The fonds consists of manuscripts, research files, and printed material relating to Knight's activities as a student and university professor in the field of anthropology, as well as his writing as a Canadian historian. Included are: correspondence with and applications to publishers and universities; a typescript copy of Knight’s memoirs and manuscript copies of "A Very Ordinary Life" (1974), "Indians at Work" (1978), “Along the No. 20 Line” (1980), “Homer Stevens” (1992), Not a Philosophical Atheism” (2012), and "Nativism and Americanism" (2013), among Knight’s other publications; research data and bibliographies gathered as part of Knight’s research and writing; book reviews of Knight’s works, as well as Knight’s reviews of others’ publications; transcripts and sound recordings of Knight’s interviews with Bob Chestnut, Harvey Murphy, and John Smith; and photographs used in Knight’s “Along the No. 20 Line” (1980).

Fonds documents MacLeod’s research on and interviews with early 20th-century B.C. fishermen. It includes audio cassettes, video cassettes, transcript excerpts, notes, articles, and reports.

Audio and video cassettes record interviews with early 20th-century B.C. fishermen. Most interviews were conducted by Ken MacLeod from the mid-1970s to early 2000s, although several are copies from the Campbell River Museum & Archives and the British Columbia Provincial Archives. Interviews are primarily with early commercial salmon fishermen and commercial rodmen, their relatives, and salmon conservation scientists. Interviews address fishing methods (i.e., gillnetting and seine nets), boat types, natural disasters, poaching, salmon management and conservation, and interviewees’ assorted personal anecdotes. Although mainly focused on salmon fishing, interviews also address sports fishing, other types of fish (e.g., cod), seals, and sea lions. Additionally, several audio cassettes are radio show segments related to fish farms recorded by MacLeod between 2001 and 2003. Textual records include partial transcripts of interviews conducted by MacLeod, as well as published articles and reports that MacLeod notes are related to fishermen he interviewed.