Alaska Film Archives

 [Adolph Murie collection - select films]
[Adolph Murie collection - select films]
These are films made by naturalist, author, and wildlife biologist Adolph Murie at Alaska's Mount McKinley (Denali) National Park. The scenes include Adolph's wife Louise, his son Jan, and his daughter Gail. They also include wildlife including bears, wolves, fox, dall sheep, caribou, and a variety of birds and waterfowl. According to notes accompanying the films, one scene shows a grizzly bear near a cabin in Toklat within the park. The following details are transcribed from original labels on film containers or from associated handwritten notes; items in brackets are the processor's notes. Weezer and Weazy are nicknames for Louise. Film 1368-106: “[On can]: 160; [On reel]: 1941 begin Gail and Wags at hdqts. McKinley Park; [On white card in can]: Gail and Wags at Igloo in winter, Weezer with Wags winter, playing with stick, Gail at Rising[?], glacier at Igloo in spring, Wags alone at Igloo, Fox pups (and black one) male female good, wolves wild fair, old squaw, wheatear, horned grebe, (film intact) 1940-41; [On pink note in can]: this reel has some wolf shots, mostly fox, sheep, caribou, cut pieces; [On yellow note in can]: Film 9 wolf, birds, fox, Dall sheep, Bears, caribou, brief footage showing 2 children 1 man, Mt. McKinley." Film 1367-17: “[On box]: #8 set #2, McKinley Park May 1949, Snowbirds at hdqts (good), Rabbit (good), Drawn, Splice; [On card in box]: wolf eating caribou on river bar, Wolf drinking, distant shot of wolf feeding on caribou, wolf walking away, grizzly at Toklat by cabin, grizzly in fall snow with grass (good), porcupine feeding in willow, porcupine in willow (good), silver fox, Gail (short shot), gulls in tree (out of focus), ptarmigan flocks flying (good), ptarmigan on ground white-good.” Film 1367-6: “[On box]: #59; finished July 3 '49, Gail and Jan Big Rock [or River?]; cock fowl hen fair, much blank, bear-sheep shaky, squirrel middens, wolf tracks around bridge, wolverine hairs, Checked; [On card in box]: Gail and Jan snowshoe and ski, Pile of sq middins, squirrel cuttings, wolverine tracks, wolf tracks around bridge (overexposed), wolf track (with trap), shaky scenes of sheep, grizzly following wounded sheep, blank film, rock ptarm (out of focus).” Film 1367-67: “[On box]: #15 set #2, bear and fox 66, jaeger poor, ptarmigan and Gail, Gail feeding Wags milk; [On white card in box]: 1940, Willow ptarmigan male in spring (bare ground), closeup of male Ptarm on log-Gail behind, Gail chasing ptarmigan, caribou herd running, Gail with young wolf pup, feeding wolf pup, Wolf pup nuzzling in grass, Gail swinging, Me and Gail and Jan at East Fork.” Film 1367-35: “[On box]: #1, Moose yearling, wolf on Polychrome Rd; [On card in box]: sheep (ewe and lamb) short, wolf on road, wolf defecating on road, wolf going over mt, calf moose (good), cow and calf moose, cow with two calves, moose feeding (out of focus), 2 calves and cow feeding (good shots).” Film 1367-61: “[On box]: #18, Weezy feeding wolf pup, caribou [illegible], silver fox, ptarmigan; [On card in box]: blue film, caribou running, caribou crossing stream, silver fox on snow, silver fox running, silver fox closeups, feeding wolf pup (Weazy), Rock Ptarmigan sitting (out of focus), more ptarmigan on snow, wolf pup.”
[1967 Fairbanks flood]
[1967 Fairbanks flood]
This film features what are likely relief efforts during the 1967 Fairbanks flood. A handwritten label on the film box says "Dan[?] airport, Kul[?], Church of God, Westgate, A67, Mom[?], Henry and High school, [?] Day, [?], Flood."
[1969 North American Sled Dog Championship Race - Fairbanks, Alaska]
[1969 North American Sled Dog Championship Race - Fairbanks, Alaska]
These scenes from the 1969 North American Championship Sled Dog Races in Fairbanks, Alaska, filmed by Fairbanks photographer Richard L. Hansen, include: an Alaska Dog Mushers Association sign; a Sled Dog Races Sweepstakes sign; dogs in dog boxes on a truck; a truck with Malamak logos; a man removing dogs from dog boxes and placing dogs in harness; a race board with names including Lombard, Attla, Redington, Shepard, Taylor, Nayokpuk, McDougall, Lake, and Folger; a race announcer; a drum filled with slips of paper for a drawing; spectators watching as the race starts under snowy conditions; a variety of dogs in harnesses; spectators buying and eating cotton candy; close-up views of dogs; a close-up view of a Fairbanks Dog Mushers Association patch on a man’s coat; many people in colorful parkas and boots; dogs rolling in snow; a sign for George Attla sponsored by J.C. Penney Co.; mushers; a truck for Wright's Aurora Huskies; and dogs peeking out of dog boxes on a truck.
[1974 Chena flood dam construction]
[1974 Chena flood dam construction]
This film features earth-moving equipment at work on dam construction as well as culverts filling with water.
[1982 Valdez Winter Carnival and winter activities]
[1982 Valdez Winter Carnival and winter activities]
Footage includes 1982 Valdez Winter Carnival scenes including families on a sled hill, snowmachines, Valdez scenes, a man and woman being interviewed (silent), church, and more snowmachines. Valdez winter activities include scenes of people playing baseball on snowshoes, totem pole sculptures, the Valdez harbor, and people in costumes jumping off a boat and swimming.
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 7]
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 7]
This film contains scenes of family activities that appear to be mostly outside the state of Alaska.
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 8]
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 8]
This film contains scenes of family activities that appear to be mostly outside the state of Alaska.
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 9]
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 9]
This film contains scenes of family activities that appear to be mostly outside the state of Alaska.
[Aftermath of 1964 earthquake in Anchorage]
[Aftermath of 1964 earthquake in Anchorage]
This footage shows the aftermath of the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake. Scenes include the severely damaged Government Hill Elementary School, businesses and homes, a yellow house sitting at an angle after the ground had fallen away, damage at the Alaska Sales and Service car dealership, and crushed cars.
[Air shots of Kotzebue 1981]
[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.”
[Alaska 1925, Kenai River, Skilak Lake, bear hunt]
[Alaska 1925, Kenai River, Skilak Lake, bear hunt]
This film is labeled “Alaska 1925,” “Alaska 25 - Kenai R. - Skilak Lake – Hunt,” and “Alaska Hunting II.” The film contains scenes of three men in a motor boat towing another boat, men rowing an open boat down a swift river, scenes from within the open boat as a man rows, faces of men in a boat, scenery along the shoreline, men standing by a log cabin, men hiking with packs, a porcupine running into the bushes, men setting up a canvas tent, men joking around in camp, men crossing a small stream, a man playing a flute, a hillside and inlet, and a man skinning a dead bear.
[Alaska 1926 odds and ends, glaciers and boats]
[Alaska 1926 odds and ends, glaciers and boats]
This film is labeled “Alaska 1926” and “Alaska 26 Odds and Ends #4.” The film contains miscellaneous scenes of glaciers, a man with a rifle aboard a boat, a coastal community waterfront, activities aboard a ship, men climbing a snowy mountain, icy waters and glaciers, and various boats.
[Alaska and travel]
[Alaska and travel]
This film reel is made up of 11 smaller reels. Reel 1 is labeled "1947 West Point and Kay, Bobbie and Ethel, Alcan Highway in mud and snow, Donn skiing and carnival, Mary, more skiing spring 1948," and it contains footage as described plus scenes of travel, a Whitehorse sign, kids playing football in the snow, hockey, skiing, a ski jump, dog mushing, the Fairbanks Winter Carnival, cars racing around a snowy track, and more skiing. Reel 2 is labeled "Trip To Alaska August 1947, Peekskill, Forest Glen, Jackson Lake, Xmas 1947 in Iowa, University of Iowa campus, Washington D.C., N.Y., Oregon," and it contains footage of road travel, scenery, small towns and cities, aerial views from an airplane, a dredge and mining views, a military formation, a football game, ice skating, and a city. A note inside the film can says "Washington D.C., New York, Hartsdale, Washington D.C., to California and Oregon, [?] and myself, February 1948, Alaska back to Peekskill, cadets and football, Forest Glen, Lilly, Jackson Lake Iowa, [?] and trip to Iowa for Xmas, farm, [?], University of Iowa campus." Reel 3 is labeled "Mt. Hood and Mt. Rainier, start of plane trip to Alaska August 1947, Alaska map and California to Seattle," and it contains footage of a map of Alaska and aerial views. Reel 4 is labeled "Lilly and Keith, 1947, [?], Virginia, Lilly and I, Lilly at Skyline Drive, Keith's lacross games, [?] Island ferry and Lilly," and it contains views of people, a game, and New York. Reel 5 is labeled "Football May 8th UA at FHS, Whitehorse, Boats on Yukon, Spring 1949," and it contains scenes of a football game and sternwheelers in Whitehorse. Reel 6 is labeled "June 1949 Peekskill Graduation and West Point Parade," and it contains scenes of cadets. Reel 7 is labeled "Peekskill MA, waterskiing, Badlands, June to August 1949," and it contains scenes of cadets and waterskiing. Reel 8 is labeled "Cleary Hill Ski Meet March 1950, Keith's graduation Peekskill June 1950," and it contains footage of skiing and cadets. Reel 9 is labeled "Alcan, ferry, Yellowstone, east bear, elk, antelope, May 1949," and it contains footage of travel, the Alcan, a ferry, Yellowstone National Park, and a bear. Reel 10 is labeled "Peekskill and Keith June 1950, Garden of the Gods, Keith and I, bear and grouse, football, Huber's Ranch, June to August 1950, Peekskill to Alaska," and it contains views of cadets, travel, a bear, football, a Huber sign, and a house. Reel 11 is labeled "Rocky Mountain Sheep, Boulder Rodeo, Esther Braddock, July to October 1951," and it contains scenes of a rodeo.
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 Environmental Center collection films and videos 1]
[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.
[Alaska On Line: 1994 Governor's Inaugural Ceremony]
[Alaska On Line: 1994 Governor's Inaugural Ceremony]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher is at the inaugural ceremony of Alaska Governor Tony Knowles and Lieutenant Governor Fran Ulmer in Juneau, Alaska. The program was recorded on December 5, 1994.
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher discusses Y2K]
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher discusses Y2K]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher discusses Y2K. The program was recorded on October 24, 1998.
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher intervierws Jay Hammond, Walter Hickel, Susan Ruddy, Paul Fuhs, Rick Smith]
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher intervierws Jay Hammond, Walter Hickel, Susan Ruddy, Paul Fuhs, Rick Smith]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews various experts about issues in Alaska. Part 1: Red Boucher interviews former governor Jay Hammond about Alaska issues as well as his new book, "Chips from the Chopping Block." Part 2: Red Boucher interviews former governor Walter Hickel about Alaska issues as well as his new book, "Crisis in the Commons - the Alaska Solution." Part 3: Red Boucher interviews Susan Ruddy, vice chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage, about her role as vice chancellor and about the university's plans for the future. Part 4: Red Boucher interviews Paul Fuhs, president of the Marine Exchange of Alaska, about the role of the Alaska Marine Exchange in Alaska maritime safety. Part 5: Red Boucher interviews Rick Smith, vice president of VECO International, about the construction business in Alaska and worldwide. The program was recorded on March 30, 2002.
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Agnes Phillips]
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Agnes Phillips]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews Agnes Phillips, mayor of Bethel, about her role as mayor. The program was recorded on September 19, 1998.
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Al Patten]
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Al Patten]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews Al Patten, a retired U.S. Navy serviceman, about the war in the Pacific and about Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The program was recorded on November 8, 1997.
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Alex Hills]
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Alex Hills]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews Alex Hills, provost of Carnagie Mellon University, about the role of computer technology in higher education. The program was recorded on April 22, 2000.
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Alice Crow]
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Alice Crow]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews Alice Crow, UAA professor, about Native student services and higher education for rural Alaska. The program was recorded on November 11, 1995.
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Ann Fienup-Riordan and Marie Meade]
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Ann Fienup-Riordan and Marie Meade]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews artists Ann Fienup-Riordan and Marie Meade about the living tradition of Yup'ik masks. The program was recorded on November 11, 1995.
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Arliss Sturglulewski]
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Arliss Sturglulewski]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews former Alaska senator Arliss Sturglulewski about his views on the legislature. The program was recorded on April 13, 1996.
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Arthur Lake]
Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Arthur Lake]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews Native leader Arthur Lake about rural issues. The program was recorded on March 21, 1998.
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Augie Hiebert]
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Augie Hiebert]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews Augie Hiebert, former CEO of Northern TV, about the history of radio and TV in Alaska. The program was recorded on March 15, 1997.
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Augie Hiebert]
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Augie Hiebert]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews Augie Hiebert, CEO of Northern Television, about the pioneering of broadcasting in Alaska. The program was recorded on September 23, 1995.
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Augie Hiebert]
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Augie Hiebert]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews pioneer broadcaster Augie Hiebert about the future of radio and TV in Alaska. The program was recorded on November 20, 1999.
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews author and explorer Norman Vaughn]
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews author and explorer Norman Vaughn]
(AAF-7518) In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews author and explorer Norman Vaughn about his Antarctic trip. The program was recorded on April 15, 1995. (AAF-7519) In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher continues his interview with author and explorer Norman Vaughn. The program was recorded on April 15, 1995.
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews  Ben Nageak]
[Alaska On Line: Red Boucher interviews Ben Nageak]
In this episode of Alaska On Line, Red Boucher interviews Ben Nageak about his role as mayor of the North Slope Borough. The program was recorded on April 14, 1999.