Alaska Film Archives

A Letter for Debra Anne
A Letter for Debra Anne
AAF-13990 and AAF-13991 are presented by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. Both films contain identical scenes with AAF-13990 narrated in English and AAF-13991 narrated in Yupik. The program is about the development of the Primary Eskimo Program (PEP), a bilingual language program introduced in Yupik-speaking Alaska Native communities of southwest Alaska. Opening credits list Area Director Clarence Antioquia, Assistant Area Director Emil Kowalczyk, Federal Program Director William Menojah, Jr., Title 1 Director Willard Walters, Agency Superintendent of Education S. William Benton, and Education Specialist Calvin Lundy. Cinematographer is Frank Johnson. Editor is Guy Bishop. Storyteller is John Haymer. Yupik interpreter is Oscar Alexie. The film is written and directed by Jerry Warner, and it's produced by Jerry Warner and Associates. The program contains scenes in Kwethluk and Akiachak, Alaska, including elementary-aged students learning to speak, read, and write in both Yupik and English. In 2018, Juliana Carlson, originally from Kwethluk, identified the following individuals who appear in the film: Ethel Peter (at 01:42, center girl with red and black shirt); Deborah, Mabel or Mary Constantine (at 02:16); Deborah Ann Michael of Kwethluk (at 5:07); the Kwethluk First Grade class including teacher Lillian Michael McGill, John Andrew, Jr., Paul Jackson, Anastasia Michael, Wassiliie Paul, Juliana Guy, Matthew Dillon, Minnie Nicori, William Nicolai and Olga Nick (at 05:41); Kwethluk First Graders John Andrew, Jr. and Juliana Guy (at 06:16); Lynn Jones (at 07:24); Alice Alexie, Veronica Michael (left), and Daniel Jackson (at 07:58); Samson Mann and Matthew Nicori (at 17:39); Kwethluk BIA first grade teacher Lillian Michael McGill (at 19:22); James Michael, Lillian Michael and Lola Evan (at 22:47); Sophie Owens Lowery (at 23:21); Kwethluk 3rd and 4th Graders (at 23:55); Elena Pasitnal (left), Elena Chimegalrea (center), and Marla Evan (right) (at 24:29); Deborah Michael of Kwethluk (at 26:46); and Wassillie Paul of Kwethluk (at 27:20).
A Man for the '70s
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.
A Story of Fur
A Story of Fur
The original narrated DVD is labeled “John Baker - A Story of Fur.” The original silent film is labeled “No. 1 Winter Trapline.” The narrated version is played back at a different frame rate and is slower and longer than the silent version. This is the narrated version. The film contains footage of the B&K Trading Company building and the Roadhouse in Talkeetna; Carol and Verna Close baking bread; a dog named Queenie with John Baker checking a trapline during winter; Queenie wearing a dog pack; John Baker hiking in snowshoes and checking a beaver trap; John Baker and trapping partner Gene Lanzaro building a small log cabin from start to finish, including peeling logs, scribing and notching logs, and sawing boards from logs; setting a wolverine trap; a pilot and mailman Cliff Hudson delivering mail via small airplane; John Baker nailing a roof on a cabin, cutting out a window on a cabin, installing a chimney through a cabin roof, looking at Mount McKinley (Denali) through cabin windows, demonstrating window shutters, and showing bear protection around windows; Gene Lanzaro cutting fireweed and the dog Queenie pulling a sled with logs; cooking meat and pancakes inside cabin; John Baker with a lynx that he trapped; a captive marten kept as a pet; a moose; John Baker demonstrating hiking in snowshoes versus without snowshoes in deep snow; John Baker showing a marten he has trapped and field dressing a spruce grouse; a new snowmachine; Queenie barking at a trapped wolverine; scenes of setting and checking a beaver trap, including fresh beaver signs in spring, a beaver snare, a beaver lodge with steam emerging, skinning a beaver, and Queenie pulling a sled; John Baker starting up and flying a small airplane on skis, aerial views of snowy landscapes, and groups of moose; landing an airplane on skis; a moose walking through deep snow; John Baker butchering a moose and loading it onto an airplane; aerial views of mountains and moose; a ptarmigan in white plumage; a snowmachine pulling a sled; showing off a trapline catch at Summit log cabin; Queenie running behind a snowmachine and riding on a sled; an airplane in a windstorm and John Baker digging out the airplane after the storm passes; Lake Hood airplanes and a hangar damaged by a windstorm near Anchorage; John Baker with a roll of furs and a pickup truck at Lake Hood airstrip; Anchorage Fur Rendezvous scenes, including Fourth Avenue in Anchorage, brief glimpses of George Attla and Jimmy Malemute, Roland Lombard mushing along a trail, a helicopter flying over the trail, Jonas Brothers Taxidermy shop in Anchorage, and a fur auction; Myers Furs shop in Michigan, a furrier at work, and John Baker’s father posing in a beaver coat and hat.
Alaska 49th state : [part 1]
Alaska 49th state : [part 1]
This film was used for lectures by the Machetanzes when they travelled outside of Alaska. Footage includes the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner headline "Alaska 49th State," George Sundborg checking teletype and noting the passage of statehood legislation on June 30 1958, statehood headlines from the Anchorage Daily Times and Anchorage Daily News, men launching a large star suspended by helium balloons from the Polaris building's roof in Fairbanks, a line of people signing a giant telegram in Fairbanks, a statehood parade down Second Avenue in Fairbanks, Ernest Gruening shaking hands in Anchorage, and graphics showing routes to Alaska. Additional images include passengers embarking on the Riverboat Discovery near Fairbanks, Jim Binkley piloting the boat and talking on a microphone, Mary Binkley with a microphone and an unidentified assistant showing fur to passengers, Alaska Natives at Tanana River fish camp, Alaska Native men building a fishwheel, men retrieving salmon from a fishwheel and processing it for drying, an Alaska Native woman making a birch bark basket, Sara Machetanz looking at a birch bark baby carrier, and Sara with baby Traeger Machetanz. Additional images include children bottle feeding a moose calf, people harvesting grain and vegetables in the Matanuska Valley, an aerial view of an oil drill rig, Healy coal mine, men operating a hydraulic giant and driving thaw points near Fairbanks, a dredge operating near Fairbanks, men using Caterpillars and a dragline to operate a large sluice box, sluice box clean-up, and a man smelting gold into an ingot. Additional images include the Machetanzes Hi Ridge cabin near Palmer during winter, Fred using a dog team and chainsaw to obtain firewood, a moose at a cabin, Fred and Sara travelnig to Palmer during winter, a snow plow and rotary snowblower on the road, and Jan Koslosky with a rifle showing a large Polar Bear hide. Images at the Fur Rendezvous in Anchorage include a fur auction, a weight-pull contest, a blanket toss, a merry-go-round, the start line of World Champion Dog Sled Races, and Northern Alaska Native dancers performing the Wolf Dance.
Alaska 49th state : [part 2]
Alaska 49th state : [part 2]
This film was used for lectures by the Machetanzes when they travelled outside Alaska. Footage includes Open North American dog sled races in Fairbanks and Dr. Roland Lombard wearing bib number one. Additional images include travel on the Alaska Railroad during winter, a man with a reindeer in Fairbanks, downtown Fairbanks, a party at the Atwood home in Anchorage, international travelers arriving at the Anchorage International Airport and Bob Reeve at the airport, a musical conductor and choral group, KTVA television studios and Norma Goodman, and shoppers in a grocery store. Southeast Alaska images include glaciers and travel by ship, amphibious aircraft taking off in Juneau, loggers cutting and hauling trees, Ketchikan Pulp Mill, salmon in a stream, purse seiner and cannery. Additional images include two men going upstream in a canoe and fishing for grayling, and campus buildings at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.
Alaska Division: Great Falls to Fairbanks
Alaska Division: Great Falls to Fairbanks
This is an Army Air Corps training film for crews ferrying aircraft from Great Falls, Montana to Fairbanks, Alaska, where Soviet pilots then took possession of the airplanes. The aircraft were part of the Lend-Lease program in which the United States sent war supplies to the Soviet Union during World War II. Footage includes graphics showing the route, aerial views of runways along the route, views of runways during landings, and graphics advising pilots of procedures for aborting flights. During the life of the Lend-Lease project, nearly 8,000 planes flew along this route, also known as the Alaska-Siberia (ALSIB) route, from Montana to Alaska then on to Krasnoyarsk in Siberia. The film was made by the U.S. Army Air Forces Air Transport Command Overseas Technical Unit.
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Bjornstad, Crawford, Carson, Poe, Donley]
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Bjornstad, Crawford, Carson, Poe, Donley]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews experts about various Alaskan issues. In part 1, Red Boucher interviews Gene Bjornstad, general manager of Chugach Electric, about deregulation and the role of electric energy in Alaska's economy. In part 2, Red Boucher interviews Colonel Randy Crawford, director of Alaska State Troopers, about law enforcement in Alaska. In part 3, Red Boucher interviews Wes Carson, president of Alaska Communications System, about the role of telecommunications in developing Alaska's economy. In part 4, Red Boucher interviews Robert Poe, executive director of AIDEA, about the Alaska Industrial Development Authority's role in developing Alaska's economy. In part 5, Red Boucher interviews Alaska State Senator Dave Donley about the goals and objectives of the 2001 legislative session. These programs were recorded on January 13, 2001.
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Bob Bell and Jane Angvik]
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Bob Bell and Jane Angvik]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews Bob Bell and Jane Angvik, former Anchorage assembly members, about the pros and cons of the proposed tax cap issue. The program was recorded on October 7, 2000.
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Gene Bjornstad]
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Gene Bjornstad]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews Gene Bjornstad, general manager of Chugach Electric, about the generation of electric energy in Alaska. The program was recorded on September 9, 2000.
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Jennifer Dietz]
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Jennifer Dietz]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews Jennifer Dietz, president of Career College, about the role of vocational education in Alaska. The program was recorded on October 7, 2000.
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Lew Freedman]
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Lew Freedman]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews journalist and author Lew Freedman about his new book, Diamonds in the Rough, which is about baseball in Alaska. The program was recorded on September 9, 2000.
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Mark Hamilton and Steve Smith]
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Mark Hamilton and Steve Smith]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews Mark Hamilton, president of the University of Alaska, and Steve Smith, CIO of the University of Alaska, about plans for long distance education in Alaska. The program was recorded on November 11, 2000.
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Mark Hellenthal]
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Mark Hellenthal]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews researcher Mark Hellenthal about public opinion polling in Alaska political races. The program was recorded on April 1, 2000.
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Melphine Evans]
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Melphine Evans]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews Melphine Evans, senior vice president of Alyeska Pipeline, about her experience as a minority in an executive role. The program was recorded on October 7, 2000.
Alaska Review 40- part 1
Alaska Review 40- part 1
In this video, host Pete Carran of KAKM-TV talks with John Havelock, director of legal studies for the Justice Center of the University of Alaska in Anchorage. Havelock gives an overview of the history of cameras in the courtroom and discusses issues relevant to the Williams v. Zobel case. Reporter Carroll Hodge of KAKM-TV interviews State Supreme Court Justice Jay Rabinowitz about cameras in the courtroom. Plaintiff Ronald Zobel is interviewed about the case he and his wife Patricia have brought before the court. Judge Ralph Moody is shown and quoted. An assistant attorney general for the state is interviewed. The Zobels' attorney, Mark Sandberg, is interviewed. Counsel for the State, Avrum Gross, is interviewed. Governor Jay Hammond is interviewed. John Havelock discusses each of the justices of the State Supreme Court: Chief Justice Jay Rabinowitz, Justice Edmund Burke, Justice Roger Connor, Justice Warren Matthews, Justice Robert Boochever, and former Justice Diamond as photos of the judges are shown. Counsels for the State, Assistant Attorney General Susan Burke and former State Attorney General Avrum Gross, present arguments for the State of Alaska during a live broadcast of the court proceeding.
Alaska Review 40- part 2
Alaska Review 40- part 2
In this video, counsel for the State Avrum Gross continues his presentation of arguments for the State of Alaska. The program host, Pete Carran of KAKM-TV, discusses the first portion of the proceeding with John Havelock, director of legal studies for the Justice Center of the University of Alaska in Anchorage. Previously recorded man-on-the-street interviews regarding Alaskans' thoughts on the case are shown. Mark Sandberg, attorney for the Zobels, delivers his arguments before the court. Counsel for the State Avrum Gross delivers the State's rebuttal.
Alaska Review 40- part 3
Alaska Review 40- part 3
In this video, counsel for the State Avrum Gross finishes delivering the State's rebuttal, and the court is adjourned. Host Pete Carran of KAKM-TV discusses the proceeding with John Havelock, director of legal studies for the Justice Center of the University of Alaska in Anchorage, as highlights from the proceeding are shown. Reporter Carroll Hodge of KAKM-TV interviews: Mark Sandberg, attorney for the Zobels; plaintiffs Ronald and Patricia Zobel; and Counsels for the State Susan Burke and Avrum Gross.
Alaska Wonders In Motion No. 3
Alaska Wonders In Motion No. 3
Images include the title screen "Educational Films Corporation America Presents Alaska Wonders In Motion No. 3 Produced by Al.I.Smith." This film's scenes feature early Anchorage, Alaska Railroad construction, Childs Glacier calving, and men hunting Kodiak bears. It also includes scenes of Anchorage streets and log structures, the Alaska Labor Union building, a laundry tent, Fourth of July celebrations featuring an eating contest, a baseball game, and Anchorage area bungalows.
Alaska pipeline report
Alaska pipeline report
This film was produced to chronicle construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. This copy was made for broadcast in Portland, Oregon. Ted Lehne introduces segments narrated by reporters Terry Foster and Richard Fineberg. People interviewed include Rod Higgins (supervisor of construction at Pump Station 8), Ken Rither (mayor of North Pole), Jerry Storey (Principal of the Delta School), and Delta businessman Bob Cramer. Footage includes pipeline construction, VSM construction, pump station construction, and buildings in Delta Junction.
Alaska, The Great Land
Alaska, The Great Land
Footage includes historic photos, a gold dredge, an oil drill rig, a coal mine, a gravel conveyor, Matanuska Valley farms, salmon king crab and halibut fisheries, a pulp mill, Wien aircraft, Native dancers, and scenery. Footage of towns and cities include Wrangell, Petersburg, Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Fairbanks, University of Alaska campus, Point Barrow, Kotzebue, Nome, Prince William Sound, Valdez, Seward, Kenai, and Anchorage. Earthquake footage includes scenes from Anchorage and Seward. Towns shown following the earthquake include Anchorage, Whittier, Valdez, Seward, and Kodiak. During the program, Governor Egan speaks and accounts of the earthquake are told by survivors.
An American Senator
An American Senator
Contains footage from Senator Ernest Gruening's visit to Turkey. Original notes accompanying film contain the following scene descriptions: "1) Senator is met by Deputy Governor at Eskisehir Border. 2) Senator enters the Province Building. 3) Senator meets the Governor of Eskisehir and talks with him. 4) Departure from the Province Building. 5) Senator receives information on the statue in front of the Province Building. 6) Senator visits the Air Forces Commandership in Eskisehir. 7) Senator visits the Turkish Railway shops in Eskisehir. 8) Senator meets the students at the Eskisehir shops. 9) Senator rides on Devrim Car (first Turkish manufactured car). 10) Senator visits Eskisehir Forest Nursery. 11) Senator visits Iron Industrialists Association in Eskisehir. 12) Senator lunches at Liman Restaurant in Istanbul. 13) Senator, his wife and AID Deputy Director. 14) AID Deputy Director's speech. 15) Senator delivers a speech. 16) Director of Education delivers a speech. 17) The guests listen [to] the speeches. 18) Turkish teachers who participated in course in the United States receive certificates. 19) Senator visits the warehouses constructed by US AID."
Arctic Haze
Arctic Haze
A documentary about the spread of air pollution into the Arctic from Europe and the Soviet Union. Scientists from around the world work to understand and solve air pollution problems in Alaska and across Northern regions that are caused by industrialization thousands of miles away. Those interviewed include: Matthew Bean of Bethel, Dr. Glenn E. Shaw of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska bush pilot Dennis Miller, Dr. Kenneth A. Rahn of the University of Rhode Island, Dr. Daniel Jaffe of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Dr. Brynjulf Ottar of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Dr. Tom E. Osterkamp of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Dr. Juan G. Roederer of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, and others. Air pollution, acid rain, ozone depletion, the greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change are all terms that are discussed. The program includes views of tundra regions, research laboratories, and a government observatory for monitoring climatic change located at Barrow.
Children of Akiachak
Children of Akiachak
This film was produced by the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs, Juneau Area Office, to examine the pilot study of a community child development program in the Alaska village of Akiachak. The bilingual program trained parents to use various methods for teaching their own preschool children. The program emphasized development of language and motor skills in preparation for elementary school.
Children of Eek and their art
Children of Eek and their art
Teacher Paul Forer introduces the school children in Eek to different techniques in drawing pictures.
Education in Eskimo
Education in Eskimo
AAF-14564 and AAF-14565 are films that contain identical scenes with AAF-14564 narrated in English and AAF-14565 narrated in Yupik. The film was produced by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, Juneau Area Office, to demonstrate approaches to bi-lingual education in Alaska. The program contains scenes of daily life and school in Akiachak, Alaska, along the lower Kuskokwim River. Teachers are shown instructing students of various ages and are interviewed about the process of providing education in both Yupik and English. The film also contains scenes of people hauling water in winter, girls using story knives, people listening to a radio, men repairing a snowmachine, boys with a dog team, students saying the Pledge of Allegiance in school, and men and women at a school board meeting. University of Alaska educators and local instructors create new instructional materials. Students sing a song to the tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” in Yupik. The film credits list the following names: teachers Mary Ann Lomack, Molly Lomack, and Bernadine Featherly; technical assistants Anna Alexie, Sophie Parks, Marie Nick, Elizabeth Worm, Molly Lomack, Susan Smalley, Mary Ann Lomack, Bernardine Featherly, and Mary Perela; consultants Warren Tiffany and Walter T. Featherly of the BIA and Irene Reed of University of Alaska Eskimo Language Workshop; narrator Marx Hartman; sound technician Lauchy McMillan; writer Richard Hawk of University of Washington; cameraman and editor Thomas Williams; and producer and director Donald J. Morrow. Local community members identified the following individuals in 2018: Actor Henry Lomack, translators Pascal Afgan and Ted Brink, and Yup’ik narrator Rev. Teddy Brink.
Fairbanks Yesterday Today Tomorrow
Fairbanks Yesterday Today Tomorrow
This program presents the history of Fairbanks from its geological formation through 1974. Credits are as follows: host, Dave Geesin; pre-history, Florence Weber; miner, Tim Ames; mining discussion, Dr. Earl Beistline and Bruce Thomas; readings, Mark Bergeson, Pamela Buckway and Tom Duncan; narration, Charles Creamer, Tom Duncan, Don Hering, Clara Rust and Marion Wood; director, Frank Herriott; Hering segment director, Myron Tisdel; producer, Patrick Moore; production assistant, Frank Henry; research, Kit Jensen; cinematography, Mark Badger; graphics, Nancy Van Veenen; audio, Tom Saxton; video, Dave Walstad and John Reisinger; production, Carolyn Dowling, Pat Fitzgerald, John Ryan, Jim Schneider and Pat Thrasher; photos provided by Mrs. V.K. Brickley, CamerAlaska, Fabian Carey, William Cashen, Florence Collins, Roger Cotting, Mary Hansen, Nelson’s Studio, University of Alaska, and United States Air Force; furnishings provided by Nerlands; parka provided by Martin Victor Furs; produced through the facilities of KUAC-TV and the Division of Media Services at University of Alaska.
Films North
Films North
Film contains scenes of artist Fred Machetanz beginning work on a painting in his studio, outside in winter stacking firewood, and in his studio finishing a painting of polar bears.
Gardening is great in the north
Gardening is great in the north
This film contains tips about gardening in the North. It includes scenes of man mushing dogs to a cabin, a man and woman talking about hunting and farming, a woman making a phone call using a rotary phone, Virgil Severns of Cooperative Extension Service, gardening site selection tips, vegetable variety tips, a demonstration of starting seeds in foam cups, people shoveling soil and talking about soil sample kits, a man using a roto-tiller in a small garden area, people discussing fertilizer, a man demonstrating how to prepare potatoes for planting, a demonstration of garden planting techniques, hoeing and weeding, a family harvesting vegetables from their garden, and a demonstration of techniques for storing carrots. The credits are as follows: Photographer and editor, Reginald Emmert of UAF Rasmuson Library Media Services, animation and art by Dolores Hutchison, audio by Kevin Hamel, music by Helen Hansen, production assistance by Kathy Kollodge, special thanks to Claire Fejes and Gary Stein and Virgil Severns, and supported by The Alaska Native Human Resource Development Program. A list of gardening publications appears at the end.
Glacier priest
Glacier priest
This is a series of highly dramatized reenactments from the life of Father Bernard Hubbard, a scientist and missionary. Occasionally, the reenactments don't jibe with the story. Scenes dramatized include: climbing the Taku Glacier, traveling by dogsled to the village of Holy Cross to combat an influenza epidemic (the musher is shown wearing short, Sami-style boots and three nuns are shown in their fur-hooded cloaks), Father Hubbard's run to an unnamed village when he was sick with the flu himself, Father Hubbard's ascent of Aniakchak Volcano (men dig through a layer of ash to find clean snow), exploring the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes (men cross rocky terrain with a wheeled dog sled, men in a forest of dead trees, men and a dog wear gas masks as they approach the volcano), his work among the King Island Eskimos (many shots of King Islanders including a Wolf? dance), and his promotion of Alaska as a place to settle in (children play on an old-fashioned merry-go-round, a man digs up large potatoes, and agriculture scenes which may have been shot in Matanuska Valley).
International 500
International 500
This film was made during the International 500 snowmobile race from Saint Paul, Minnesota to Winnipeg, Manitoba.