FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Little Rock, AR – The Sequoyah National Research Center (SNRC) announced a $3,500 donation received from the Shakopee Medwakanton Sioux Community today. The donation will be used to support the Center’s Native American Student Summer Internship Program.
SNRC director Dr. Daniel Littlefield says, “We are so pleased that the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community values the work we do for contemporary Native American communities and wants to invest in the Center’s work and the education of Native American students. We hope to one day host a Shakopee student as a summer intern.”
Since the internship program began in 2010, SNRC has hosted 21 Native American undergraduate and graduate students for summer internships. The students have come from the UA Little Rock campus and universities across the United States, including the University of Oklahoma, Haskell Indian Nations University, and San Diego State University.
Each summer students spend two months working in the Center on a dedicated project. Past projects completed have included the processing and creation of a finding aid for the Mark Trahant Papers, indexing of videos from the Center’s symposium, and cataloguing of maps and posters. The students gain invaluable work experience that will benefit them as they continue their education and look for jobs after graduation.
About the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is a federally recognized, sovereign Indian tribe located southwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul. With a focus on being a good neighbor, good steward of the earth, and good employer, the SMSC is committed to charitable donations, community partnerships, a healthy environment, and a strong economy. Out of a Dakota tradition to help others, the SMSC has donated nearly $300 million to organizations and causes since opening the Gaming Enterprise in the 1990s.
About the Sequoyah National Research Center
The Sequoyah National Research Center is the world’s largest assemblage of Native American expression. Located at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, SNRC is a unique facility dedicated to the collection, preservation, and dissemination of all forms of Native North American expression and has served as an archive for Native Americans since 1983.
Contact:
Erin Fehr
ehfehr@ualr.edu
501-569-8336
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