This collection is mainly composed of research material collected by Dr. James Clifton from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. Items include photocopies of newspaper articles, reference books, as well as drafts of Clifton's manuscripts, handwritten interview notes and several boxes of slides.

The work and papers in this collection have a ethnohistorical focus. Items pertain to Native Americans of the Great Lakes Region of Canada and the United States with a focus on Wyandot, Huron and Potawatomi peoples. A considerable portion of the collection is related to Chief Simon Pokagon.