The fonds consists of records created and/or accumulated by Sawyer, predominately during his time as a professor and as a researcher at the University of British Columbia. Presently, there are two series in this fonds reflecting Sawyer’s research on the artifacts of Northwest Coast First Nation communities, including the: Tlingit; Haida; Tsimshian; Gitxsan; Nisga’a; Kwakwaka’wakw (formerly Kwakiutl); Nuxalk; Nuu-chah-nulth (formerly Nootka); and Coast Salish First Nations. The series contains slides, scrapbooks, photographs, textual records, and ephemera.
Subseries consists mainly of photographs collected by MOA for curatorial research, as well as some photographs documenting MOA activities and/or people. Photographs in this subseries were collected in 1976 or earlier. Subject matter of the photographs includes Northwest Coast material culture, people, and geography; MOA history; MOA events; UBC Totem Park; and, a smaller number of non-Northwest Coast cultures.
Subseries includes photographic material collected to document the organizational memory of MOA. Photographs primarily depict the events and functions that have occurred in the museum, as well as events and functions that took place outside the museum that involved MOA or MOA staff members. The subseries also contains candid shots of MOA staff members, photographs of different parts of the museum, and photographs related to MOA that have made their way into the MOA archives.
Series consists of the video recordings about, by, or related to the Museum of Anthropology. Video recordings can be found in many collections and fonds in the MOA Archives; the recordings in this General Media collection are those that do not belong to a more specific archival collection, usually because their provenance is not known.
Subseries consists of sound recordings made or collected by the Museum of Anthropology and its staff. Some recordings were created or collected for research purposes (such as interviews); others are final products intended for some type of distribution (such as documentaries).
Series consists of general administrative records for the Collections unit at MOA, as well as planning documents for specific MOA exhibits. Material includes correspondence, object lists, object condition reports, exhibit travel schedules, and other general collections and exhibit planning records. The series is divided into two subseries: A. General Collections administration B. Exhibitions.
Description of the Stoney Nakoda Nation, likely from the perspective of Telfer. Includes observations about the Stoney reserve, homes, seasonal activities, payments to the Stoney from the federal government and the Calgary Power Company, dress, gender dynamics, religion, food, the Annual Singing Festival, and names.
List of classroom rules from the Morley Residential School, likely typed up by Telfer. There are rules for the children and for teachers. The document is typed on letterhead for "Indian Residential School, United Church of Canada, Rev. E.J. Staley, Principal, Morely, Alta."
