Two University of Arkansas at Little Rock students were awarded a newly established internship-based scholarship from the Sequoyah National Research Center.

Juniors Stephanie Rabaduex and Heidi Davis were the first to receive the James W. Parins Intern Scholarship, created in honor of the late Dr. James Parins, co-founder of the Sequoyah National Research Center.

“He was a vital member of our center,” said Erin Fehr, research center archivist. “We really wanted to honor his memory and the work that he had done.”

Fehr says that one of Parin’s greatest strengths as a director was reaching out to students. Because he’d worked so closely with the research center’s interns, the center’s staff decided that the scholarship should be awarded internally.

This semester, two students were offered $650 scholarships based on their ability to demonstrate knowledge and interest in Native American culture.

As Alaska Natives of the Haida and Tlingit tribe, Rabaduex and Davis were the perfect candidates for the award. Coming from different backgrounds, they’ve each seen a different side of their history, making their experience together at the center feel like life has come full circle.

Rabaduex, an English major, grew up in Ward, Arkansas, where not too many people looked like her.

“I’m Native American, and I’ve always felt alone and out of place,” Rabaduex said. “I get mixed up all the time with many different heritages.”

Overwhelmed with feelings of loneliness, Rabaduex long wished to experience her native land and its people firsthand. After visiting the research center on a class field trip and meeting Fehr, a fellow Alaska Native, Rabaduex was more than excited to join the center’s family.

“I’ve always wanted to learn more about my culture,” she said. “I just never had the resources to do it until I found this place.”

Davis, a criminal justice and political science major, was born and raised in Kake, Alaska. While there, she worked for the Alaska court system, making it easy for her to find the perfect major at UA Little Rock.

She and her husband decided to move their family of two children to her husband’s hometown of Sherwood, Arkansas, following his return from the Coast Guard. Although Davis has only lived in the natural state for a few short years, she has become well adjusted to her new lifestyle.

“I’m now a first-generation college student, so this is a big step and pretty exciting for me,” Davis said.

As she enjoys the change of scenery and the new experiences, thoughts of leaving her entire family behind often surface.

After finding out about the Sequoyah National Research Center, Davis and her husband made a visit to the center in hopes of finding traces of Davis’ southeast Alaska heritage. Once Davis met Fehr and was informed of an internship opening, she knew that the research center was the perfect fit for her.

“Being here and being able to see our students come and find a place where they feel like they belong is really important to us,” Fehr said.

As student interns, Rabaduex and Davis have an important task to complete in the center. In 2014, the center acquired the Jeanie Greene Heartbeat Alaska Film Collection, 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.

“These videos are so important, and to have Alaska Native students working on them just makes it even more special,” Fehr said. “It’s good on an academic, intellectual level, but it also becomes way more personal whenever you’re connected to the material you’re working with.”

Growing up, Davis was tuned in to “Heartbeat Alaska,” making her assignment at the center much more meaningful. The show’s creator, Jeanie Greene, babysat her father and her uncle when they were children. With such a personal connection, Davis looks at the videos as being a sacred part of her history that she can share with her children.

“Growing up in Alaska, I’ve only had the knowledge of southeast Alaska,” Davis said. “Being all the way in Arkansas with my two little ones and them not being able to grow up the same way I did, it’s a big deal to be able to gather more information to keep teaching them and keep them aware of who they are.”

Because Rabaduex has never been to Alaska, she has the pleasure of seeing things in the videos for the first, giving her a better understanding of her native traditions.

As they continue to learn about their culture and history, Rabaduex and Davis are grateful to share the experience with one another.
For more information about the Sequoyah National Research Center, contact Erin Fehr at ehfehr@ualr.edu or 501.569.8336.