Scope and Contents: This collection contains the research papers generated and collected by cultural anthropologist James Daniel Vaughan, Ph.D., while working and researching Haida Indian culture in Hydaburg, Alaska between 1975 and 1985. The collection contains both papers generated by Vaughan, including his diaries, field and research notes, correspondence, and research papers, as well as historical documents collected by Vaughan documenting Hydaburg back to the 1920s. Overall this collection contains materials of interest to researchers generally studying Haida history, language, and culture, the history of the Hydaburg community during the twentieth century, and those interested in studying how anthropologists lived and worked within a Haida community during the 1970s and 1980s.
The collection has been divided into two Series;
Series I: The James Daniel Vaughan Papers.
Series II: The Hydaburg Town Council Papers.
In Series I, Vaughan’s own personal papers, such as the diaries he composed during his time in Hydaburg, chronicle Vaughan’s life and in Hydaburg in detail, as well as general community life. Vaughan’s correspondence from this period, which primarily consists of letters received from family, friends, anthropologists, and the Haida community, provide insight into Vaughan’s experience in Hydaburg. His papers also include his field and research notes, which contain transcribed oral histories, additional research papers, Haida language papers, photographs of the Hydaburg community during this period, and two recordings of Haida language and Haida songs.
Series II contains historical documents generated primarily by the Hydaburg Town Council, or city government of Hydaburg. This includes correspondence of the mayor and city officials, town council meeting minutes, working files, legal files, BIA census materials, deed and agreement papers, and other documents detailing the administrative actions of Hydaburg. Vaughan obtained these papers as a donation from former mayor of Hydaburg, Helen Brown Sanderson.
Subjects (links to similar collections)
