Fonds covers a wide array of Dr. Antonia Mills’ research and writing, from her Ph.D. thesis work to her continued research into the early 2000s. Collection consists of textual and photographic materials pertaining to Dr. Mills’ Ph.D. research of First Nations groups in Canada, particularly the Beaver Indians. The majority of the textual documents surround Dr. Mills’ role in the plaintiff claim for Delgamuukw vs. British Columbia (The Queen) and provides insight into the historic case. Feast notes, genealogy charts, memorandum, and report drafts of expert witness reports are included in her Delgamuukw work. Photographic material is related to Dr. Mills’ research of the Beaver Indians, her reincarnation research, and her research in India. There are also chapters of her publications, chapters of work she edited and material related to the classes she taught at UNBC on a number of digital formats. There are 15 cassette tapes of interviews and lectures related to her research interests and graduate level First Nations Studies classes. There are interviews with Mary John Sr., Art Wilson, and a number of interviews with children for her Imaginary Playmate Study. Finally, there are six VHS tapes with miscellaneous content: recordings of guest lecturers in her classes, recordings of PSA’s, a documentary on the building of Delgamuukw and a TV movie based on Thomas King’s book Medicine River.
Series Descriptions:
1) Delgamuukw vs. British Columbia [1997] 3 S.C.R. 1010 Series
Accession No. 2015.05.01
Date Range: 1982-1989
Physical Extent: 3 maps ; 1 poster ; 27 VHS video recordings ; 18 DVDs ; 90.5cm textual material.
Scope & Content: This series consists of materials either created by, or researched and collected, by Antonia Mills as part of her preparatory work as an expert witness in the Delgamuukw vs. British Columbia [1997] 3 S.C.R. 1010 case. In 1985 Mills was asked by the Gitksan and Wet’suwet’en Tribal Councils to support them as an expert witness in their land claims suit against the Canadian Government. Types of materials comprising this series include various reports, publications, legal research, correspondence, meeting notes, and maps pertaining to the research done into Gitksan-Wet’suwet’en land title.
2) Beaver / Dunne-za First Nation Research Series
Accession No. 2015.05.02
Date Range: c.1960-1997
Physical Extent: 379 photographs ; 1 computer disk ; 4 video disks ; 1 CD-R.
Scope & Content: This series consists of textual and photographic materials produced or collected by Antonia Mills while conducting her Ph.D research in the Dunne-za/Beaver First Nation. Types of materials comprising this series include slides, photographs, negatives, still video floppy disks, and 5-1/4” floppy disks each depicting various aspects of the life and culture of the Dunne-za Nation. Also present are some oral histories, creation stories and general notes collected or created by A. Mills.
3) Reincarnation & Imaginary Playmate Research Series
Accession No. 2015.05.03
Date Range: 1987-1996
Physical Extent: 364 photographs ; 29 computer disks ; 9 audio cassettes ; 1.5cm textual material.
Scope & Content: This series consists of primary research materials created by A. Mills in her research into reincarnation and imaginary playmates amongst children in both India and various northern British Columbia First Nations communities. Types of materials in this series include interviews on audio cassette; photographs of children, their families and communities and birthmarks; floppy disks containing various topical papers presumably written by Mills; and chapters from the publication Amerindian Rebirth [Mills, A., & Sobodin, R. (Eds.) (1994). Amerindian Rebirth: Reincarnation Belief Among North American Indians and Inuit . Toronto: University of Toronto Press].
4) General Research Series
Accession No. 2015.05.04
Date Range: [198-?] - 2004
Physical Extent: 2 video cassettes ; 5 photographs ; 38.5cm textual material.
Scope & Content: This series consists of copies of research documents, articles and reports created by scholars, other than Mills, on various aspects of Carrier, Tsimshian, Gitksan, and Wet’suwet’en culture and language. Also included are handwritten notes on the Burns Lake Overlap Feast (1986) and various Funeral Feasts (1985-1986). Miscellaneous materials in this series include photographic slide of the University of Virginia campus and a copy of “University of Northern British Columbia Viewbook, 2003-2004.” Types of materials include handwritten notes, and copies of publications, papers and research notes.