The Northern Saskatchewan Archives ishoused in an 18’ by 20’ climate-controlled room in the new Pahkisimon Nuye?áh Library System (PNLS) building in Air Ronge, contains a variety of visual and print materials relating to life and activities in northern Saskatchewan.

DNS Extension Services Branch Photograph Collection: approximately 12,000 slides, 23,000 b&w photographs, and 1,000 medium format transparencies of northern communities, people, and activities taken during 1972-1983 by staff of the Extension Services Branch of the Department of Northern Saskatchewan (DNS) for use in slide presentations, displays, Denosa magazine, and other publications.

DNS Extension Services Branch Audio-Visual Collection: recordings made from 1972 through to the late 70s by staff of the DNS Extension Services Branch, including 135 reel-to-reel audio-tapes and 250 cassette tapes used in their Northern News radio programming, and 600 video-tapes recorded for use on La Ronge Community Television.

Department of Northern Saskatchewan Publications Collection: a variety of books, reports, magazines, and pamphlets produced by DNS during the 1970s and 80s, together with other publications collected by DNS staff and originally part of the DNS library.

DNS Academic Education Branch Photograph Collection: approximately 10,000 slides, mostly taken by Lois Dalby of the Academic Education Branch, of northern communities, school activities, the environment, and the traditional northern lifestyle, for use in the development of northern curriculum resources for northern schools.

DNS Academic Education Branch Materials Collection: artwork, slide presentations, black-and-white photograph sets, interviews, and other curriculum materials developed during 1972-1995 by staff of the DNS Academic Education Branch, which later became the K-12 branch of Saskatchewan Education. The staff developed 40 black-and-white photograph sets and dozens of slide sets depicting traditional activities, and booklets of transcribed interviews and local histories.

The Larry Hewitt Dene Collection: a collection of Dene materials assembled during the 1970s by Larry Hewitt, during contracts with the DNS Academic Education Branch, to record the traditional life of the Dene of northern Saskatchewan. They include 60 cassettes of taped interviews, 500 slides, 1,300 black-and-white photographs, books, maps, articles and other materials. Some of the materials are currently being used by Lynda Holland in the preparation of a series of books.

Saskatchewan Education Photograph Collection: approximately 4,000 slides and many colour print photographs of the northern communities, people, training programs, and other activities taken during 1984-1995 by Graham Guest, Sam Hardlotte, and other staff of the northern divisions of Saskatchewan Education and Saskatchewan Advanced Education and Manpower, for use in publications, curriculum materials, videos, displays, and slide presentations.

Saskatchewan Education Video-Tape Collection: 400 tapes of raw footage, time-coded copies, and finished videos, made during 1984-1995 by Graham Guest, Sam Hardlotte, and other staff of the northern divisions of Saskatchewan Education and Saskatchewan Advanced Education and Manpower for use in workshops, training programs, and conferences.

Saskatchewan Education Publications Collection: adult education and K-12 curriculum resource materials, books, annual reports, and other publications produced by the northern divisions of Saskatchewan Education and Saskatchewan Advanced Education and Manpower during 1984-1995.

The John Finch Aviation Collection: aviation materials assembled by northern aircraft engineer John Finch and donated to Saskatchewan Education in the 1980s, including taped conversations, 500 slides, photographs, and printed material. This collection was used in the production of the book Wings Beyond Road’s End: Airplanes over Saskatchewan’s North. The collection also contains copies of many photographs collected by aviation historian Ray Crone of Regina.

Inuit, Métis and Indian Art Collection: 500 slides and other materials assembled by Debby Noble for Northern Lights School Division #113 and Saskatchewan Education during the production of the curriculum resource kit Inuit, Métis and Indian Art published in May 1991.

Elders Gatherings and Cultural Camps Collection: materials gathered during the course of several elders gatherings and cultural camps during the 1990s by Sam Hardlotte and Graham Guest and others, including 2,000 slides and photographs, 60 videos, taped interviews, and other items. The collection also includes follow-up interviews with elders by NORTEP/NORPAC students.

Periodicals, Magazines, and Newspapers Collection: donated by a number of agencies including the Provincial Library, Saskatchewan Education, Northern Lights School Division, and other agencies, there are now 120 titles and 3,200 issues in the collection, mostly focussing on Aboriginal, northern and educational topics.

Environmental Impact Reports: 570 reports of environmental impact and planning studies undertaken during the development of mines, communities, forestry, and other land use activities in northern Saskatchewan.

The Northern Journal Collection: a complete set of 65 issues of ‘The Northern Journal’ newspaper from its first issue in July 1981 to its final issue in October 1982, together with the negatives and contact sheets of 5,200 photographs taken by the staff. The newspaper was produced weekly by Bill Crossman to serve La Ronge and the surrounding area.

The La Ronge Historical Society Collection: the La Ronge area has had a very active historical society for many years that has researched, recorded, and preserved local history, produced publications, and supported the development and administration of a local museum. The collection includes much valuable material on the history of the local area, particularly the research and information that was assembled during the production of the book Our Roots: A History of La Ronge published in 1981.

Books, Reports, and Studies Collection: 300 publications, including reports that had limited circulation and many out-of-print books, focus on a variety of northern and Aboriginal topics. The collection has been assembled from donations from government departments, agencies, northern residents, and other sources.

Saskatchewan Northern Affairs Collection: publications of Saskatchewan Northern Affairs from 1996 to the present, including Annual Reports, 13 issues of the newsletter Northern Focus, copies of the booklet ‘The Smoke Jumpers: A Northern Saskatchewan Claim to Fame’, and many other brochures and reports. The collection also includes copies of Opportunity North from 1994 to the present, produced by Gill Gracie of Aurora Communications.

The Robert Tanner Island Falls Collection: Bob Tanner worked for many years at the Island Falls Hydro-Electric Station near Sandy Bay built by Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Ltd. to provide power for its mining activities at Flin Flon and Creighton. The collection includes 90 issues of the HBM&S publication Northern Lights, 294 colour slides, and a variety of other photos, publications, and letters.

The Gordon Koshinsky Fisheries Collection: Gordon Koshinsky was for many years a researcher with the provincial government in La Ronge, focussing particularly on the commercial fishing industry. The collection includes reports researched and written by Gordon during the 1970s, as well as a variety of other studies and reports produced in Saskatchewan and elsewhere relating to commercial fishing and other areas of economic development.

The Cameco Collection: The materials donated by the mining company Cameco include 495 slide photographs of mining activities, northern training programs, buildings, communities, people, and graphics, and 40 videos and 20 audio tapes of mining-related hearings and presentations.