This fonds contains .5 cm of textual material and 41 black and white prints taken by Wilfred H. Kennedy who lived in the north in the late 1930s. He worked on the boats travelling the Mackenzie River before moving to Yellowknife, where he was employed at Con Mine. The photographs depict Eldorado Mines, Great Bear Lake and Con Mine, Yellowknife. There are images of miners and other residents of Yellowknife, including the members of the first hockey team in the community. There are also photographs of some of the first buildings in the community. There is also a letter from Alex C. Mosher, and a number of newspaper clippings dating from 1938 which were annotated by Alex Mosher.
Yellowknife Local History ProjectThis fonds consists of 291 photographs and 6.2 cm of textual material. There are images of Aklavik and the surrounding area, as well as images that document Mary Saich's trip to Tuktoyaktuk. In addition, there is one scrapbook compiled by Mary Saich; one notebook that includes historical and geographical notes on the Northwest Territories, her curriculum ideas and a manuscript entitled "A Year in Canada's North" which includes copies/originals of articles on the north and copies/originals of Mary Saich's correspondence with her parents.
Saich, MaryThis fonds consists of 5 cm of textual records, 346 photographs (colour slides), 6 reels of film (16mm original masters), 13 pieces of film, and 1 Umatic videocassette (archival master). The textual records consist of two bound volumes, one a diary documenting research and survey work, and the other a vessel log. The textual records also include a folder containing narration intented for one or two of the film reels. The photographs depict members of the survey crew and the Local Aklavik Advisory Committee at work during the initial survey and the later construction at Inuvik. The slides also document various aspects of the survey work including clearing ground cover, drilling test holes and constructing roads. Additionally, the photographs depict various buildings being constructed at Inuvik and some close-ups of pile driving and the construction of the town's utilidor system. The slides are originals created by Curtis Merrill, with the exception of a few duplicate slides created by Roger Brown. These duplicate slides carry the notation "R.B.". The film reels and videocassette primarily feature Aklavik and the construction of the new settlement of Inuvik (initially known as East 3). One reel is believed to be from Merrill's 1949 film of an expedition to Foxe Basin. There is also footage of the South Slave Region, Great Slave Lake, and Nahanni Butte. The 13 pieces of film contain outtakes from the Aklavik/Inuvik footage.
Merrill, CurtisThis fonds consists of one folder of text and approximately 865 photographs taken during the time Bart Hawkins spent in the north at various Royal Canadian Mounted Police stations, including Fort Simpson, Yellowknife, Port Radium, and Fort Liard. Included among the images are views of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) duties, some recreational activities of the RCMP and views of the scenery in the regions where Bart Hawkins was stationed. Many of the images show RCMP personnel and facilities. Also included are images of treaty payment days and Port Radium mine. The textual material consists of two pamphlets from the city of Yellowknife.
Hawkins, BartThis fonds consists of 5 audio cassettes containing interviews with elders that lived in the Salt River area in the 1920s and 1930s, including Francois King Beaulieu, Maria Brown, Vincent Beaulieu, Liza Schaefer, Francois Laviolette and Fred Dawson. The topics of the interviews include a history of the Beaulieu family, housing construction, animal husbandry, farming and the effect of the flood that took place at the Salt River Settlement in the 1930s. The fonds also contains 3 cm of textual material which includes Chipewyan transcripts and English translations of the sound recordings.
Salt River Settlement Oral History ProjectThis fonds consists of 51 photographs copied from a photo album and a small number of news clippings. The photographs show Yellowknife in 1946 including: the Anglican and Catholic Churches, the Wildcat Café, the interior of the Busy Bee Café and the Loran station.
Densem (family)This fonds consists of 36 cm of textual material and 124 colour slides. The textual material is made up of 12 volumes of Harrman's journals dated August 6, 1959 to November 11, 1967, a manuscript of an unpublished story entitled "Lucy Beavertail," numerous short stories, sketchbooks, cards and personal records, including accounts. The 124 colour slides feature Rae and the paintings of Charles Harrman.
Harrman, CharlesThis fonds consists of approximately 51 meters of textual records, approximately 116 photographs, and 31 maps created and accumulated by the Northern Administration Branch and its various predecessors, from 1920 to 1978. The material was generated by the Federal government's activities in administering the Northwest Territories. Most of the records (over 34 m of textual records) are composed of files transferred from Ottawa to Yellowknife beginning in 1967, and include administrative and operational files. The majority of these files date between 1949 and 1967 and incorporate: correspondence, reports, vital statistic information, financial data, minutes, and a wide variety of reference material kept by the department. The files were classified via a numerical block system. The block system consisted of primary, secondary and tertiary levels such that a composite file number (for example 311-105-93) would represent a progression from general subject matter to a specific subject and/or location. The following primary blocks arrange the files:
100 - Administration;
200 - Economic and Industrial Development;
300 - Engineering Projects;
400 - Forests and Game;
500 - Public Service;
600 - Education;
1000 - General files on settlements, associations, companies, provinces, foreign countries, Inuit affairs, and resources;
20 - Individual case files;
3 - Personnel and organizational files.
None of the 700, 800 or 900 block files were forwarded to the NWT Archives. Moreover, at the time of transfer from Ottawa, it appears that other records from the file blocks brought to Yellowknife were culled in Ottawa. In addition, not all government functions were transferred in 1967, and some files contain records generated after 1967 from the continued administration of a function either by the federal government or from the use of the files by the new Territorial Government. A small number of photographs were located in the files during processing, however, these images have been left in their original files.
Additional accruals to this fonds make up another 10 meters of textual records and include the Northern Administration Branch records from the Fort Churchill district office dating from 1960 to 1970, and Western Arctic education records from 1964 to 1969. Another accrual of 7 meters of textual records documents the administration of trapping and hunting in the Northwest Territories, including correspondence, Superintendent of Game daily journals, game officer daily diaries and monthly reports, meeting minutes and materials, wildlife publications and reports, procedures, registered trapping area files, licence applications and licences, hunting and trapping returns, and fur export tax returns.
Other records of this fonds consist of: four ledgers kept between 1920 and 1967 documenting fur trapping and fur trading activities, four ledgers documenting fur and game take and value on registered trap lines, various licensing, and scientific research work; budget papers including estimates, expenditure statements and capital substantiation reports for 1966 to 1969; 2 supplementary readers, "Nuna" and "The Story of Papik an Eskimo Boy" compiled by the Curriculum Section of the Education Division from the journals of young Inuit children; and a 1954 report produced by C.C. Johnson, a Resident Engineer from Fort Smith. This report, entitled "Preliminary Report, Mackenzie Highway - Mills Lake Road" includes 31 corner mounted photographic prints and 16 black and white negatives. The report discusses plans to build a road to Mills Landing. In addition, there are copies of the Eskimo Bulletin dated from 1953-1959. The Eskimo Bulletin was produced by the Northern Administration and Land Branch in order to teach Inuit the English language.
Canada. Northern Administration BranchThis fonds consists of approximately 8 meters of textual material, approximately 73,344 black and white and colour photographs in print, negative and slide formats including many duplicates, 224 audiocassettes, 165 audio reels, 5 DAT audiocassettes, 25 16-mm films, 15 videocassettes in Beta, VHS and Helical Scan videotape formats and 4 architectural drawings. The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre and the Northwest Territories Archives generated the bulk of the textual material. The material consists of transcripts of interviews conducted by the Northwest Territories Archives with Father Louis Menez, Violet Beaulieu and Sven Johansson. Six of the audio reels contain stories that were recorded at the Miner's Mess restaurant as part of the Cultural Festival component of the 1990 Arctic Winter Games held in Yellowknife and feature storytelling by Claire Barnabe, Barb Bromley, Rene Fumoleau, Jim Green, Abe Okpik, Erik Watt, Lorne Schollar, D'Arcy Arden, George Blondin, Neil Colin, Mary Forrest, Pete Fraser, Joe Tobie and Jim Bourque. Other cassettes feature interviews with Ben Sutherland and Laura Loutitt. In addition, there are audiocassettes and English translations of an interview conducted by the Archaeology Section with Slavey Elder George Boots and video cassettes of "Drum Lake-Archaeology", "The Last Mooseskin Boat", and "Where Time Began". There are also records from the Northwest Territories Historical Advisory Board, the Northwest Territories Heritage Council and Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, including the NWT Arts Council. Included are operational and administrative files from the Archaeological and Historic Sites program, Education and Extension program, Territorial Plaque program, Exhibits program, Museum grants and Northwest Territories Archives. Records from the Culture and Heritage Division (Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre) consist of various administrative records concerning Land Use applications, minutes of various Culture and Heritage Division meetings, program reports, support for community heritage related efforts, promotional pamphlets, archaeology permit requests, museum policy development, and special Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre projects such as Trapline - Lifeline.
Also included are files on various conferences such as the Canadian Conference on Historical Resources, the Northern Museums Conference, and Committees such as the Interdepartmental Committee on Archaeology, the Canada-Northwest Territories Consultative Committee on Parks and the Museum Advisory Committee.
A small portion of the textual records were created by the Language Bureau including a Briefing Note for the Minister about the activities of the Language Bureau, a proposal from an consultant and input from the Language Bureau about an operational review of the division, an evaluation of the Language Bureau and comments on the NWT Literacy Strategy by the staff of the Language Bureau. The remainder of the files include records from the Athapaskan Language Steering Committee, the Dene Languages Committee and internal newsletters that were produced by the Language Bureau called Dene Yati, The Booth, Language Bureau Bulletin and one newsletter called Tusagatsait.
There are approximately 55,724 black and white and colour photographs in print, negative and slide formats that were generated or acquired by the Television and Radio Services Division, Department of Culture and Communications and by the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. The collection of photographs from Television and Radio Services document the Government of the Northwest Territories involvement in housing, education and training, arts and crafts, tourism, transportation and industry. There are also images documenting native land use, community activities, special events such as Expo '86 and Arctic Winter Games, public buildings and housing, Commissioners of the Northwest Territories, NWT Council, the Legislative Assembly and Members of the Legislative Assembly. The photographs from the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre include photographs taken at Pine Point, Fort Resolution and Pangnirtung, as well as photographs created by archaeological and historic site surveys, and photographs of the Aviation Gallery at the Heritage Centre. The 132 audiocassettes, 155 sound reels and 4 DAT audio cassettes consist of recordings that were produced and collected by the Radio and Television Services Division of the Department of Culture and Communications between 1970-1986 and by the Northwest Territories Archives and Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. The recordings include soundtracks for films, interviews, speeches, special effect sounds, Inuit throat singing and government programs such as the series "Behind Closed Doors-A Series on Spousal Assault in the Northwest Territories" and "So You Want to Start Your Own Business." The 25 16-mm films include copies of "You Can't Grow Potatoes Up There"; "Koukdjuak Crossing: Caribou Tagging on Baffin Island"; "Bathurst Inlet Caribou" (may also be titled: To Have Forever: Hunting the Bathurst Caribou Herd); "Nikko Island", "Wood Bison"; "Kellett's Storehouse"; "Yellowknife"; "Caribou"; "Heritage Centre Spots"; "Kissiutiyeet"; "Gordon Lake"; "Decisions"; "Future"; and "Anik Info Spots" (air prints). The Beta videocassettes contain videos produced by the Language Bureau of the Department of Culture and Communications. The films are entitled "MLA," "Home Maintenance-Northwest Territories Housing Corporation," "Home Maintenance-Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation" and "How the Fur Trade Works" which is in South Slavey. The two helical scan videos consist of a Keewatin Economic Development Conference and the film "Hire North." Another Betamax cassette is of "Rivers of Faith" documenting Pope John Paul II's visit to Fort Simpson in 1987. The architectural drawings were generated by a project through the Northwest Territories Archives in which the old Catholic Mission building in Fort Resolution was documented.
Also contained in this fonds are materials dating from 1986-1991 including 3 Baffin Bulletin newsletters, 2 spousal assault newsletters, a report on spousal abuse, a report on the traditional knowledge working group, a directory guide of Northern cultural and arts performers from approximately 1990, and various press releases.
Northwest Territories. Department of Culture and Communications (1985-1992)This fonds consists of approximately 3 cm of textual material and 10 black and white photographs. The textual material consists of a copy of a journal kept by Carleton Appleby during the summer of 1946, during a trip on the Athabasca and Slave Rivers aboard the boat 'Beaver Lake.' He also visited Yellowknife, Fort Fitzgerald and Fort Rae during his journey. The 10 photographs were probably taken that same summer and depict the communities of Fort Rae and Yellowknife, as well as individuals he met in Yellowknife and aboard the riverboat 'Dease Lake.'
Appleby, Carlton R.This fonds consists of 71 photographs, 47 colour slides, one photocopy of a map showing the settlement of Hay River in 1945, 6 original sketch maps of various other communities also from 1945, and one report entitled "Report on Physical Geography Study of the Western Arctic, 1947." The photographs show various communities across the north including, Hay River, Fort Smith, Fort Simpson, Fort Providence, Pine Point, Tulita, Inuvik, Aklavik, Port Radium, Rankin Inlet and Yellowknife. The photographs of Hay River show dwellings and tents; however, there are also images of the meteorological station, airfield and Hudson's Bay Company. The images of Yellowknife are primarily aerial images of the town, images of Old Town, residential areas and places of business. There are also photographs of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) barracks, Con Mine, Gordon Lake Mine, Negus Mine and commercial gardens. The photographs of Port Radium show the Eldorado uranium mine. Other photographs show pipeline activity at Inuvik. The slides are also mainly aerial images, and document communities throughout the NWT and Nunavut, including Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Fort Good Hope, Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, Aklavik, Hay River and the Mackenzie river. Nunavut locations documented on slides include Cambridge Bay, Baffin Island, Mansel Island, Prince Charles Island, Boothia Peninsula and Arctic Bay. One colour slide is a picture of Tom Doornbos of Yellowknife, carrying his water pails. The report was generated from personal observations by Robinson during a visit to the western arctic in August of 1947. The majority of the report focuses on observations about Victoria Island, Prince of Wales Island, Somerset Island and the Boothia Peninsula; however, there are also notations concerning the topography from Yellowknife to Bathurst Inlet. The report includes a diary of the trip and contains discussions of the topography, mapping, geology, ice conditions, vegetation and animal life. The report was originally produced for the Federal Government, Lands and Development Services Branch, Northwest Territories and Yukon Services.
Robinson, J. LewisThis fonds consists of 299 colour slides, 19 colour prints and 273 black and white prints. The majority of the photographs are of Frank and Grace McCall's time spent in the Mackenzie Delta (Aklavik - Reindeer Station) in the 1940s, Yellowknife (1940s - 1970s) and Ft. Smith in the (1950s and 1960s). The series of print photographs focussing on Yellowknife include images relating to transportation, recreation, mining, and scenery. Negus Mine, Con Mine, Jolliffe Island, the Wildcat Café, water taxis, floatplanes, and cat trains are featured, along with Yellowknife residents Tom Doornbos and John Anderson Thomson. The series of print photographs focussing on Aklavik include images relating to reindeer herding, transportation, and aerial photographs. A third series of print photographs, entitled Northern Miscellaneous, covers various subjects, including a trip Frank McCall took in his capacity as Regional Administrator to communities such as Banks Island, Holman Island, Coppermine (Kugluktuk), Spence Bay (Taloyoak) and Pelly Bay to talk to residents about a Resource Program. The two textual documents are programs for the official openings of the Yellowknife United Church in 1958 and Bristol Memorial Park in 1970.
McCall (family)This fonds consists of 80 b/w and colour photographs and one folder of textual material relating to the Gruben family of the Mackenzie Delta region. Dating mainly from the 1920s to the 1970s, the photographs document the people, places and activities of the Mackenzie Delta including the communities of Tuktoyaktuk, Aklavik, Kittigaryuk, Shingle Point, and Baillie Island and the Gruben, Nasogaluak, Raddi, Pokiak, Jacob, Kikoak, Carpenter, Cockney, Wolki, and Elias families. Featured are traditional Inuvialuit clothing, including floral pattern parkas with sunburst hoods. Additional subjects include hunting, dogsledding, boats, fishing, and oil rigs. The schooner 'North Star' is also featured. The textual material includes the marriage certificate of Mary (Mercy) Talegomik and John Rubin, as well as a letter addressed to Mary Gruben from B. Sidgwick dated April 7, 1950.
Gruben (family)This fonds consists of 223 b&w and colour photographs and 0.2 cm of textual records. The majority of the photographs were taken by Paul Trudel while he was in Fort Smith and the surrounding area in the 1920s. Officials of the government, including J.A. McDougal, N.W. Champagne, and Gerry Murphy, are prominently featured. Other photographs taken at the Slave River, Pine Lake or in Wood Buffalo National Park relate to the recreation activities and picnics of colleagues' families. Some of the photographs were taken in Yellowknife and the surrounding area in the 1940s. These photographs include family snapshots as well as prominent Yellowknife families and individuals, including Dr. Oliver Stanton, Father Gathy and Bishop Breynat. Several of the photographs document Paul Trudel's day to day activities at the district's mining recorder's office on Latham Island in Yellowknife. The textual material includes letters, one recipe card, a colour photocopy of a 1928? Waterways train schedule, a colour photocopy of a map showing the communities of the Mackenzie River valley, memorabilia including scanned copies of two Christmas cards, an engagement announcement from Edmonton Journal, and editions of the Yellowknife Blade newspaper (annotated by Paul Trudel), Vol. 1, No.3 and Vol. 1, No. 4.
Trudel, PaulThis fonds consists of 2.4 cm of textual records (one bound volume and one folder), two reels of 16 mm movie film (a large reel of 1000 ft and a small reel of 400 ft) and 317 photographs and negatives (198 of the Western Arctic and 119 of the Eastern Arctic). Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Inspector Cyril N.K. “Nordie” Kirk used the bound volume to record events during his time aboard the Hudson Bay Company supply ship the RMS "Nascopie” during its Eastern Arctic tour, summaries of RCMP inspections in New Brunswick, and activities during the holiday season between 1944 and 1945. He wrote and received the correspondence between 1945 and 1946 while living in Aklavik as RCMP Officer in Charge (OC). The letters detail daily life in Aklavik for his southern correspondents. CNK Kirk shot the film between July of 1947 and July of 1948. The large reel contains both black and white and colour footage of Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, buildings, patrol boats, airplanes and travel by dog team as well as footage of Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk and Herschel Island. The small reel of film contains all colour footage of RCMP patrols by aircraft to Fort Norman (Tulita), Norman Wells, Camp Canol, as well as shots of Aklavik, including the All Saints Anglican Mission church, hospital and school, Aklavik residents cutting and hauling ice. In addition, there is footage of Leona E. Kirk, wife of Nordie Kirk, Henry Larsen, skipper of the St. Roch, Mike Zubko, Bruno Wiedeman, Charlie Smith, George Roberts, Knut Lang, Dave Sharon Jones, Jim Edwards (Jim Sittichinli), Caroline Moses, Jimmie Jones, Walter Jameson, Phoebe Poole, Louis Cardinal, and several RCMP officers such as Walter Evan Bayne, D.J. (Tiny) Martin, Arthur E. McKinnon, Alfred Kendi, David A. Coleman, Alexander Scotty Stewart. Included in the 317 black and white photographs, which includes 32 negatives, are 198 images depicting life in the Western Arctic from the perspective of RCMP OC Kirk, who was posted to Aklavik from 1945-1948. The images include the communities of Aklavik, Fort Good Hope, Fort Smith, Fort McPherson, Herschel Island, Tuktoyaktuk, Fort Norman (Tulita) and Reindeer Station, as well as aerial views of the Richardson Mountains and images of the Firth River. There are also images of RCMP patrols, the "Distributor", aircraft, RCMP buildings and the Kirk family. The remaining photographs depict Royal Canadian Mounted Police patrols of the Eastern Arctic aboard the RMS "Nascopie" in 1943 and 1944 and include images of Arctic Bay, Cape Smith, Chesterfield Inlet, Fort Ross, Churchill (Manitoba), Lake Harbour (Kimmirut), Pangnirtung, Pond Inlet, Clyde River, Southampton, Wolstenholme and images of the "Nascopie".
Kirk (family)This fonds consists of 0.6 cm of textual records, ca. 13,000 photographs (col. slides, col. negatives, and b&w negatives), and 31 reels of 16 mm film.
The textual records comprise two newsletters produced by Bern Will Brown and a series of letters written by Capt. C.T. Pederson. The newsletters give a brief overview of life in the community of Colville Lake during 1991 and 1992, including items of interest relating to various members of the community. The Pedersen correspondence is autobiographical, including reminiscences of C.T. Pederson of some of his activities in the north; the majority are addressed to Father Brown of Our Lady of the Snows Mission in Colville Lake, but one letter is addressed to Commander Ransom.
The photographs include images of a wide variety of subjects, particularly activities of the Catholic Church and traditional activities of the Dene, Inuvialuit and Inuit, including hunting, trapping and transportation. There are photos of many locations throughout the NWT as well as some locations in Nunavut, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
The films and videocassettes include footage of dog teams, life at Colville Lake, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Aklavik, Husky Lakes, Whitefish Station, Tulita (Fort Norman), Nahanni Butte, Fort Simpson, Bern Will Brown, various Catholic priests and bishops, fishing, children at play, aircraft, construction of the mission, reindeer, whaling, trapping, hunting, church services, many local families including: Kochon, Codzi, Masuzumi, Cotchilly, Oudzi and political visitors such as Governors-General.
Brown, Bern WillThis fonds consists of 0.1 cm of textual records, 859 photographs (242 black and white negatives, 300 black and white prints - original masters; 766 black and white digital files (TIFF), 15 colour digital files (TIFF) - archival masters; 55 black and white negatives, 23 black and white prints - original and archival masters), 15 8mm film reels (original masters), four 16mm film reels (original masters), 19 Betacam SP videocassettes (archival masters), and one 8mm film reel (original and archival master).
The textual records consist of a membership certificate. The majority of the photographs document Sam’s life prospecting, mining, and trapping between 1930 and 1950, while a smaller selection document Sam’s nuclear family life beginning in 1952. There are five main series of photographs: work in the Great Bear Lake region with the Northern Transportation Company and uranium mines in the early to mid-1930s; gold mining, camping, and prospecting in the Great Slave Lake area in the mid-1930s through the 1940s; work on the Canol project in 1942-1943; trapping on the barren lands (tundra) of the Keewatin region near Clinton-Colden Lake and the Back River area in the late 1930s to 1950; and Sam’s nuclear family life from 1952 onwards. Communities documented in this fonds include early images of Yellowknife’s Old Town and Latham Island, Fort Franklin (Deline), Cameron Bay camps, Norman Wells, Fort Resolution, and Fort Smith. The moving images document being on the land, prospecting, and hunting between 1930 and 1960, and town and family life between 1950 and 1970.
The digital files (TIFF) are scans of the original black and white negatives, black and white prints, and colour negatives, while the videocassettes are transfers from the original 8mm and 16mm film reels, all created by Sam Otto and loaned by his son Sheldon in 2000. The majority of the originally loaned items were returned by Sam Otto's daughter Lorraine in 2015, in addition to some newly offered materials.
Otto, SamThis fonds consists of prints and negatives, including cellulose nitrate and one glass negative, formerly owned by Archibald Lang Fleming, as well as a program for the opening of the All Saints' Hospital in Aklavik in 1937, attended by Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir (John Buchan). The photographs include the communities of: Aklavik, Baker Lake, Cambridge Bay, Cape Dorset, Chesterfield Inlet, Clyde River, Coppermine, Eskimo Point, Lake Harbour, Pangnirtung, and Pond Inlet, among others. Images feature the portraits and daily activities of Inuit and Dene and Anglican churches and missions.
Fleming, ArchibaldThe series documents J.I. Glick's Yellowknife real estate business, Central Real Estate, as well as the Gold Range Hotel, which was an asset of Central Real Estate. The property records include records predating formal incorporation of Central Real Estate in 1953. Glick was the first manager of the Gold Range Hotel from 1958-1966, when he and his wife Sadie Glick sold their shares.
Glick, Jacob IsaacThis fonds consists of a three page excerpt from Carroll's log on Fort Enterprise. It includes a sketch of the site. Fort Enterprise was built by Sir John Franklin during his 1870 expedition.
Carroll, John