/news-archive/tag/sequoyah/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Tue, 11 Sep 2018 17:39:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2018/09/11/sequoyah-american-indians-world-war-i/ Tue, 11 Sep 2018 17:39:02 +0000 /news/?p=71790 ... Sequoyah National Research Center to create website on American Indians in World War I]]> The 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Sequoyah National Research Center is partnering with the to commemorate the approximately 12,000 American Indians who served in the country鈥檚 military during World War I.听 Dr. Daniel Littlefield, director of Sequoyah National Research Center, and Erin Fehr, archivist, are working to create a website that will capture all aspects of American Indians鈥� involvement in the World War I effort. 鈥淚n the past, we have done so much work with American Indians in the military, with the World War I project, and we feel like it is so important because no one else has done this, and we feel like it is needed,鈥� Fehr said. 鈥淲e have reached out and met individuals who have told us stories about their families, and it is very important for us and their family members to be able to tell those stories and have them remembered.鈥� When the U.S. entered World War I on April 6, 1917, American Indians from across the country volunteered in large numbers to protect and defend their homeland. The U.S. World War I Centennial Commission (WWICC) was created by Congress in 2013 to commemorate the centennial of World War I over the next five years. The commission was created to develop educational programs, organize activities, establish a National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C., and serve as a clearinghouse for information related to the commemoration. To that end, WWICC has partnered with local, state, and regional entities to create a website dedicated to World War I. Commission members approached Sequoyah National Research Center about creating a website about Native Americans who served in World War I after seeing the center鈥檚 fall 2017 exhibit, 鈥淯ntold Stories: American Indian Code Talkers of World War I.鈥� During World War I, Americans Indians transmitted military messages between the U.S. and its allies in their native languages. The Germans, who were adept at code breaking, could not decode the messages, as they were unfamiliar with American Indians languages. Known as code talkers, Americans Indians served an important role in protecting military messages, and the effort was expanded significantly during World War II and included additional tribes. In fact, Elijah Horner, an Arkansas native from Mena, recruited members from the Choctaw Nation to serve as code talkers during World War I. As part of the exhibit, Sequoyah started a database, 鈥淢odern Warriors of World War I,鈥� to identify the 12,000 American Indians who served in World War I. They collected more than 3,000 names and have been actively searching to identify the additional American Indians who served in the military during World War I and their tribal affiliations. Courtney Peyketewa, a Seminole tribal member and graduate student at the University of Central Oklahoma who was a summer intern at Sequoyah, continued this work by contacting tribes regarding their World War I service members. She made great progress and received several information-filled emails with names from various tribes. Additionally, she kept track of tribes that have created veterans鈥� memorials. Sequoyah鈥檚 new graduate assistant, Will Lusk, a graduate student in interdisciplinary studies, is continuing this work. In addition to the database of American Indian World War I veterans, the website will also cover other examples of how American Indians were involved in the war effort. 鈥淚n addition to those who actively served in the military, you had American Indian women who served in the Army Nurse Corps. We鈥檝e only identified eight so far. Even though there were so few, we still feel like that is a significant involvement,鈥� Fehr said. 鈥淭here were also many who served on the homefront volunteering with American Red Cross, growing victory gardens, investing in bonds. We want to give a well-rounded view of the war effort for Native Americans. We have also found some of the letters that were written by the men, so people can read in their own words how the men felt. It鈥檚 a huge project, but we feel like it was well worth doing.鈥� The website will go live on the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission鈥檚 website, wwwicc.org, this fall. In the upper right photo, this panoramic photo depicts the 36th Division of the 142nd Infantry Company E, who served in France during World War I. The company was made almost entirely of American Indian soldiers.]]> /news-archive/2018/07/06/sequoyah-internship-program/ Fri, 06 Jul 2018 13:16:24 +0000 /news/?p=71054 ... Native American students selected for internship program at Sequoyah National Research Center]]> Two Native American students are getting in touch with their heritage by serving as interns this summer at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock鈥檚 Sequoyah National Research Center.听 Kevin Briceland, a doctoral student studying American history at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and Courtney Peyketewa, a graduate student studying adult higher education at the University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, have been selected for the center鈥檚 Native American Student Internship Program. The goal of the 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. Interns are expected to demonstrate the value of their experience by either a summary report of work, finding aids for collections, or reports of research or other written work that may be shared with their home institutions. Peyketewa, a member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, is working on the center鈥檚 World War I project with SNRC Director Dr. Daniel Littlefield and Archivist Erin Fehr. 鈥淲e are working on modern warriors of World War I,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he has asked the center to help identify the 12,000 American Indian servicemen who served in World War I. We are collecting names, their enlistment records, and any medals or honors they have received. In honor of the centennial, we wanted to honor those who served and recognize them for their service.鈥� The center will also create a website where the public will be able to access the records. 鈥淚t is very interesting. I am learning stuff every day that I didn鈥檛 learn about before,鈥� Peyketewa said. 鈥淐urrently, I am contacting all the tribes to ask them if they have any information or memorials on their tribe members who are WWI veterans to be able to obtain that information.鈥� After Peyketewa earns her Master of Education, the 27-year-old Oklahoma City native plans to work in student affairs at a university. She also hopes to learn more about her family history while working at the center. 鈥淚t was awesome to be selected for this opportunity. I feel like I am filling in information for people, and that it is a way of giving back,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 plan to learn about my family heritage by talking to Dr. Littlefield. He tells me tidbits of information. I also hope to be able to trace my family tree and learn more about my family.鈥� Briceland, a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is processing the manuscript collection of SNRC Director Littlefield. He said working at the archives will help prepare him for his dissertation research. 鈥淎s an historian in training, it will help me to have a working knowledge of an archive,鈥� Briceland said. 鈥淚 plan to do a lot of my dissertation research here, so this is a good introduction. I like that I am getting two months of complete access to the materials I know I am going to use down the road.鈥� Briceland is planning to write his dissertation on race and policy in Indian Territory from the post-Civil War era through the 1920s. 鈥淚 think it is a very interesting period of time that often gets overlooked,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n Indian Territory, you have a lot of different ethnic groups coming together in a complex way. Plus, I grew up there. The people have demonstrated a resiliency and adaptability to change that is important to understand. Being a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma gives you an outlet to connect with the history and culture.鈥� 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 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. Photo by Ben Krain/糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Communications.听]]>