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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.

1 to 30 of 148 Objects
[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."
[1971 Midnight Sun 600]
[1971 Midnight Sun 600]
Footage includes mechanics (likely in Fairbanks) preparing snowmachines for Midnight Sun 600 racing, Brian Willner cleaning a snowmachine, motorhomes and support vehicles with snowmachine trailers (likely leaving Fairbanks for Anchorage), the distribution of race bibs in an auditorium in Anchorage, racers at the start line in Anchorage, Bob Hamme in a red helmet, crews picking up broken-down machines along the highway, a wrecked truck in a ditch, mechanics welding skis and rebuilding snowmachines in a shop (and possibly doing overnight repairs in Glennallen or Tok), snowmachines and racers at the start line for second-day start (possibly in Glennallen or Tok), individual racers heading out, racers on the highway, and racers returning to the finish area.
[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.
[1974 North American Sled Dog Championships]
[1974 North American Sled Dog Championships]
The film can is labeled “29th Annual North American 1974,” and the film contains footage of sled dog racing.
[1975 Fairbanks winter scenes]
[1975 Fairbanks winter scenes]
Footage features small houses in Fairbanks during winter, cars idling along streets in ice fog, a man pointing out exhaust system modifications designed to decrease emissions, downtown Fairbanks with ice fog during a dark afternoon, and a model and artist's concept of the Noel Wien library.
[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 - 1]
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 1]
This film features Joanie Adler’s birthday with eight candles on the cake, Joe Crosson Jr. or Don Crosson at the party, Joanie Adler playing croquet with parents, Joanie Adler skiing with her parents and other children, Chena River break-up near the Cushman Street Bridge in Fairbanks, Chena River break-up with cars and trucks on streets (including Illinois Street), an overview of flooding as seen from a rooftop, coal bunkers in the background, Fairbanks Winter Carnival queen contestants, and an ice throne. Notes on the original film say “Terry Gordon, Baby ‘36, Xmas, Snow, Cabin, Flood, Carnival, Break-up ‘36, and Carnival ‘36.”
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 2]
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 2]
This is the 1936 Winter Carnival in Fairbanks.
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 3]
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 3]
This film contains footage of Joanie Adler with adults, Joanie riding a pony, Joanie at the zoo, Joanie riding a bike, an unidentified couple at a mining operation, Joanie Adler swimming, Joanie with her parents at a cabin, Joanie playing with Christmas toys, children in a parade in Fairbanks near the Cushman Street Bridge, aerial shots of mountains, break-up, a family camping and sawing wood, and more aerial shots of mountains.
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 4]
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 4]
This film shows people skiing behind a truck as seen from the truck.
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 6]
[Adler-Tollefson Family films - 6]
This film contains scenes of men preparing gold for smelting into an ingot, caribou, and Joanie with Mrs. Adler.
[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 1931]
[Alaska 1931]
This film is labeled “Alaska 1931” and “Scenes taken for footage for Milford - Alaska 1931.” The footage contains scenic shots of various snowy mountains, glaciers, a small boat in icy waters, a man aboard a boat cranking a film camera, icy waters, a man with a camera, and more glaciers and snowy mountains.
[Alaska 1931 reel 4, glaciers and ships]
[Alaska 1931 reel 4, glaciers and ships]
This film is labeled “Alaska 1931 Reel 4.” The film contains scenic shots of glaciers and mountains, a small boat moving in front of a glacier face, a calving glacier, icebergs, a small boat moving through icy waters, ice near a shoreline, a larger steamship moving through icy waters near a glacier face, and seals resting on icebergs in the distance.
[Alaska 1935, Blackstone Bay, College Fiord, odds and ends]
[Alaska 1935, Blackstone Bay, College Fiord, odds and ends]
This film is labeled “Alaska 1935” and “Blackstone Bay, College Fiord, Odds and Ends, Goats etc., Fish.” The film contains scenes of two men rowing a boat and anchoring it near a waterfall, a man holding a film camera, a man watching salmon swim upstream, numerous salmon in a shallow stream, two men paddling a boat in the distance as seen from a rock opening, a herd of mountain goats on a hillside near a shoreline, a calving glacier and icy waters, and birds flying near a waterfall.
[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 glaciers 1931 reel 3]
[Alaska glaciers 1931 reel 3]
This film is labeled “Alaska 1931 Reel 3.” The footage contains scenes of glaciers calving into water, scenic shots of glaciers, a panoramic shot across the face of a glacier, snowy mountains, and ice fields.
[Alaska sheep and bear]
[Alaska sheep and bear]
This footage shows Dall sheep in the hills (focus is soft) and a bear near a river.
[Alaska travel, Healy, Valdez, Gulkana, Ski Boot Hill, travel outside 2]
[Alaska travel, Healy, Valdez, Gulkana, Ski Boot Hill, travel outside 2]
This film is made up of several smaller reels labeled "Salcha and Texas 1973," "Healy, Salcha, Chena, Gulk [?], Tex," "Healy Lake," "Healy Coal, Home," "Healy Lake, Home Fbks, Xmas, Old Shop," "Healy Lake, Rich, Snow Mach, Ski Boot Hill," and "Ski Boot Hill, Downtown." The film contains footage of an Alaska cabin and tracked cart, a neighborhood and Baptist church, a family fishing, canoeing on a lake, a family at home, a school bus in Healy during winter with a group posing near the bus, a cabin and hunting scenes, Christmas and home scenes, men in a shop, a large building in winter, camping scenes, snowmachines, a highway, skiing, a ski hill tow rope, and downtown Fairbanks.
[Alaska travel, Healy, Valdez, Gulkana, Ski Boot Hill, travel outside 3]
[Alaska travel, Healy, Valdez, Gulkana, Ski Boot Hill, travel outside 3]
This film is made up of several smaller reels labeled "Valdez 1973, To Whittier, Col Glacier," "Valdez 1973, O.B., John and Ruth, Party in Garage, Duck Camp 1973," "Healy Lake and Summit River, To Valdez," "Gulkana, Salcha," "Gulkana, Dawn and Vic [?]," "Gulkana," and "1969 Gulkana." The film contains views of the Columbia Glacier, a family traveling in Alaska to Valdez, people gathering and sitting at tables, people fishing and cleaning fish, boating on a river, a man and a dog sleeping, the interior of a cabin, a man washing and cooking inside a cabin, a baseball game, a woman and a boat, family and river scenes, a family fishing, and camping scenes.
[Alaska travel, Healy, Valdez, Gulkana, Ski Boot Hill, travel outside 5]
[Alaska travel, Healy, Valdez, Gulkana, Ski Boot Hill, travel outside 5]
This film is made up of several smaller film reels labeled "Yellowstone 1969," "Yellowstone," "Mexico 1969," "Acapulco," "Port Vallarta," "Rodeo 1970," "Rodeo Fair," and "Hoover Dam 1976 [?] Park [?]." The film contains scenes of travel outside Alaska, travel scenes that may or may not have been filmed in Alaska, and unusual rodeo scenes featuring circus animals.
[Alaska traveling I circa 1926, railroad, ships, coastal communities]
[Alaska traveling I circa 1926, railroad, ships, coastal communities]
This film is labeled “Alaska 1925,” “Alaska 1925 - I think – travelling,” and “Alaska 1926 I.” The footage contains scenes of people traveling in an open train car, a conductor talking to people aboard a train, railroad travel, travel by ship, coastal communities, military ships in a harbor (possibly Seattle), automobiles and people in a town with a mountainous backdrop, a totem pole, a town with muddy streets, a sign for a Valdez dock, a ship at a dock, a boy with a fish, men unloading boxes on a dock, an Emel Packing Company sign, a cannery, an Alaska Steamship Company sign on a vessel, further scenes of shipboard and dock activities in Valdez, and ship passengers enjoying the scenery.
[Alaska traveling II circa 1926, Fairbanks and Cordova]
[Alaska traveling II circa 1926, Fairbanks and Cordova]
This film is labeled, “Alaska 1925 or 1927” and “Alaska Travelling II 1926.” Footage contains scenes of people aboard a large ship, the S.S. Alaska, viewing a glacier. It also features a train crossing a tall railroad trestle and winding through mountainous terrain, the train going under a trestle and through a tunnel, scenes of the railroad bridge in Nenana, First Avenue in Fairbanks, the sternwheeler Alice and another vessel, the Cowles Street library building and a nearby home in downtown Fairbanks, men and women at the University of Alaska farm in Fairbanks, a child with a haltered cow, a goat, other livestock, a man panning for gold, mining activities including a sluice box and windlass, men and women pushing an automobile, people on a street (likely in Fairbanks), a train in Cordova, men unloading sacks onto a dock, and people aboard a ship viewing the surrounding water and mountains.
[Alaskans]
[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.”