This collection, donated by Don and Jane Kemp, consists of various objects of Alaska, especially small ivory animals and spruce root and grass baskets made by Native Alaskans. Most of the objects they collected were purchased at the ANAC Cache, the Alaska Native Arts and Crafts Cooperative, which was an outlet for Alaska Native arts and crafts in Juneau. Some of the objects were acquired through Don's extensive travels within Alaska in connection with his position in the state government.
;Information on Don and Jane Kemp
Donald Robert Kemp was born on August 27, 1940, in Denver, Colorado, to Mary (Gaarder) and Warren Everett Kemp. Educated in the Denver public schools, he graduated with a BS degree in Social Science from Colorado State University in 1958. He earned his MSW degree in Social Work from West Virginia University in 1972. Arriving in Alaska in 1965, Don first worked for a local grocery store. From 1966 to
1977, Don worked for the Alaska Department of Health and Welfare in Juneau, taking a leave of absence to return to graduate school from 1970-1972. He was a member of the National Guard in Juneau from 1962 to 1968. In 1977, Don and Jane moved to Des Moines, Iowa where he taught at the Drake University campus for the University of Iowa Graduate School of Social Work. He joined the faculty of Luther College in 1978 as the director of the Social Work Program. Don retired from Luther in 1997, the same year he received the Social Worker of the Year award from the National Association of Social Workers, Iowa Chapter. After his retirement, he served as Associate Professor Emeritus at Luther and as the Executive Director of Winneshiek County Habitat for Humanity. Don died at the age of 62 on March 4, 2003.
Henrietta Jane Kemp was born on April 10, 1944, in Davenport, Iowa, to Henrietta Jane (Bonnell) and Milton Zagel. After attending University High School in Iowa City, she graduated from the University of Iowa in 1966 with a BA in History and German. She went to Alaska in 1967, intending to stay for the summer months. However, after meeting Don, she remained in the state until they left to attend graduate school in 1970. During these years, she worked for the Alaska Department of Health and Welfare and the Alaska State Library. She received her MLS degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1971. After returning to Alaska, she took a library position at the Juneau Public Library and later was an administrative assistant for the Alaska Supreme Court. When Don and Jane moved to Decorah, Iowa in 1978, Jane worked at various positions for Luther College until joining the faculty of the Luther College Library in 1981. She has been the Circulation Librarian, Library Department Head, Supervisor of the Fine Arts Collection and taught in the college's Paideia I program.
Don and Jane lived in Juneau, Alaska during the 1960s and 1970s and were married in Juneau in 1969. Their daughter, Anna, was born in Alaska in 1974.