Alaska Film Archives

About the Collection

Over the past half century, the University of Alaska Fairbanks has built the largest collection of archival films in and about Alaska. The collection combines hundreds of donations of film and videos to UAF by individuals, organizations and institutions. Materials range from professional productions to amateur home-movies, made in and about Alaska from the earliest days of filmmaking through today. Since 1993 these materials have been held by the Alaska Film Archives, a unit of Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives in the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library. Films and videos selected for this portal project are a sampling of the thousands available for checkout on DVD through the Rasmuson Library. Unless otherwise noted, items are presented here in their entirety, unedited and uncut. Short, popular clips from the collection can be viewed on our YouTube channel. Read more about the Alaska Film Archives.

: [1947 Nalukataq whale feast at Barrow]; Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about these films is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: “Barrow, Nulakatuk, 1947. After a successful whaling season they have a Nulakatuk celebration which is to celebrate the parting of the whales soul so there is no hard feeling to the whales so they will come again the next year. All the whaling captains get together and have this celebration and if there are a lot of whales killed that season they may have two or three celebrations on different days.", From the Alaska Film Archives, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks., From the William W. Bacon III collection. APR Collection Number 2015-203., AAF-20,079 transferred in 2016 by Reflex Technologies of Burbank, California, to Blu-ray Disc, DVD, and Mac-format external hard drive. Some light and color corrections may have been applied to Blu-ray disc and DVD by Reflex Technologies., Filmmaker's original labeling scheme has film AAF-20,079 numbered as Bacon 17, and titled “1947 Nulakatuk Whale Feast, Barrow.” Film contains scenes of whale and muktuk being distributed at the Nalukataq whale feast at Barrow, people eating and celebrating, blanket toss, men in military uniforms, Alaska Native dancers and drummers, children running and chasing after large vehicle, and more blanket toss.

: [1974 Festival of Native Arts, Tanacross and Northway dancers, storyteller Poldine Carlo]; A group of dancers from Northway and Tanacross demonstrates various Alaska Native dances onstage at the Festival of Native Arts. A man introduces two dancers, Bessie Barnabas and Eva Moffitt of the Salcha people, who are also dancing with the group. The other dancers are introduced (names are difficult to hear), and dancing continues. A man from Nenana introduces Poldine Carlo, who welcomes everyone to Fairbanks and then tells an Athabascan story once told to her by Jennie Huntington of Koyukuk. A woman is interviewed about her techniques for making birch bark baskets. A man is interviewed about his relief wood carvings. Jim Johnson of Tanana is interviewed about a miniature fishwheel and about his hand-built snowshoes and sleds. A man invites the audience to join dancers onstage, and many people dance. The audio on the original videotape cuts out briefly in a couple sections at the end.

: [Alaska Native celebrations]; This film contains scenes of different groups of Alaska Native peoples drumming and dancing in Southeast and Northern Alaska, people sharing and eating muktuk (whale) at a celebration in Northern Alaska, and a blanket toss in Northern Alaska (possibly Barrow).

: [Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Russell Pressley and Mario Cediel]; In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews Russell Pressley and Mario Cediel, UAA students, about the AHAINA program and drums in cultures. The program was recorded on November 11, 1995.

: Inupiat Dance Songs; Members of the Frankson family of Point Hope perform a variety of Inupiat dance songs, including Paddling Sayuun, My Song, Little Diomede Sayuun, Ukamaqsiaq Sayuun, Atuutipiaq, Cape Prince of Wales Sayuun, the Happy Sayuun, the Love Song, Taliun, King Island Taliun, When I Want to Sing Sayuun, Miligruaq's Sayuun, Cape Prince of Wales Sayuun, Samaruna's Sayuun, Cape Prince of Wales Sayuun - How Shall We Proceed?, the Drinking Sayuun, When I Went to the Dancing Place Sayuun, the Children's Song, Let Me Scratch Them Sayuun, Taliun, and Nalukataq Song. The program was videotaped by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Media Services and assembled by the National Bilingual Materials Development Center. Members of the Frankson family appearing in the video recording are: David Frankson, Dinah Frankson, Ernest Frankson and Hilda Lizzie Frankson. The dances demonstrated correspond to a 1979 book titled "Inupiat Dance Songs" by Tupou L. Pulu.

: [Kotzebue]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has film AAF-20,085 numbered as Bacon 20-1, and it's titled "Kotzebue, fish camp, museum drummers, blanket toss, ivory carver, tundra, Alaska Airlines: WP[workprint]-1,100 feet." Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about these films is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: "Box 20 - 2 Large Reels - The Hotel used to be the Alaska Airlines Hotel." Notes accompanying the reels are as follows: "Reel 1 - WP, ECL, Kotzebue, cutting up salmon, fish camp, Dave’s family, interior museum drummers –- dance blanket toss, tourist fish camp, Eskimo man talking about his childhood, tundra long shot, ivory carver with bracelet, waterfront exterior of museum building, exterior of hotel, Front Street fisherman, scenes of over bay, tourist getting off of Alaska airliner, museum stuffed animals, tourists going from bus into museum, Eskimo woman with baby on back, museum hallway."

: [KTVF miscellaneous short clips, Sitka, news clips, etc.]; Some segments of film contain audio, and others are silent. Specific dates and other information noted on the original film are given here in parentheses. Footage includes harbor views (segment titled "Sitka harbor"), totem poles, a television talk show (segment titled "KSA-TV Sitka"), an interview scene, a man on a motorcycle, men in hardhats, men in a forest, construction scenes (segment titled "Anchorage construction"), Warwick talking to elderly gentlemen (segment titled "Pioneer's Home"), a KSA-TV clip, Ted Stevens, an interview scene, wharf views, Ted Stevens again, a strongman contest (all silent) (all undated), a school board hearing about the expulsion of a boy for wearing long hair in a public school (sound) (undated), scenes from a HIPOW auction (sound) (undated), firefighters cleaning up a scene after a fire in downtown Fairbanks (silent) (segment titled "Jean Dixon") (undated), a tourism banquet and speakers at the Traveler's Inn in Fairbanks (sound) (undated), Hunter Elementary School students climbing on a new playground fire truck (sound) (undated), school board officials touring Nordale School (sound) (undated), a woman in a kitchen, views of a cabin interior, people talking at a table, an outhouse, exterior cabin views (all silent) (all undated), a man promoting a Fairbanks housing development (sound) (segment titled "McGuire Development spot") (undated), a woman talking about career possibilities for West Valley High School students (sound) (segment titled "Roger and Nancy") (undated), women talking (silent) (segment titled "Mae and others") (undated), an elderly woman and beaded moccasins (silent) (undated), men meeting in front of City Hall (silent) (segment titled "Gold/City Hall") (undated), women playing homemade drums (sound) (segment titled "Dumbek Drum") (undated), women talking (silent) (segment titled "Pioneer Home interview") (undated), a beekeeper being interviewed (sound and silent) (undated), the aftermath of a car accident (silent) (segment titled "Car Crash Lacey Street") (undated), kids on a playground and in a classroom (sound) (segment titled ("Hunter School") (undated), trees (silent) (segment titled "Herbicides") (undated), construction (sound) (segment titled "Build Old Folks Home") (undated), a man driving a Sourdough fuel truck (silent) (undated), a girl on a scale (silent) (undated), a man talking (silent) (segment titled "Jack") (undated), a woman talking on a phone for a modular home commercial (sound) (segment titled "Mobile Homes") (undated), Fairbanks aerial views, and pipeline construction scenes (silent and sound) (undated).

: [KTVF news stories, miscellaneous KTVF clips, construction, beauty pageant, auction, baseball]; Some segments of film contain audio, and others are silent. Specific dates and other information noted on the original film are given here in parentheses. Footage includes a man putting rolls of insulation in a wall, a title screen saying "Division of Energy and Power Development - Anchorage Alaska," close-up views of a gas pump, a man pumping gas/heating oil (silent and sound) (undated), representative Andy Warwick being interviewed about his thoughts on Alaska's future (sound) (undated), semi-trucks loaded with construction supplies traveling along a gravel road (silent) (undated), dancers on a stage, a drummer and a guitarist, a beauty pageant with women in swimsuits and evening gowns, the pageant winner being crowned and interviewed (silent) (undated), Tim Wallace of the Fairbanks Native Association and a member of the State Chamber speaking at a Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce meeting (sound) (undated), an auction, a sign with the date "1977," rows of bulldozers being sold (silent) (undated), people building a boardwalk and trail through the woods (silent) (undated), men in an office doing paperwork and filling out a logbook (silent) (titled "Truckers") (undated), a baseball game, players in Alaska baseball uniforms (silent) (titled "Wichita") (undated), building construction, traffic, road construction (silent) (undated), people packing gear, an archaeological dig site, a man being interviewed about archaeological finds, people digging, and people holding up objects (sound) (undated).

: [KTVF news stories, miscellaneous KTVF short clips, pipeline, fine arts classes]; Some segments of film contain audio, and others are silent. Specific dates and other information noted on the original film are given here in parentheses. Footage includes a man being taken to a hospital, men in hospital rooms, aerial views of Fairbanks, people discussing building plans, a city view, pipeline construction scenes (silent) (undated), views of a Fairbanks dump, an official being interviewed about a dump closure (poor quality sound) (undated), harbor scenes, wreckage along a shore, a Seward Fisheries building, people fishing along a shore, a hospital, a river and waterfall (unrelated sound) (titled "Seward") (September 25, 1972), Golden Days activities, Fairbanks scenes (sound and silent) (undated), city officials meeting (silent and sound) (undated), people taking swimming lessons, a Middle-Eastern drum class, a guitar class, a Middle-Eastern dance class, interviews with instructors (silent and sound) (undated), a family picnic, a man washing a car (silent) (undated), views of a North Pole refinery facility, a reporter speaking about winterizing procedures at a refinery (sound) (undated), people being interviewed about elderly students taking TVCC classes, and Middle-Eastern dance class scenes (sound) (undated).

: [KTVF news stories, pipeline, hospital, Valdez]; Some segments of film contain audio, and others are silent. Specific dates and other information noted on the original film are given here in parentheses. Footage includes semi-trucks loaded with pipeline sections and construction equipment at nighttime (sound) (undated), airport and university firemen being interviewed about a hangar fire at the Fairbanks International Airport (sound) (undated), a man being interviewed about emergency surgery rooms, labs, and other facilities at the new Fairbanks Memorial Hospital (sound) (titled "Hospital Tour") (January 30, 1972), views of the Worthington Glacier, Thompson Pass, waterfalls, a boat and crab pots, a KTVF van, the Valdez harbor, charter boats and people fishing, a Valdez pipe storage yard, the site of the future pipeline terminus and tank farm, Harry Henderson's grave, and people talking about pipeline activity in Valdez and the 1964 earthquake (sound) (undated), the University of Alaska Fairbanks physical plant, a reporter talking about the installation of a new water tank and the overhaul of the university water system (sound) (titled "Tank") (1972), people touring an empty building (silent) (titled "Hospital") (September 6, 1972), views of students and the campus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (silent) (titled "U of A Open") (September 6, 1972), a man being interviewed about TVCC classes, a man playing a drum, a man playing guitar, and women being interviewed about Middle Eastern dancing or a belly-dancing class (sound) (undated).

: A Man for the '70s; This is a 1968 campaign film about the background and political vision of Mike Gravel prior to his election to the U.S. Senate. Bob Bartlett, Hubert Humphrey, and Ted Kennedy are briefly seen. The film covers the topics of campaign stresses, the development of oil fields in Alaska, and the need to create jobs in Alaska. The film reviews Gravel's childhood in Springfield, Massachusetts, his years in the military, and his family life in Anchorage and Washington D.C. Scenes in Alaska include Alaska Railroad travel, statehood activity in Anchorage and Juneau, a trailer park or mobile home park, building construction, Juneau, Nome ?, union halls, Sitka, and other unidentified scenes.

: North Slope: Eskimo dancing in Barrow [Utqiagvik] high school; This footage features Inupiat dancing in the Eben Hobson High School gymnasium. Scenes include Alaska Natives drumming, a conductor, the audience, a line of young girls dancing, young boys dancing, a woman with a child on her lap, faces in the audience, Inupiat audience members, and singers.

: Once our way; This film includes interviews with people from the community of Tununak, Alaska. It includes scenes featuring subsistence activities, drumming, and dancing.

Alaska Film Archives

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