The fonds documents Swain's career at the Deputy Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, including his role in the standoff at Oka, Quebec, in 1990. One series also consists of research materials collected during the writing of Swain's 2010 books, Oka: A Political Crisis and its Legacy.

Consists of an English translation of a letter to the Marquis de la Jonquière written by Antoine-Louis Rouillé, comte de Jouy, secretary of state for the French Navy, at Versailles, dated 28 February 1750. The letter discusses an immediate release of prisoners of war taken during conflicts between the French and British colonies. It also includes a mention of Indigenous allies of England and France, and Indigenous people captured during the conflicts: "the Indian Prisoners among the two Nations be likewise released, but after all the French and English Prisoners are released" The letter also includes the name of examiner Josiah Willard, secretary of the province of Massachusetts-Bay.