Alaska Film Archives

People of the Tundra
People of the Tundra
Marvin "Muktuk" Marston, former commander of the Native Scouts utilized by the Alaska Territorial Guard during World War II, gives his personal views of Native life. Marston shows scenes of Eskimo whaling and festivals, fishwheels and preserving fish in pits along the Yukon River, sternwheelers, and a dog playing with bear cubs. Diomede Island footage includes Eskimo men climbing cliffs and harvesting bird eggs as well as a hunter catching birds using decoys and a long pole with a small net. Nunivak Island footage includes funeral services for a departed elder. Additional footage includes Governor Gruening's recruitment of Alaskan Natives into the Alaska Territorial Guard, construction of Alaska Territorial Guard facilities by Eskimo women, Marston and Sam Mogg travelling by dogsled to recruit members of the Alaska Territorial Guard, and use of reindeer to replace sled dogs. Additional footage includes Russian pilots and American Lend-Lease aircraft painted in Russian colors in Nome, Alaska Territorial Guard soldiers, Nome street scenes, a propeller driven snowmachine, dogs pulling a three-wheeled cart, Eskimo children, and portraits of several people.