Alaska Film Archives

[Reindeer, Barrow, seal hunt, Nome]
[Reindeer, Barrow, seal hunt, Nome]
This is a compilation of Eskimo activities from several Van Valin films, and it contains some brief scenes that are not present on other films in the series. Footage includes reindeer herding as well as life and activities in Nome. Summary: Footage includes a reindeer round-up, herders examining ear tags, reindeer being butchered, a man's hair being cut (koocheeruk) with a stone knife and wooden board, mail arriving from Kotzebue, snow house construction, dance movements, people going to church during Easter in Barrow, traditional sod houses during winter and summer, a skin tent, a King Eider duck, a man in a kayak, a village dance, boats with sails, seal hunting (patkotak), hauling a seal across an ice pack and pressure ridges, sled dogs hauling a bearded seal up on beach, Eskimos skinning a bearded seal (oogruk), seals being butchered and meat being transported by dog sled, a sled dog eating a dead dog, a midnight sun sequence, supplies hauled in an umiak, a blanket toss, a whaling festival and celebration (nalukutuq). Footage in Nome includes lightering people to shore, beach mining, racing dogs in Nome, Sinuk River, towing an umiak, salmon fishing, pipe smoke, drying salmon, and a kayak frame.