This collection came from the estate of Gertrude Prokosch Kurath (1903–1992). Kurath was an American dancer, researcher, author, and ethnomusicologist. She researched and wrote extensively on the study of dance, co-authoring several books and writing hundreds of articles. Her archives are maintained at Cross-Cultural Dance Resources in Arizona, while her Iroquois material is at the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, Ontario.