Fonds consists of records relating to the numerous culture and language projects that Powell and Jensen worked on since 1976. The communities with which they worked include:
• The Quileute of La Push
• The Kwakwaka’wakw of Alert Bay
• The Gitxsan of Kispiox, Gitanyow, and surrounding villages
• The Nuu-chah-nulth of Vancouver Island
• The Musqueam of Vancouver
• The Seton Lake St'at'imc (Lillooet) of Shalalth
• The Shuswap of Alkali Lake, Soda Creek, Dog Creek, Canim Lake, and Sugar Cane
• The Haisla of Kitamaat
• The Nisga’a of Gingolx (Kincolith) and New Aiyansh

Most of the projects had an end goal to produce a book, language education materials, or teacher training materials. Often the education materials incorporated cultural lessons throughout. The records created in the production of the books are varied and reflect the intrinsic connection between language, culture, and daily activities in the communities. Powell and Jensen were co-editors for nearly all of the language books and materials produced. Although some of the projects reflected in the records were done primarily by Powell or primarily by Jensen, the vast majority of the work involves collaboration between the two in some aspect. As Jensen and Powell immersed themselves in the communities they worked for, often their personal photographs and records are interspersed with those relating to their work. This community involvement enhanced their relationships with the people with whom they were working and allowed them to experience and participate in cultural activities as part of those communities. This close relationship is reflected in and is integral to their work. Jensen and Powell have two sons: Nels, born in 1978, and Luke, born in 1981. Their sons travelled with them to the communities in which they worked and lived, and on their work trips and sabbaticals. Nels and Luke are also present in many of the photographic records.

The records contain a mixture of research, field notes, administrative records, and publications at various stages, in addition to audio and visual records. Field notes, for the most part handwritten, and archival research into language and culture groups was undertaken by Powell, whilst the majority of the photography, found in a variety of formats, was done by Jensen. Manuscripts and final publications were a combined effort and are included at various stages. Administrative records, including grant proposals, are found throughout.

Fonds consists of 13 series of records. Series are arranged according to community and/or project.

Series consists of records pertaining to the development of Shushwap Language books and a teacher’s manual.

In the summer of 1979 Jensen and Powell moved to Alkali Lake for the summer to begin the Shuswap project. The work later expanded to include the communities of Soda Creek, Dog Creek, Canim Lake and Sugar Cane. Their primary language resources were Phyllis Chelsea and Celina Harry for the younger students’ books, and Phyllis Chelsea, Celina Harry, Cecelia DeRose, May Dixon, Elizabeth Pete, Minnie Phillips, Margaret Gilbert, Lucy Archie, Sharon Paul, and Cecile Harry for the older students’ book. In the latter part of the project Powell and Jensen also developed a curriculum with Joy Wild, and produced a teacher’s manual.

The series consists of seven sub-series:
A. Project records phase I
B. Project records phase II
C. Research
D. Original manuscripts for publications
E. Shuswap Teacher Training
F. Photographs and slides
G. Recordings.

Series is made up of records related to the creation of a Nuu-chah-nulth (otherwise referred to as T’aat’aaqsapa, West Coast language, or Nootka) dictionary.

Powell was first contacted to do a Nuu-chah-nulth language project in 1989 by Andrew Callicum, a Nuu-chah-nulth Elder and acquaintance. Originally they planned to create curriculum materials, but after John Thomas, a main informant, left the project, it was decided that they would create a dictionary instead.

Series comprises five sub-series:
A. Field notes
B. Dictionary/publications
C. Research materials
D. Morphological lexicon
E. Audio recordings

Item is a recording with two distinct parts. The first part of the recording features Tsimshian songs recorded in 1932 by the American anthropologist Dr. Viola Garfield (1899-1983) of the University of Washington. The songs in this recording were sung by Lewis Grey (1857-1934) who was born in Port Simpson and was recognized as a shaman by the Nass River tribes and upper Skeen River people. The cylinder number referenced during the recording is #14573. The Dr. Viola Garfield fonds is housed at the University of Washington Special Collections. She carried out field work in the summer of 1932, 1935 and 1937 at the Tsimshian village of Port Simpson, British Columbia. An Ediphone machine provided by the University of Washington Anthropology Department was used to record and store the songs on wax cylinders, which were deposited at the University. The recordings were transferred to the open reel format in 1971. More information is available in Dr. Viola Garfield's book Tsimshian Clan and Society (1939), available in the MOA Reading Room, call number 12.7 TSI GAR.

The second portion of the recording starts at 8:26, when an unidentified male speaker states that the remainder of the tape are Tilamook recordings made by Prof Melville Jacobs of the University of Washington recorded in the Winter of 1933 using an Ediphone cylinder. The speaker states that the first three songs are Tillamook Coast Salish North West Orgeon songs, sung by Clara Pearson, the informant of Elizabeth Jacobs in late 1933, and recorded at Garibaldi, Oregon. The speaker states that two songs are possibly in one of the Muckleshoot Reservation dialects. The speaker states that Song 1, Tit Willow, is possibly sung by the American anthropologist Dr. Erna Gunther.

Accompanying documentation for this recording contains the following text:
B. Johnstone, November 15, 1971
Tsimshian Songs Recorded by Viola Garfield
Tape Two
000 - Song #18 - Louis Gray - Taunting Song
100 - Song #19 - Louis Gray - Nursing Song
145 - Song #20 - Louis Gray - Dancing Society song
180 - Tillamook recordings made by Jacobs in Garabaldi, Ore., 1933.
Ni-sgane’-s are a ganhada chief house of the ginad‚iks tribe

Research notes compiled by Wilson Duff during his work on the Barbeau/Beynon material held at the National Museum of Canada (now Canadian Museum of History). This research, focused specifically on the Tsimshian culture, includes correspondence addressed to and/or written by Duff, files relating to the Nishga Land Claim of which Duff was involved as a witness, and typed manuscripts.

Item consists of a recording of the Learning Kwak’wala Book 9: Workbook and accompanies Book 6: Saying Everyday Things, and it features Agnes Cranmer, Margaret Cook, and Jay Powell engaging in vocabulary and grammar exercises in the workbook, Jay Powell asks the questions in English and Agnes Cranmer and Margaret Cook give the response in Kwak’wala; Side A: pages 4-15; Side B: pages 16-27, 32-33. Recorded on both sides, : Side A stops early near the end of the exercise on page 15; skips game portions of the workbook; Side B stops early halfway through the exercise on page 33. Recorded on both sides.

Item consists of a recording of the Learning Kwak’wala book 9: Workbook and accompanies Book 6: Saying Everyday Things, and it features Agnes Cranmer, Margaret Cook, and Jay Powell engaging in vocabulary and grammar exercises in the workbook, Jay Powell asks the questions in English and Agnes Cranmer and Margaret Cook give the response in Kwak’wala; Side A: pages 33-57, continues from the rest of the exercise on page 33, and skips the game portions of the workbook. While Jay Powell says that the answers for the game portions are on side B, no audio was recorded on that side. Recorded on Side A, no sound on Side B.

File includes one drawing and three photographs of MOA Object ID A50000 a, b, c, and d which is a totem pole separated into four parts. The images depict the object in its original form prior to separation. The contents of this file were used to create object labels for MOA's Great Hall.

File includes one drawing and eight photographs of MOA Object ID A50004 which is a house board. The photographs are annotated with handwritten information about their original repositories. The contents of this file were used to create object labels for MOA's Great Hall.

File includes one drawing and seven photographs of MOA Object ID A50008 a, b, and c which are interior house posts as well as images of the village from where they came. The photographs are annotated with handwritten information about their original repositories. The contents of this file were used to create object labels for MOA's Great Hall.

File includes one drawing and one photograph of MOA Object ID A50012 which is a house frontal totem pole. The photograph is annotated with handwritten information about its originating repository. The contents of this file were used to create object labels for MOA's Great Hall.