This collection contains the professional work papers of Minnesota historical archaeologist Douglas A. Birk. Records include fieldwork, research notes, correspondence, writings, and subject files. Topics include the history of the fur trade and the archaeological record of central and northern Minnesota.

Record Group 1: Career files represents an overview of Birk’s professional activities. Series within this group include general correspondence, an incomplete but substantial collection of Birk’s writings, records of presentations given, conferences attended, and newspaper clippings documenting his career. Importantly, this group includes Birk’s field journals/log books and daily journals. The former document Birk’s activities at archaeological sites and includes an index of all field journal entries contained throughout the paper collection, cross referenced by location and date.

Record Group 2: Research files are arranged by topic and cover Birk’s areas of professional expertise. Prominent topics include the archaeological record of sites within the LEHP, especially 21MO20; Minnesota’s Colonial and Territorial periods; John Sayer; Zebulon Pike; Protestant missions; mounds; historic communities; historic transportation routes; and journals, artifact studies, and sites relating to the fur trade in Minnesota. Records within each series include fieldwork, correspondence, project documentation, copies of primary and secondary source documents, and research notes. Content notes are also provided at the series level, as the details of each series varies. Birk maintained these files throughout his career and most series include records spanning multiple decades.

Record Group 3: Work files are primarily the institutional records of Birk’s employers that Birk retained in his personal files. Records in this group are divided into series representing each employer. Records within series are mostly arranged by type and/or function rather than topic and include correspondence, board minutes, financials, project files, and public relations. This group also includes Birk’s educational records from junior college to graduate school.

Record Group 4: Subject files functions as a “catch-all” category for records that are broadly organized by subject and do not fit within the preceding groups. These include records of Birk’s involvement with local historical societies, material on professional standards and legal requirements, and miscellany.

Record Groups 5-7 represent special format records and do not relate to the intellectual arrangement of the collection. See the arrangement and access notes for more details.

Researchers are encouraged to search this finding aid thoroughly and consider all areas of the collection were information relevant to their research interest may be found. For instance, while research material on a particular topic may be concentrated in the relevant series in group 2, a finished publication stemming from this research is likely to be located in group 1. Meanwhile, correspondence and other documentation of the context of a research project may be located in group 1, 2, or 3 under various series.

This collection contains records from the Evelyn Payne Hatcher Museum of Anthropology, totaling 6 boxes. The documents begin with the opening of the museum in 1973, when it was known as the St. Cloud Museum of Man.

The records date from 1972-1997.  The majority of the records pertain to museum artifacts that have been accessioned and deaccessioned.

The collection is arranged into two series, which are as follows:

Series 1: Administrative Records, 1972-1997

This series consists of documents such as correspondence and memorandum, minutes and agendas, articles of incorporation and by-laws, etc.  The subject matter of the materials focuses on the day to day operations of the museum.   There are also pamphlets and photographs for exhibits that the museum hosted, many of which were devoted to Native American culture.

Series 2: Accession and Deaccession Catalogs, 1970s-1990s

This series consists of the accession and deaccession sheets that were kept by the museum for inventory of artifacts.  The records include the date the museum acquired the items, the condition of said items, and oftentimes photographs to identify them.  If an artifact was taken out of the collection, this information was also noted and listed as a deaccession.