Scope and Contents: This three-box collection consists of recordings, transcriptions, and research materials dating from 1971 through 2005 generated and/or collected by anthropologist Charles W. Smythe relative to his work with the Tlingit Indians of Southeast Alaska and the Sealaska Heritage Institute. While some materials in this collection were made by Smythe, such some of the recordings regarding Swanson Harbor Jim’s repatriation, others were collected and/or transcribed by Smythe for his research.
The materials in the collection primarily consist of recordings and/or transcriptions of events, meetings, or interviews documenting a variety of topics concerning the Tlingit Indians, including Tlingit participation in the Civilian Conservation Corps and construction of Southeast Alaska’s totem parks during the 1930s, the Battle of Sitka in 1802 and 1804 between Russians and the Tlingit, the selling of Klukwan clan artifacts relative to the Whale House Trial, Tlingit property law, and recordings concerning the repatriation of Swanson Harbor Jim’s (1867-1928) remains.
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