14:33:58 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will hold an open house and film screening for an exhibit exploring the concepts of health and illness among Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Sequoyah National Research Center is hosting the exhibit until Aug. 3. The center will hold an open house and reception for the exhibit from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 11. Archivist Erin Fehr will introduce the exhibit. “The Sequoyah National Research Center is very excited to host our first national traveling exhibit, especially one that has been critically acclaimed,” Fehr said. “We want visitors to understand the diversity of American Indian and Alaska Native perspectives and traditions, in particular their views on health and wellness, and walk away with a new appreciation of Native American lifeways.” The exhibit explores the interconnectedness of wellness, illness, and cultural life for native people and features interviews with more than 100 tribal leaders, healers, physicians, educators, and others. Through interviews, native people describe the impact of epidemics, federal legislation, the loss of land, and the effect of culture on the health of native individuals and communities. In addition to the exhibit, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock will host a film screening of “Heartbeat Alaska” at noon Wednesday, July 19, in Ottenheimer Library Room 535. The Sequoyah National Research Center acquired the Jeanie Greene Heartbeat Alaska Film Collection in 2014. The collection is a record of contemporary Alaska Native life. In 1990, Jeanie Greene, an Inupiat journalist, established the television show “Heartbeat Alaska” as a forum for Alaska Native people to share the stories that impacted their lives on a daily basis. The film screening will be a compilation of several episodes of “Heartbeat Alaska” and will cover topics like how and where elders gather plants for use in traditional medicines and how they are used; the impact youth camps have on the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse; how living a traditional lifestyle leads to overall wellness; and diabetes prevention campaigns. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Sequoyah National Research Center is located at 5820 Asher Ave., Suite 500, in University Plaza. The exhibit will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Erin Fehr at ehfehr@ualr.edu or 501.569.8336. In the upper right photo, the healing totem in the National Library of Medicine herb garden began its year-long journey in 2010, with the selection of a downed 500-year-old red cedar by Jewell Praying Wolf James.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host exhibit exploring health concepts of native populations

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 13:55:22 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Sequoyah National Research Center will host an exhibit exploring health and illness among Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.�� will be on display at Sequoyah National Research Center from June 21 to Aug. 3. It explores the interconnectedness of wellness, illness, and cultural life for native people. “The Sequoyah National Research Center is very excited to host our first national traveling exhibit, especially one that has been critically acclaimed,” Archivist Erin Fehr said. “We want visitors to understand the diversity of American Indian and Alaska Native perspectives and traditions, in particular their views on health and wellness, and walk away with a new appreciation of Native American lifeways.” Sequoyah is one of 104 institutions in the country and the only one in Arkansas to host the exhibit produced by the National Library of Medicine and the American Library Association. The center will hold a reception for the exhibit from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 11, and a film screening of “Heartbeat Alaska” at noon Wednesday, July 19, in Ottenheimer Library Room 535. The Sequoyah National Research Center acquired the Jeanie Greene Heartbeat Alaska Film Collection in 2014. The collection is a record of contemporary Alaska Native life. In 1990, Jeanie Greene, an Inupiat journalist, established the television show “Heartbeat Alaska” as a forum for Alaska Native people to share the stories that impacted their lives on a daily basis. The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Sequoyah National Research Center is located at 5820 Asher Ave., Suite 500, in the University Plaza. The exhibit will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission is free. In the upper right photo, the healing totem in the National Library of Medicine herb garden began its year-long journey in 2010, with the selection of a downed 500-year-old red cedar by Jewell Praying Wolf James.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host Jeanie Greene Heartbeat Alaska Collection screening

Ajani Oyindamola — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 14:10:53 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will host the first public screening from the Jeanie Greene Heartbeat Alaska Collection at noon Wednesday, March 8, in Ottenheimer Library.�� The Sequoyah National Research Center acquired the Jeanie Greene Heartbeat Alaska Film Collection in 2014. The collection is a record of contemporary Alaska Native life. In 1990, Jeanie Greene, an Inupiat journalist, established the television show “Heartbeat Alaska” as a forum for Alaska Native people to share the stories that impacted their lives on a daily basis. Barrow, Alaska, is the northernmost city in the United States with a population of around 4,200 people. The documentary, “Barrow: A Village of Whalers,” highlights the centuries-old lifestyle of the Inupiat people living in the northern Alaskan village that relies on the practice of whaling. The film shows how the villagers work together to harvest the bowhead whale and the importance that the whale has in sustaining the Inupiat people. The film will be shown from noon to 1:15 p.m. in ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Ottenheimer Library Room 535 followed by a short question-and-answer session led by Erin Fehr, an archivist with the Sequoyah National Research Center. Attendees are free to bring their lunch to eat during the screening. In addition to “Heartbeat Alaska,” the collection contains recordings of Greene’s other television shows: “Northern Lives,” “This Generation,” and “We Win,” a faith-based show. The videos provide a window into topics such as whaling, subsistence, environment, culture, language, and more. The collection contains 1,263 video recordings that have been digitized through a $24,000 grant awarded by the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council. The collection is being catalogued by two ��Vlog��ý Little Rock interns: Heidi Davis and Stephanie Rabadeux. The March 8 event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Erin Fehr at ehfehr@ualr.edu or 501.569.8336.

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

Alaska Native students learn about heritage through internship at Sequoyah National Research Center

����Vlog��ý Little Rock to host open house, film screening exploring health and illness among native populations

����Vlog��ý Little Rock to host exhibit exploring health concepts of native populations

����Vlog��ý Little Rock to host Jeanie Greene Heartbeat Alaska Collection screening

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host open house, film screening exploring health and illness among native populations

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host exhibit exploring health concepts of native populations

��Vlog��ý Little Rock to host Jeanie Greene Heartbeat Alaska Collection screening