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GUIDE TO THE HAN ARCHIVE HOLDINGS
INFORMATION FOR RESEARCHERS
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
COLLECTION ORGANIZATION
COLLECTION SUMMARY:
Title: Han Language Collection.
Extent: Six manuscript boxes totaling 2 linear feet.
Repository Location: Alaska Native Language Archive, 406 Brooks Building, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Please consult with the Alaska Native Language Center for information regarding the specific location of materials within the archive.
Forms of Material: The collection includes both original and photocopied manuscript and typescript documents comprised of fieldnotes, wordlists, education publications, academic research papers, and notes and handouts from various Han language classes. Occasional ethnographic and traditional texts are present, as are placename lists and academic journal articles.
Languages: All materials in the Han Collection are in Han or English.
Abstract: All materials in the Han collection are either written in or about the Han language. The earliest documents come from expedition accounts and the later material comes largely from contributions by the Alaska Native Language Center and the Yukon Native Language Centre staff. Much of the collection dates from the mid- to late-1970s during an era of more intensive fieldwork and educational outreach with the Han language. The bulk of the collection consists of manuscripts related to Han educational materials and to linguistic field research, including both field notes and products of research, especially word lists, placenames, and dictionaries. Religious texts and traditional stories form a smaller part of the collection, as do language class notes research papers, and conference materials. Photocopied material occasionally represents original material held by other repositories and certain reproduction and use restriction apply.
INFORMATION FOR RESEARCHERS:
Access: Collection access is permitted during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30, and further by appointment throughout the year.
Preferred Citation: Please list author, date, and title of publication, whether item is a photocopy or original, location of original document if different than ANLC, then note folder title, Han Language Collection, Alaska Native Language Center Archive, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Restrictions: Visitors to the collection may copy non-restricted items, though lack of clerical support prohibits ANLC from processing photocopy requests online or by mail at this time. In addition, many items in the collection are restricted in their use by their authors or by the repositories from which we obtained our copies, and may not be further copied here without permission of the original repositories.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION:
Acquisition Information: Dr. Michael Krauss of the Alaska Native Language Center began collecting materials now in the Han collection when he arrived at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1960. Krauss made great effort to assemble a near-comprehensive collection of primary and secondary source material, in the form of wordlists, fieldnotes, manuscript texts, journal articles, and previously published articles on the language. The staff of the Alaska Native Language Center have also contributed primary material to the collection through their fieldnotes, class lectures, and academic research papers.
Processing History: The first major organization of the Han Collection occurred in the late 1970s and led to the publication of an annotated catalogue based on folder titles. This system has been retained, and recent work (2002-2006) has concentrated on document preservation, the development of an electronic database, and the creation of a finding aid.
Acknowledgements: Some of the photocopies obtained by Krauss were made from originals held in other repositories, including the Alaska and Polar Regions Collection, Elmer Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska.
Funding: The National Endowment for the Humanities (grant # PA-50139-03) funded collection processing and finding aid development.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Language Information: Han is the Athabascan language spoken in Alaska in the village of Eagle and in the Yukon Territory at Dawson; it is closely related to Gwich’in and Upper Tanana. Of the total Alaskan Han population of about 50 people, perhaps 12 speak the language. A writing system was established in the 1970s, and considerable documentation has been carried out at the Alaska Native Language Center as well as at the Yukon Native Language Centre in Whitehorse.
Scope and Content Note: The Alaska Native Language Center Han holdings represent a relatively small collection containing 85 items that date between 1865 and 1998. Fieldnotes are well represented in the Han language, especially from the 1960s and 1970s. Other material types include academic research, wordlists, translations and transcriptions of traditional stories, and educational materials, such as literacy exercises.
Only two items date on or prior to 1900; both are wordlists, one anonymous and the other by James Wickersham; they are photocopied from larger publications, the originals of which are held by another repository. There are no items created between 1900 and the late 1950s. Materials from the 1950s include the Han fieldnotes of Gordon Marsh (1956) and vocabulary lists compiled by David Shinen (1958 and 1963).
More material is present from the 1960s, largely due to the fieldnotes and academic research of Michael Krauss, beginning in 1962 and covering Han tone, dialectology, grammar, and phonology (11 items). From the late 1960s and early 1970s, there are fieldnotes of Catherine McClellan, Nancy McRoy, R. W. Jarvenpaa, and John Ritter. The collection further includes approximately 15 traditional story transcriptions from narrations by Louise Paul (1978).
The largest portion of the collection are John Ritter’s fieldnotes, class materials, and literacy workshop materials collected and published between 1976 and 1984 (25 items), including his preliminary noun dictionary and literacy workshop session documents published by the Yukon Native Language Centre, Whitehorse, Canada.
There is a dearth of materials from the 1980s, though the 1990s are more represented by the continued work in literacy workshop publications, such as reading and listening exercises written by Jane Montgomery, Percy Henry, Isaac Juneby, and Edward Roberts in affiliation with the Yukon Native Language Centre. The most recent publication is a subsistence study conducted by Craig Mischler for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game; a document that includes some Han placenames and lexical items.
COLLECTION ORGANIZATION:
The Han Language Collection adheres to the organizational schema developed and applied to each language within the Alaska Native Language Archives by Michael Krauss and Mary Jane McGary in the late 1970s. It involves a system of call numbers (folder numbers) aimed at arranging items chronologically by author. The files are generally organized by author, and thereunder by date of ‘publication’ or ‘work’. In files with multiple authors, the first or earliest author is used. ‘Authorship’ should be interpreted loosely to include not only author in the traditional sense, but also collector, translator, transcriber, speaker, editor, compiler, or informant; these roles are generally indicated. The call number system codes the language series, author, and date. ‘Authorship’ should be interpreted loosely to include not only author in the traditional sense, but also collector, translator, transcriber, speaker, editor, compiler, or informant; these roles are generally indicated. A brief explanation of the call number system follows:
The call number first notes the language, Han, with the two-letter code “HN.” The second element of the call number is a three-digit number consisting of the last three digits of the year of the author’s first known work on or in the Han language. When an item has more than one author, the date is that of the first-named author.
The third element of the call number is the first letter of the author’s surname, or several letters in the case of co-authors. For example, RP indicates dual authorship by John Ritter and Louise Paul.
The fourth element of the call number gives the date of the item. The given date on the published item is used as the item date. When an item includes several editions, translations, or reprinting of a single item, the date of the specific edition in the archive is listed. In some cases, an academic year date appears on educational publications, such as 78/79; here the first year has been used as an item date. For unpublished materials, if a date appears on the item, it is used as the publication date, except in rare cases where we have concrete knowledge that the date is in error. Unpublished items which are also undated have been assigned dates based on our knowledge of the author's work. Some of theses dates are quite approximate and this is usually noted in the description.
Some Examples:
HN959S1963 reads as an item produced in 1963 by David Shinen who began working on the Han language in 1959. HN977L1977 reads as an item produced in 1977 by Jeff Leer who started working on the Han language in 1977.
List of Authors and Contributors
Subject List
Container List
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