The series consists primarily of material accumulated and/or created by Gillian Darling Kovanic during her travels abroad, both as a student of anthropology and a filmmaker. This series includes field research conducted by Kovanic with the Kalash in Pakistan, the Kom/Kati tribes in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Orissa in India, the Haida on the Queen Charlotte Islands [Haida Gwaii], British Columbia and the Kwakwaka’wakw in Alert Bay, British Columbia. Much of her fieldwork is made up of a study of the languages and cultural practices of the people being studied.

Included in the series are eleven field notebooks, a handwritten Kalash’a dictionary, a notebook containing information on the ethnographic materials collected by Darling, which now reside with the Royal Ontario Museum, and approximately 4502 photographs, including slides, negatives, prints and digital photos. Also included are a number of academic and popular articles collected by Kovanic, which compliment her field research, including a unique, handwritten article by Wazir Ali Shah, secretary to the last ruler of Chital, Mehtar, in 1977, which was written after the original manuscript was lost. The series also contains published material, comprised of a teaching kit titled “Kalash Bread-making: From Field to Feast” and the Wakhi Language Book by Haqiqat Ali.

Image of the early stages of restoration of totem pole fragments by Anthony Carter and Carol Mclaren, U.B.C.

File consists of images of the Ninstins (or Ninstints) village site on Anthony Island, Haida Gwaii.

File consists of images from a Kwakiutl potlatch for artists Tony Hunt, in Alert Bay, BC.

File consists of images of the exterior of St. Paul's Catholic church in North Vancouver, BC.

File consists of images from the Nass River valley in British Columbia. Subjects include scenery, people, and village scenes.

File consists of images of First Nations adults and children in Bella Coola, Klemtu, Bella Bella, Haida Gwaii, and Hartley Bay, BC.

File consists of images taken at or near Slatechuck Mountain on Haida Gwaii (called Kaagan in the Haida language). This mountain, located near Queen Charlotte City, is best known as a source of argillite, a rare form of slate used in Haida art. Images in this file show individuals harvesting argillite, in addition to images of women harvesting and preparing spruce roots to weave baskets, and images of the Golden Spruce tree that formerly stood in the area.