Fonds 275 - Canada. Department of the Interior fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Canada. Department of the Interior fonds

General material designation

  • Cartographic material
  • Graphic material
  • Textual record

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Fonds

Reference code

275

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Statement of scale (cartographic)

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1882-1937 (Creation)
    Creator
    Canada. Department of the Interior

Physical description area

Physical description

5.5 cm of textual material
68 maps
631 photographs : col. & b&w; glass slides and prints

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Archival description area

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Administrative history

The federal Department of the Interior was established on May 3, 1873, absorbing some of the functions of the former Department of the Secretary of State for the Provinces. The department was established to administer and develop the newly acquired territories in the West. It included a Surveys Branch, which was responsible for surveying and mapping and in 1922 a Northwest Territories and Yukon Branch was organized to administer the northern territories. The Surveys Branch was renamed the Technical Branch in 1883, and in 1890 the Topographical Surveys Branch. On June 23, 1936, the Department of the Interior amalgamated with the Department of Mines and the Department of Immigration and Colonization to form a new Department of Mines and Resources.

Custodial history

Scope and content

This fonds consists of 630 photographs, 68 maps and 5.5 cm of textual records produced or accumulated by the federal Department of the Interior, between 1882 and 1937. The photographs include 170 reproductions of federal government issues, originally from a collection of over 2,000 lantern slides reproduced from various federal departmental sources. The majority of the images were not related to the Northwest Territories and were forwarded to the National Archives of Canada in 1990. These colour images document the scenery, town sites and local people, including Dene and Inuit of the Northwest Territories and includes many images of the Harry Snyder Canadian Expedition (1937). An album entitled "Office of District Agent, N.W.T. & Y. Branch, Fort Smith" contains 368 black and white photographs, dating predominantly from the 1920's, depicting a variety of subjects such as missions, transportation along the Mackenzie River and treaty payment. Another 91 photographs are from an incomplete copy of L.T. Burwash's report entitled, "The Eskimo, Their Country and Its Resources: Economic Survey of the East Coasts of Hudson Bay and James Bay from Richmond Gulf to Rupert House, Including the Belcher and Other Adjacent Islands", Ottawa, Department of the Interior, 1927. (Typewritten.) The report contains a diary of the trip taken by Burwash, descriptions of Inuit life, food supplies, clothing, health, the influence of trading posts, housing conditions, and mineral and animal resources in the region. Much of the report focuses on the Inuit in the regions around Little Whale River and the Belcher Islands. The photographs depict communities along eastern coasts of Hudson Bay and James Bay. The mounting of the photographs in this report suggests that this copy was a draft produced before its final publication. The photographs have been removed from the report and stored separately for preservation reasons. In addition, this report also contains 8 maps. The remaining 50 maps in this fonds date from 1882 to 1933; they were produced by the Department of the Interior. Map areas include: Great Bear Lake, Great Slave lake, Dismal Lakes, Coppermine River, Mackenzie River, Thelon River, Backs River (Back River), Camsell River, Slave River, Cameron Bay, Keewatin, and Ungava, navigational maps of Slave River, Great Slave Lake, the Mackenzie River, Artillery Lake, Lac Du Bois, Casba Lake, Campbell Lake, Sifton Lake, Thelon River, Hanbury River, Beverly Lake, Aberdeen Lake, Schultz Lake, and Baker Lake. Two items depict leased areas for petroleum and natural gas exploration in the south Great Slave Lake region. The remaining textual material dated 1921, includes one file of correspondence of O.S. Finnie, Acting Secretary for the Department of the Interior, and three files regard applications for surveying and exploration permits in the Great Slave Lake and Pine Point areas.

Notes area

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      Location of originals

      Availability of other formats

      Restrictions on access

      No access restrictions.

      Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

      Finding aids

      Finding aids available for G-1979-062, G-1979-017 and G-1989-006. Item list available for G-1979-001.

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      Rights

      Copyright held by the Government of Canada.

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