The Chinese in California collection is comprised of photographs, correspondence, press clippings, typescripts, and other material pertaining to the history of Chinese life and culture in California and other areas in the western United States. Material relates to the academic study of the Chinese experience in the United States and the effort to preserve the historic sites and artifacts pertaining to this experience.

This collection contains a journal, stamps, documents, correspondence, bibliography and other material on anthropologist Robert H. Lowie, a faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley from 1917-1950. Lowie's research focused on ethnographic fieldwork with indigenous peoples in the Great Plains region, including Crow (Apsáalooke), Arikaree, Hidatsa, Mandan and Shoshone communities. The collection contains information on Lowie's research and personal life.