He is considered the greatest modern contributor to the preservation of the endangered Cherokee language.

[6][8] He was drafted into the Army in 1967 and served as a door gunner during the Vietnam War.

[6][7] Durbin began his work with the Cherokee language when he returned from Vietnam.

[1][4] Feeling worked for the Cherokee Nation from 1976 to 2020, including in its language translation and technology department.

[7] He also contributed to the addition of the Cherokee syllabary to Unicode, which allows it to be widely available on computers and smartphones.