The textual material comprises 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, Dept. 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. Included in this report were photographs of communities along the eastern coast of Hudson Bay and James Bay and eight maps. The mounting of the photographs in this report suggests that this copy was a draft produced before its final publication.
The records are made up of three files of correspondence and two blue print maps of leased areas documenting applications and maintenance of surveying permits for petroleum and natural gas exploration in the south Great Slave Lake region including, Pine Point and Presquille Point areas.
The report, titled "Reconnaissance of Yellowknife River and Adjacent Lakes, Great Slave Lake, N.W.T., July 1 - Sept. 7, 1928", carries the name Henry L. Smyth, Jnr. on the cover. The map is of "Yellowknife River and adjacent lakes from Yellowknife Village north to the third portage," is also dated July 1-September 7, 1928, and was drawn by Mr. Smyth. Scale 1" to 4,000 feet. The present day site of Detah is indicated on the map as being Yellowknife Village. Mineral deposits in the area have been annotated onto the map.
Records consist of a report on prospecting and mining operations in the Great Slave Lake area, which includes a number of adhered photographs. Also included are two shorter reports on prospecting and mining in the Great Slave Lake and Great Bear Lake regions, related correspondence, and seven plans noting mineral claims around the Great Slave Lake area.
Records include a map of the Yellowknife River and photographs of prospecting activities in the Yellowknife area. The photographs document scenes of prospecting camps and prospectors including Tom Hanson, Bill Larsen, Ben Sutherland, C. J. Baker and Hughie Muir.
Sutherland, Ben
The photographs include a colour photograph of the Northern Transportation Company vessel the "M.V. Kelly Hall" and a hand coloured black and white portrait of a couple. The settlement plans are from the communities of Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Aklavik, Fort Good Hope, Fort McPherson, Wrigley, Fort Simpson, Hay River, Port Radium, Fort Resolution, Taltson River, Pine Point, Fort Liard, Tuktoyaktuk and Fort Providence. In addition, there are maps showing water routes of steamships and mining claims in the Yellowknife area. Most of the maps and plans were published by various federal departments, including the Department of the Interior, Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, and Department of Mines and Resources.