The professional activities files include materials collected by anthropologist Katherine Spilde during her employment with the National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC), the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA), and the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development (HPAIED). The materials date from 1980 to 2005, with the bulk of materials dating from 1995 to 2005. The materials document the institutional research of NGISC, NIGA, and HPAIED as well as the legal and regulatory history of Native American gaming in the United States. Also included to a lesser extent are materials from her work with the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Data Management, Needs Assessment, and Auditing Workgroup; the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Joint Task Force; and the National Council on Problem Gambling. The series contains research and subject files created by Dr. Spilde during her employment with various agencies of the federal government and universities. The series includes socioeconomic reports, testimonies, correspondence, memos, press releases, audiovisual materials, promotional materials, pamphlets, brochures, booklets, journal articles, legal briefs, legislative documents, notes, presentations, conference materials, and newspaper articles.

The general subject files include materials collected by anthropologist Katherine Spilde about Native Americans, Native American gaming, and gaming in the United States. The materials date from 1789, 1793, 1823 to 1832, 1851, 1883, 1886, 1903, 1909, and 1971 to 2014, with the bulk of materials dating from 1990 to 2005. Materials dating from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early-twentieth centuries are reproductions of United States Supreme Court opinions. Dr. Spilde collected materials about economics, gaming, the regulation of gaming, law, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), sociocultural topics, and socioeconomic topics. Materials include socioeconomic reports, testimonies, congressional records, correspondence, memos, press releases, audiovisual materials, periodicals, conference materials, pamphlets, packets, booklets, notes, journal articles, legal briefs, legislative documents, court opinions, notes, and newspaper articles. The series also includes materials about specific topics related to gaming such as the socioeconomic impact of gaming, criminal activities related to gaming, compulsive gaming, bankruptcy as a result of gaming, and the federal regulation of gaming.

The California subject files include materials about California Native American communities and documents gaming and non-gaming topics (1908, 1974-2013). Materials include socioeconomic reports, tribal constitutions and amendments, tribal-state gaming compacts, informational booklets, Dr. Spilde’s photographs from research trips, court opinions, correspondence, video recordings of televised programs, promotional materials, newspaper articles, Native American community periodicals, and books about indigenous culture. The California subject files document various Native American communities, Native American culture and politics, and the regulation of gaming in California.

The Columbia Plateau regional subject files include materials about Native American communities in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana, and documents gaming and non-gaming topics dating from approximately 1992 to 2003. The materials include socioeconomic reports, tribal-state gaming compacts, court opinions, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) newsletters, Native American correspondence with the National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC), and newspaper articles. The Columbia Plateau subject files document various Native American communities, Native American culture and politics, and the regulation of gaming in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana.

The Great Lakes regional subject files include materials about Native American communities and gaming in Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin, dating from approximately 1989 to 2007. The materials include socioeconomic reports; tribal-state gaming compacts; tribal constitutions and amendments; photographs; maps; correspondence; video recordings of televised programs; newsletters; memos from the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA), National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA), and National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC); informational booklets and packets; legal briefs; journal articles; Federal Register listings; guidebooks; directories; promotional materials; and newspaper articles.

The Great Lakes subseries focuses primarily on Native American casino gaming in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, but also includes materials about Native American casino gaming in other states and Native American communities within the Great Lakes region. The subseries documents a number of Native American nations, particularly the various bands of the Minnesota Anishinaabeg (Minnesota Chippewa Tribe), Forest County Bodéwadmi (Forest County Potawatomi Community), and Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. Additional information about Great Lakes Native Americans can be found in the Plains subject files.