The Virginia D. Hymes Papers focus primarily on the Sahaptin language research of Virginia Hymes and several others between the 1970s and 1980s. They contain several extensive lexical card files of Sahaptin, original field notes, Sahaptin texts and a dictionary, notes toward an unpublished dissertation, works by others (especially Eugene Hunn, David and Kathrine French, and Bruce Rigsby on Sahaptin, and Noel Rude on Nez Perce/Niimi'ipuutímt), and smaller amounts of teaching files, conferences, correspondence, and personal and administrative files.