By Zachary R. Jones, Archivist
Title: J. Daniel Vaughan Papers, 1912-1985
ID: MS/037
Primary Creator: Vaughan, James Daniel
Other Creators: Haida Indians, Hydaburg Town Council
Extent: 13.0 Boxes
Arrangement:
The collection has been divided into two Series;
Series I: The James Daniel Vaughan Papers.
Series II: The Hydaburg Town Council Papers.
Date Acquired: 12/20/2011
Subjects: Haida Indians--History.
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generated by Vaughan, including his diaries, field and research notes, correspondence, and research papers, as well as historical documents collected by Vaughan documenting Hydaburg back to the 1920s.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Series II contains historical documents generated primarily by the Hydaburg Town Council, or city government of Hydaburg.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.
James Daniel Vaughan was a cultural anthropologist who received his Ph.D. in Anthropology in 1985 from University of Washington, with a focus on the Haida Indians of Southeast Alaska. Vaughan, of Washington state, first began studying anthropology in 1970, when he enrolled at Western Washington State College (now Western Washington University). Vaughan graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1973, and then enrolled in Western Washington’s recently created Master’s degree program in anthropology. Vaughan obtained his Master’s degree in anthropology in 1975, with his thesis entitled “Tsimshian Potlatch and Society: Testing a Structural Analysis.”
In 1975 Vaughan was accepted to begin Ph.D. studies in cultural anthropology at University of Washington. For the next decade Vaughan spent time on an off at Hydaburg, Alaska, studying Haida culture and language. In 1975 Vaughan received a grant to study Haida language in Hydaburg, which began his time at Hydaburg. Over the coming years Vaughan continued his studies in Hydaburg, while living and working in the community, such as taking employment on a commercial fishing boat, working in the cannery’s cold storage unit, and even teaching K-12 school for a season in Hydaburg. Vaughan left Hydaburg periodically to continue his studies at University of Washington, where he also taught courses. He also spent an academic year teaching anthropology at University of Victoria. In 1985 Vaughan completed his doctor work and his dissertation was entitled “Toward a New and Better Life: Two Hundred Years of Alaskan Haida Culture Change,” which traced Haida history with oral accounts and archival documents.
After completing his academic work, Vaughan took employment outside of academia, never returning to anthropology studies, though Vaughan remained connected to the community of Hydaburg.
Repository: Sealaska Heritage Institute Archives
Acquisition Source: J. Daniel Vaughan
Acquisition Method: The material in the collection was donated to SHI on 12/20/2011 by J. Daniel Vaughan.
Related Publications: J. Daniel Vaughan, "Toward a New and Better Life: Two Hundred Years of Alaskan Haida Culture Change," PhD diss., University of Washington, 1985.
Processing Information: Processed by Zachary R. Jones, Archivist, on Jan. 12, 2012.
