A donation from Dr. Robert and Ruth Nara of Bootjack, Michigan, supported the purchase of computer and scanning equipment necessary for the work. Photographs taken by Robert’s grandfather and early Calumet photographer, J.W. Nara, formed the core of the early content for the Keweenaw Digital Archive.

A significant grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, supported the more significant aspects of this project. This included support for the hiring of a scanning technician, MTU graduate student Scott See, to digitize many of the images and help to develop workflow policies and procedures for our digital imaging program. This also included support for web designer Mike Stockwell of Cranking Graphics to create an eye-catching and functional web presence.

A project content team of historians and archivists researched and created the majority of the content on these pages. This team comprised Dr. Timothy O’Neil of Central Michigan University, Edward Yarbrough of the Quincy Mine Hoist Association, Jo Urion of the Keweenaw National Historical Park and Erik Nordberg of Michigan Technological University. Addition content was provided by Julia Blair, Christine Holland, and Jane Nordberg. Design of the Interior Ellis Island web site was done by Mike Stockwell of Cranking Graphics.

A K-12 advisory group provided valuable input at many stages in the process. This group included Abe Voelker, Arthur Stancher, and Barbara Simila of the Public Schools of Calumet, Laurium & Keweenaw, Stephen Smith of the Hancock Public Schools, and Carla Strome of the Copper Country Intermediate School District.

The web resources created during this project are illustrated with digital images of material shared from resource partners in the region. Although some of these agencies did not ultimately provide images for the project, each was involved in the design, development or implementation of the project’s main themes. Many thanks to staff and volunteers at the following agencies, institutions and organizations: Baraga County Historical Society, Calumet Public Library, Finnish-American Heritage Center at Finlandia University, Houghton County Historical Society, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Keweenaw County Historical Society, Keweenaw National Historical Park, Lac Vieux Desert Tribe, Ontonagon Historical Society, Quincy Mine Hoist Association, Rockland Historical Society and the MTU Seaman Mineral Museum.

The project was administered by the J.R. Van Pelt Library at Michigan Technological University. Library staff involved in the project included Phyllis Johnson (project director), Erik Nordberg, Mies Martin, Mark Harris, Bryan Marino, Haihua Li, and Robert Narhi. These individuals’ time was provided as a cash match for the grant project, but their expertise in many areas – as well as their creative responses to difficult technical challenges – went well beyond the confines of the original project concept.

Finally, staff and student workers at the MTU Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections deserve additional recognition for their work. Although not necessarily in direct creation of project products, they provided vital support to, and coverage for, the entire project team. In particular, Christine Holland, Julia Blair, Ryan Cooper and Jonathan DeCleene gave important support in this regard.