The Daythal L. Kendall papers consist of a wide variety of published and unpublished work on especially Takelma, Kalapuyan languages, and Lencan languages. A linguist and computer scientist, Kendall devoted much time to synchronic and diachronic linguistics of Takelma and the Penutian stock, including much research on Takelma poetic forms, Kalapuyan morphology and gathering a large unpublished lexicon for Lencan languages. He also produced pedagogical materials for learning Canadian Aboriginal syllabics, and worked twice for the American Philosophical Society to develop their understanding of their Native American collections. In the papers are correspondence, extensive research and manuscripts on the above, collected materials from others including many handouts from conferences (particularly the Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas), lexical slips, and photographs of Native Oregonians and their land.