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.

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: [Adler-Tollefson Family films - 7]; This film contains scenes of family activities that appear to be mostly outside the state of Alaska.

: [Saxman totem poles and carvers]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20068 numbered as Bacon 14-03 and titled “Saxman Totem Poles, Rock Oyster, Nathan Jackson, Dave Jensen Carving.” Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about the group of films that includes this film is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: “Museum of all the old totem poles they could save before they deteriorated - The Rock Oyster Totem is a famous totem pole that shows a guy with his hand caught in the jaws of a giant oyster - Street scenes of Dolly’s at Creek Street - She was a prostitute that lived on Creek Street and there used to be a saying that this is where the men and the salmon come up river to spawn.” Notes on the film box are as follows: “Ketchikan Totem Museum, Nathan Jackson’s carving, trees, rainforest, pulp mill, totem poles, rock oyster totem” and “Reel 3: ECN, marked Original, Saxman totem poles, rock oyster, Nathan Jackson, Dave Jensen carving.”

: [Haines, totem poles, etc. 3]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20,057 numbered as Bacon 12-4 and titled "Inside Whale House: Rev EF Orig-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: "...Different upright poles; they had moved the old Whale House. They had four posts and one was a Strong Man Totem that describes a man pulling a killer whale apart and his father fell out of the whale. A Girl and Worm Totem pole; she was put into the totem pole to save until she became eligible for the chief to marry. She wanted to get out so a worm came along and ate all around the wood so she could escape. Potlatch trough was a huge log approximately 30 feet long. They dug all the wood out, carved it with head on the front, legs on the back and that is where they put all the food for a potlatch..."

: [Haines, totem poles, etc. 2]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20,055 numbered as Bacon 12-2, and titled "Haines, Sue Silver Carver: 50 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: "...Silver carver and more inside the Whale House..."

: [Air shots of Kotzebue 1981]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20047 numbered as Bacon 11-01 and titled “Air Shots of Kotzebue 1981.” Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about the group of films that includes this film is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: “Chilkat dancers, carving on the largest totem pole - The Japanese were having a World’s Fair and they wanted to have the largest totem pole so they went to Haines to have it carved; it was huge - Inuit Circumpolar Conference meeting in Nuke, Greenland in 1980, beluga hunting in Kotzebue - In the evening when the hunters bring in the whales they cut them up and hang them to dry - Nome inside shots of Omiak - When he went to Egg Island, big Omiak Eskimos climbed up the cliffs and got the bird eggs, puffin and seagull eggs - They get up there and drop the eggs down to a guy that catches them, and then he gives them to a guy in a boat where he has a basket with grass in it and they fill up the baskets - Bill got up the hill and it was so slippery from bird droppings that he kept slipping so he could not get down - They had to go around and climb up to the top and drop a rope down to him and pull him up - Says it was really embarrassing.” Notes on the film box are as follows: “Barrow Nulakatuk, ICC Meeting Inuvik NWT Canada 1960, ICC meeting Nuuk Greenland July 1, 1980, Eskimos going to ECC Island out from Nome 1950, Kotzebue beluga hunters return at night 1950” and “Reel 1: Original, Air shots of Kotzebue Oct. 31 1981.”

: [Golden Days, Valdez, log home construction, Dawson City 2]; AAF-10410 is made up of several smaller reels of film. Handwritten notes on original film boxes are as follows: “Building of our log home.” “Building our house, log work, flying over Fairbanks, flying towards Mt. Mckinley.” “Dollie hauling toboggan downhill to our house.” “Old sternwheels, Dawson City, looking over Klondike.” “Porcupine River August 1978.” “Chitina Jon salmon dipping fireweed, 74 parade.” This film contains footage of land being cleared and a log home being built overlooking Fairbanks, aerial views of an airplane crash, aerial views of Fairbanks, a family dog pulling a toboggan, the Dawson City sternwheeler boneyard, river travel and fishing, and a family posing near a glacier.

: [Drag racing, air show, parade, construction, family, Haul Road 2]; AAF-10406 is made up of several smaller reels of film. Handwritten notes on original film boxes are as follows: “Good of mud going up Chandlar shelf, get caribou from Song River, caribou truck, caribou on Peterbuilt hood, Jason and Loren 18 mo old on porch.” “Children Jason, Loren, Larissa, Summer 1981, Nani’s house.” “Grandchildren sliding 1983.” “Jason, Priscilla, Bev, Jason on Haul Road, Livengood Gold Mining Camp.” “Train, RR crossing, Bud Wilson and I Atigun Pass, L and Larry wedding.” This film contains footage of men building something from wood, road construction on a muddy road, men with caribou racks posing near a truck, young children playing and posing for the camera, family scenes, a family in winter sledding downhill on an innertube and down a roadway on runner sleds, a snowmachine pulling people and sleds uphill, a mountain reflection in water, people at ERA Helicopters Inc.'s North Slope Operations Center in Deadhorse, a Wien airplane taxiing on a runway, a child with a trucker driving a truck, a man changing a tire on a truck, llamas or alpacas along a road, an overturned truck, driving on a muddy road as seen from the driver’s perspective, construction on a very muddy road, a wedding, a just-married car in winter, a truck driving on icy roads, railroad crossings with Alaska Railroad cars going by, truckers putting chains on tires, snowy roads and trees, and dog mushing activities near Fairbanks.

: [Hanes, totem poles, etc. 7]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20,061 numbered as Bacon 12-9, and it's titled "Haines, Indian craft center, Carl Heinmiller: ECN [Eastman Color Negative]-200 feet." See AAF-20,004 for an associated item originally labeled Bacon 12-5. 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 12 - 9 Reels, 1 black & white picture - Picture in box of Carl Heinmiller dancing. Picture doing the bear dance. Whale House clan at Klukwan inside Whale House. Different upright poles; they had moved the old Whale House. They had four posts and one was a Strong Man Totem that describes a man pulling a killer whale apart and his father fell out of the whale. A Girl and Worm Totem pole; she was put into the totem pole to save until she became eligible for the chief to marry. She wanted to get out so a worm came along and ate all around the wood so she could escape. Potlatch trough was a huge log approximately 30 feet long. They dug all the wood out, carved it with head on the front, legs on the back and that is where they put all the food for a potlatch. Silver carver and more inside the Whale House. Miner gal with gold, air shots of Fort Seward in Haines, shots along the Lynn Canal, work in Indian Craft Center, fishing at Haines, people come there and fly fish. Chilkat River, Klukwan Village."

: [Haines, totem poles, etc. 5]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20059 numbered as Bacon 12-7 and titled "Haines fishing, Chilkat River, Joe Jurgelite Miner, Klukwon: ECN [Eastman Color Negative]-250 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: "...fishing at Haines, people come there and fly fish. Chilkat River, Klukwan Village."

: [Bush pilot John Thompson]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20080 numbered as Bacon 18-01 and titled “Bush Pilot John Thompson.” Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about the group of films that includes this film is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: “Stan Price at his home - He is an old-timer who lived on Saxman Island - There were these bears and he knew them and he could walk around and they never bothered him because he knew them - He had a garden there - There is his obituary in the box - Riverboat in Nenana - It was put in down river from the bridge - They wanted to bring the riverboat up to Fairbanks so they had to wait until high water to get the boat up to Chena but it could not fit under the bridge - There was a big pole in the way so they had to take a big saw and cut enough of the pole to make it under the bridge - Homesteader Paul Elbert’s new D9 cat. He is cleaning his farmland outside of Fairbanks in a place called ‘Happy Valley.’" Notes on the film box are as follows: “Stan Price at his home with the bears, Rusty Heurlin at his log home in Ester June 1974, break-up 1961, Riverboat Nenana under the bridge in Nenana, coming up the Chena River tying up in Fairbanks, Obituary of Stanton Price” and “ Reel 1: Bush pilot John Thompson.”

: [Chilkat dancers, totem pole construction]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20,004 numbered as Bacon 12-5 and titled "Chilkat Indian Dancers, World's Largest Totem Pole Construction, Carl Heinmiller, Whale House, Klukwon, Potlatch Trough: Orig [original]-300 feet." See AAF-20,054 -- AAF-20,061 for associated items originally labeled Bacon 12-1 through 12-4, and Bacon 12-6 though 12-9. 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 12 - 9 Reels, 1 black & white picture - Picture in box of Carl Heinmiller dancing. Picture doing the bear dance. Whale House clan at Klukwan inside Whale House. Different upright poles; they had moved the old Whale House. They had four posts and one was a Strong Man Totem that describes a man pulling a killer whale apart and his father fell out of the whale. A Girl and Worm Totem pole; she was put into the totem pole to save until she became eligible for the chief to marry. She wanted to get out so a worm came along and ate all around the wood so she could escape. Potlatch trough was a huge log approximately 30 feet long. They dug all the wood out, carved it with head on the front, legs on the back and that is where they put all the food for a potlatch..."

: [Wrangell scenes]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20063 numbered as Bacon 13-02 and titled “Wrangell, Petroglyphs, Lumber Mill, Chief Shakes House.” Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about the group of films that includes this film is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: “Bight Saxman Museum and Nathan Jackson family - He is one of the greatest Tlingit artists - He is a carver - Film of him carving on a totem.” Notes on the film box are as follows: “Ketchikan, totem poles, Saxman, Nathan Jackson family - Wrangell, petroglyphs, Chief Shake’s house, town shots” and “Reel 2: Original, ECN, Wrangell, overall shots of town, petroglyphs, Cha Johnson, street scene in rain, lumber mill, and Chief Shake’s house.”

: [Ferry, Tenakee Hot Springs, dock]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20041 numbered as Bacon 10-01 and titled “Ferry Pass-Bys, Tenakee Hot Springs, Dock Ferry.” Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about the group of films that includes this film is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: “Carl Heinmiller repairs mask - He started the saving of the Tlingit culture - Carl was a WWII veteran - He came back and bought the houses for Chilkat at Haines - He bought two or three of the quarters that the army used and had them repaired - State ferry coming into Haines, pass by North Star landing at Skagway, the old pilings at the waterfront at Skagway; that is where the ships used to come in - It is all worn out now - This is where they used to have the dock.” Notes on the film's box that pertain to this film are as follows: “Reel 1: 1986, Original, Ferry pass-by’s, Tenakee hot springs from the water, on ground – flying kites, street scenes, dock ferry, people selling on the dock."

: [Killer whales, Johnstone Strait]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20066 numbered as Bacon 14-01 and titled “Killer Whale, Johnson Straits.” Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about the group of films that includes this film is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: “Museum of all the old totem poles they could save before they deteriorated - The Rock Oyster Totem is a famous totem pole that shows a guy with his hand caught in the jaws of a giant oyster - Street scenes of Dolly’s at Creek Street - She was a prostitute that lived on Creek Street and there used to be a saying that this is where the men and the salmon come up river to spawn.” Notes on the film box are as follows: “Ketchikan Totem Museum, Nathan Jackson’s carving, trees, rainforest, pulp mill, totem poles, rock oyster totem” and “Reel 1: ECN, Killer whale, Johnson Straights.”

: [David and Mike Doxey Film collection 2]; Footage includes a family ice fishing, men with ptarmigan, Summit Lake on Richardson Highway, a cabin, a hunting camp, riverboats, freeze-up and windy winter scenes, snowmachines, camping on Homer Spit, river scenes, grayling fishing, and hunting camp scenes.

: [Ketchikan]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20069 numbered as Bacon 14-04 and titled “Ketchikan, Boats, Fish, Float Homes, North Star, Totem.” Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about the group of films that includes this film is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: “Museum of all the old totem poles they could save before they deteriorated - The Rock Oyster Totem is a famous totem pole that shows a guy with his hand caught in the jaws of a giant oyster - Street scenes of Dolly’s at Creek Street - She was a prostitute that lived on Creek Street and there used to be a saying that this is where the men and the salmon come up river to spawn.” Notes on the film box are as follows: “Ketchikan Totem Museum, Nathan Jackson’s carving, trees, rainforest, pulp mill, totem poles, rock oyster totem” and “Reel 4: ECN, marked Original, Ketchikan – salmon derby, boats coming in, weighing fish, state fish check them over, float homes, North Star at dock taking on supplies, Totem Bight, people in the rain, cruise ships, overall shot of boat harbor, IP ‘86, pulp mill, salmon pix on rock, salmon ladder, harbor, street scenes, waterfront from water, people on ferry looking.”

: [David and Mike Doxey Film collection 4]; This film is labeled "Hunting 1980, Anaktuvuk 1981, Minto 1981, Yukon 1981." Footage includes a family at a hunting camp, airplanes, a man hand-propping a Super Cub airplane on skis, an airplane in flight and landing on snow, a Cessna on skis landing, men on snowshoes ice fishing, airplanes taking off, aerial view of a Cat train, Mike Doxey and Jerry Halberg travelling by riverboat and pike fishing, a Yukon 800 riverboat, a Cessna floatplane taking off from a lake and returning to land, aerial view of forest fires, travel by riverboat, fishing and a tent camp, ice pans on a river, and a man pulling a fishing net.

: [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."

: [Kennecott, Eagle, Haul Road scenes, winter trucking and wildlife 2]; AAF-10404 is made up of several smaller reels of film. Handwritten notes on original film boxes are as follows: “Going down Atigun Pass N side winter time, north of Atigun, Haul Road winter, snow covered trees, good scenery.” “Arctic fox, Dad changing tires on truck.” “Coming down Atigun and Chandler good scenery.” “Papa driving Haul 78/79.” “Haul Road avalanche.” “101 mile Steese Xing Eagle [?] with Kenworth, caribou, going into mine at Wiseman, good picture of grizzly at my truck, moose and calf N of Brooks Range, lots of caribou.” “Good picture coming from Franklin B to Prudhoe B, winter state clearing road, Jon driving Atigun to Dietrich pass wide load down Atigun on left side, driving to and around Prudhoe.” “Good picture of sheep pawing in snow, caribou in winter, Larry Lilly and babies at trailer park McGrath, Livia new baby.” “End of grizzly, beginning of flying trip to Anaktuvuk Pass umiat, slope mt Atigun Pass.” This film contains footage of scenic mountains and snow covered trees, Haul Road trucking scenes, a tire being changed, helicopters, a snow machine, a fox, a bear, trucking on a snowy road, deep snow on a roadside, bears, moose, caribou, family scenes, a bear, a woman with a duck in a truck, and aerial views.

: [Chuck Gray film collection further addition 7]; This footage features men clearing land with a small John Deere dozer, building a small cabin, and hunting sheep.

: [Chuck Gray film collection addition 1]; The original reel and can notes for AAF-10075 are: “Shee fishing, 1987 review, miscellaneous Clearwater, and miscellaneous fishing.” The footage includes the Blankenship Trading Post in Kiana, men eating inside a cabin, people fishing from boats, an airplane on skis, men setting beaver traps, an airplane cockpit, men hunting (in Wisconsin?), a tracked vehicle, a cabin home in winter, fishing and river travel in Alaska, a moose, a fox, people dipnetting, airplanes on floats, and a boat with “Kobuk Camp” painted on the side.

: [Alaskans]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20081 numbered as Bacon 18-03 and titled “People - Alaskans.” Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about the group of films that includes this film is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: “Stan Price at his home - He is an old-timer who lived on Saxman Island - There were these bears and he knew them and he could walk around and they never bothered him because he knew them - He had a garden there - There is his obituary in the box - Riverboat in Nenana - It was put in down river from the bridge - They wanted to bring the riverboat up to Fairbanks so they had to wait until high water to get the boat up to Chena but it could not fit under the bridge - There was a big pole in the way so they had to take a big saw and cut enough of the pole to make it under the bridge - Homesteader Paul Elbert’s new D9 cat. He is cleaning his farmland outside of Fairbanks in a place called ‘Happy Valley.’” Notes on the film box are as follows: “Stan Price at his home with the bears, Rusty Heurlin at his log home in Ester June 1974, break-up 1961, Riverboat Nenana under the bridge in Nenana, coming up the Chena River tying up in Fairbanks, Obituary of Stanton Price” and “Reel 3: People – Alaskans.”

: [David and Mike Doxey Film collection 3]

: [Haines fishing]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has AAF-20045 numbered as Bacon 10-05 and titled “Haines, Fishing, People, Bears, Fish, Mining.” Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about the group of films that includes this film is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: “Carl Heinmiller repairs mask - He started the saving of the Tlingit culture - Carl was a WWII veteran - He came back and bought the houses for Chilkat at Haines - He bought two or three of the quarters that the army used and had them repaired - State ferry coming into Haines, pass by North Star landing at Skagway, the old pilings at the waterfront at Skagway; that is where the ships used to come in - It is all worn out now - This is where they used to have the dock.” Notes on the film box that pertain to this film are as follows: “Reel 5: Haines, fishing – people, bears, fish, mining scenes, scenery, leaving Haines for Skagway, Klukwan.”

: [Camping, outdoor scenes, and scenes from an airport]; This footage features a woman on a swingset next to a lake, a woman and a man paddling a canoe, palm trees, a beach, a city, a woman modeling dresses and furs in front of a brick house, a well-dressed woman and man getting into a car in winter, driving, a woman and man getting out of a car, a landscape viewed from a moving vehicle, an airplane on the tarmac, two women boarding an airplane at an airport, an airplane being fueled at an airport, women picking produce in a field, a group of people eating at a picnic table, and airplanes taking off at the airport.

: [David and Mike Doxey Film collection 1]; This original film was labeled "Umiat." Footage includes snowmachine travel, ice fishing, a large burbot, pulling nets, Umiat (?), people working on snowmachines, several DeHaviland Twin Otter airplanes arriving, scenery and snowmachine travel, a dead moose killed by wolves (?), and additional North Slope scenes.

: [Alaska Environmental Center collection films and videos 1]; The original Betamax videotape is labeled, “Larry Sutton, Northern Alaska Environmental Center; Alpha Video Betacam 3-26-87; Ulrich Ganz, Wilbur Mills.” The video contains silent footage of mountains and rivers in Alaska, kayakers in a variety of settings, people hiking, birds and nests, Dall sheep, bears, caribou, and tundra flowers.

: [Golden Days, Fairbanks, Haul Road, snow, wildlife 2]; AAF-10408 is made up of several smaller reels of film. Handwritten notes on original film boxes are as follows: “Buffalo.” “Plane taking off mi 101 Steese Hi 182 Atigun Pass, bull moose in Park, plowing Atigun Pass going up after storm, Atigun Pass slide, 1980, Mt. McKinley.” “Prudhoe, Bev and I at P Bay, good summer shots of caribou, air show at Eielson.” “Snow bound blizzard, snow bound at Prudhoe blizzard, geese and swans springtime, ptarmigan.” “Wide building moving at P Bay, rest trial run with camera.” “Sheep.” “Great Denali Trespass, [?].” “Grizzly, air show, sheep, Haul Rd.” “Driving to and around Prudhoe, cam breakdown 2 mi TAPS, Teglar, S end [?], [?] king.” This film contains footage of bison and fall trees, a large raft on rapids, an airplane taking off on a road, moose, caribou, snow being cleared from a road, caribou, permafrost along river, a caribou and the pipeline, an airshow with a short takeoff and landing demo, ptarmigan, a storm on the Haul Road, trucks snowed in on the Haul Road, a helicopter and swans and waterfowl along a roadside, pump station facilities, city streets, dall sheep, a bear and the pipeline, a bear with three cubs, Cantwell, the 1979 Great Denali-McKinley Trespass event near Cantwell, a bear alongside a truck, construction, a truck off the road, and wintery road scenes.

: [Kermode bears]; The filmmaker's original labeling scheme has film AAF-20352 numbered as Bacon 87-01 and titled “Kermodei Bear.” Reed Bovee interviewed filmmaker Bill Bacon in 2010, and the following information about this film is based on Bovee's notes from that interview: “Kermode bears are all white at the San Juan Islands off of Canada - This is the only place in the world where you can find these bears - It’s a white black bear - Bill spent days looking for them and finally a guy said what are you looking for - Bill told him the Kermode Bear - The guy said, ‘Oh go to the dump they are there every night,’ and sure enough that’s where he found them - Great story - Reel 1 contains very rare footage - Valuable - There is only one other guy who has film of these bears.” Notes on the film box are as follows: “Kermode Bear – black bear mother with cubs/cave” and “Reel 1: Original, ECN, Kermode bear.”

: [Collapsed roof on building]; This video shows a building labeled "J & O Drilling," a collapsed building covered in snow, the inside of a collapsed building with the roof of the building resting on a large truck inside, a camper in the collapsed building, and a view of the inside roof of the collapsed building.

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