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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.

331 to 360 of 624 Objects
[Ferry, Tenakee Hot Springs, dock]
[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."
[Fire fighters at Vundik Lake]
[Fire fighters at Vundik Lake]
This film gives a detailed view of many aspects of fighting the Vundik Lake forest fire in the Yukon Flats. Footage includes fire fighters lying and detonating long rope-like explosives along the moss, helicopters delivering supplies, a flying boxcar airplane dropping retardent, fire fighters using waterbags and branches to beat back fire on the ground, a helicopter with a water bucket dropping water on the fire, a sign reading "Welcome to Vundik Lake", a fire fighters' camp, aerial views of a PBY Catalina water bomber scooping water from Vundik Lake, and aerial views of the fire line and fire fighters.
[Football games, basketball games]
[Football games, basketball games]
This footage shows a night time football game being played outdoors and under lights on a baseball field that was converted into a football field [possibly Griffin Park in Fairbanks?], a football game being played on a snowy field in Fairbanks, and women's basketball games being played in a gymnasium. [Teams in both the football and basketball games wear red and gold uniforms, so they might be from West Valley High School in Fairbanks].
[Fort Chilkoot region]
[Fort Chilkoot region]
The first section includes intertitles is titled "Transportation in Alaska." Footage includes a car on a narrow road and being pulled through snow by horses, Native men in a small boat poling on a river, a boat identified as a "war canoe," men with horses in a pack-train, a man on snowshoes, sled dog teams pulling sleds, ocean travel on a ship in rough seas, a White Pass and Yukon Railroad rotary snowplow working and travel on the route, a flying boat, aerial views of the A-J mine in Juneau, a puppy pulling a child on a small sled followed by an intertitle of "the end". Additional footage includes a young boy and man walking a black bear on a chain, troops on snowshoes and skiis in parade grounds at Fort Chilkoot, a child playing in snow, a man shovelling snow, a child sledding, people riding in a dogsled and mushing through a town and woods, men with a horse drawn sled, children sledding and skiing, a young girl, people with a baby during baptism, family scenes with children inside a home, and couples including a military officer dancing and mugging for the camera.
[Fort Wainwright 1970s]
[Fort Wainwright 1970s]
This film contains scenes from the early 1970s of troops at Fort Wainwright boarding a C-130 aircraft, aerial views of the landscape, and scenes of soldiers with parachutes exiting the aircraft.
[Fort Yukon, Hudson Stuck Hospital]
[Fort Yukon, Hudson Stuck Hospital]
This film contains footage taken while flying over a town in an airplane. This is followed by footage of a large wooden building with a flag pole in front, which appears to be the Hudson Stuck Memorial Hospital; a sign for the Hudson Stuck Memorial Hospital; nurses in white uniforms and children standing in front of the hospital; nurses walking past a farm and speaking with men working on the farm; a man driving a red tractor; people and nurses talking to the man on the red tractor; a group of nurses conversing; nurses talking to a uniformed officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; a small boy and a hound dog; and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer talking with a well dressed man and woman in front of the hospital.
[Fort Yukon, people and activities]
[Fort Yukon, people and activities]
This is a reel of 16mm film made up of seven smaller reels of film. Reel 1 is labeled “Rube & Bill Mason” and contains footage of a number of individuals carrying items out of a cabin and loading them onto a boat as well as a man and a woman carrying bags, boxes, and miscellaneous household items across the shore to the boat. Reel 2 is labeled “Emil Bergman & Mrs. Burk” and contains footage of two or three individuals looking at large ice floes and ice jams on a river. It also contains footage of a town and buildings with water in front of them (possibly flooding). Reel 3 is labeled “John Thomas 9” and contains footage of a large group of adults and children standing on the edge of a large river, scenic views of the river, and two women walking up to the river. It also shows ice flowing on the river, three children playing by the water, an Alaska Native woman with a small child on her back and two older children, ice floes in the river, two men looking at the river, a small girl looking at the camera, and a group of children playing. Reel 4 is labeled “John Thomas” and contains footage of a child paddling a canoe, children playing with the canoe in the water, children swimming in the water, children playing on the beach next to the water, a person in a bathing suit paddling a canoe, a person paddling the canoe standing up, and two men in another canoe. Reel 5 is labeled “Muskrat Hunting” and contains footage of a man leading a group of large sled dogs, dogs pulling a dogsled from the perspective of the sled driver, a man and a boy with guns evaluating the tundra closely and setting a trap, a man being pulled on a dogsled, a man standing with the sled dogs, a man and boy walking through the snow in the woods, a man and boy checking the traps, the boy showing the camera his catch, and a man and boy striking an animal (likely a muskrat) with a stick and holding it up by the tail. Reel 6 is labeled “1930-1940 Doctor Burke’s 4th of July” and “Dr. Burk’s Pictures 4th of July.” It contains footage of a man walking up a dock, two men paddling a canoe (possibly through flood waters), two men walking past a building, two men getting into a canoe and paddling a canoe, a large number of well-dressed children playing in a field with adults looking on, children engaged in wheelbarrow races, children engaged in three-legged races, and a large group of adults watching as other members engage in an unidentified game. Reel 7 is labeled “Steamboat” and contains footage of well-dressed women walking, priests and men in suits talking next to a body of water, people on a large riverboat with a sign that says “U.S. Mail,” well-dressed people on a beach in front of the riverboat, a number of people shaking hands with what appears to be the captain of the riverboat, people standing on the shore next to the riverboat and waving as the ship departs, and people milling around on the shore.
[Ft. Richardson and ATG and Lend-Lease aircraft with Russian markings at Nome, Turnagain by the Sea development and ATG... 3]
[Ft. Richardson and ATG and Lend-Lease aircraft with Russian markings at Nome, Turnagain by the Sea development and ATG... 3]
Part 3 (AAF-1544) footage includes a sternwheeler, Eskimo dancers, a bear cub, Eskimo men gathering eggs and catching birds in flight, a tent, umiaks, loading freight in Nome, hauling meat with dog sleds, Governor Gruening swearing in Alaska Territorial Guard members, ATG members with rifles and during marching drills, Muktuk Marston, a snowblower in Nome, ATG headquarters in Nome (image reversed), Governors Gruening and Dewey, title screens and a map, a dog team and reindeer hooked to a sled, Muktuk Marston with a puppy and swearing in ATG members, dog team travel, aerial views of mountains, captive bear cubs, Governor Dewey in a red parka, and more aerial views of mountains.
Gardening is great in the north
Gardening is great in the north
This film contains tips about gardening in the North. It includes scenes of man mushing dogs to a cabin, a man and woman talking about hunting and farming, a woman making a phone call using a rotary phone, Virgil Severns of Cooperative Extension Service, gardening site selection tips, vegetable variety tips, a demonstration of starting seeds in foam cups, people shoveling soil and talking about soil sample kits, a man using a roto-tiller in a small garden area, people discussing fertilizer, a man demonstrating how to prepare potatoes for planting, a demonstration of garden planting techniques, hoeing and weeding, a family harvesting vegetables from their garden, and a demonstration of techniques for storing carrots. The credits are as follows: Photographer and editor, Reginald Emmert of UAF Rasmuson Library Media Services, animation and art by Dolores Hutchison, audio by Kevin Hamel, music by Helen Hansen, production assistance by Kathy Kollodge, special thanks to Claire Fejes and Gary Stein and Virgil Severns, and supported by The Alaska Native Human Resource Development Program. A list of gardening publications appears at the end.
Gathering together: bilingual curriculum creation at the Lower Kuskokwim School District
Gathering together: bilingual curriculum creation at the Lower Kuskokwim School District
This videotape is labeled "Gathering Together Master 2/11/97." The program was produced by the Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD) in 1997. It contains chapters on LKSD and its mission, bilingual programs at LKSD, the Yup'ik Language Immersion School, the Summer Institute Home School Link, and Materials Production.
[Geology]
[Geology]
The original Betamax videotape is labeled “Geology.” The video contains footage of mountains and rock formations in the Western United States, and it briefly shows Portage Glacier in Alaska while a man (likely geologist C. L. Sainsbury) discusses each feature.
[Geophysical Institute]
[Geophysical Institute]
This footage includes scenes from a youth sports competition, an airplane landing and taking off at the Fairbanks airport, stock car race footage, a man who was injured at the racetrack being taken away in an ambulance (story titled "Stock Car Spots") (September 1974) (silent), the Chapman building at University of Alaska Fairbanks, the Elvey building, a man being interviewed about changes at the Geophysical Institute over the past 25 years, a man demonstrating lab equipment, and a man being interviewed about radio transmission equipment being used to transmit medical information to remote villages in Alaska (October 28, 1974) (silent and sound).
[Geophysical Institute at UAF]
[Geophysical Institute at UAF]
Footage includes an unidentified speaker explaining the method for dating rocks used at the institute and how this information is used by geologists. An unidentified man also explains seismic recording equipment.
[George Steck collection 13]
[George Steck collection 13]
Footage includes the Binley Family Riverboat Discovery I, a group of people traveling down the Tanana River to Nenana on the Discovery, and people stopping for a picnic and to look at old buildings along the way.
[George Steck collection 18]
[George Steck collection 18]
Footage features Fairbanks just after the flood waters receded and people started cleaning up the damage.
[George Steck collection 20]
[George Steck collection 20]
Footage features Fairbanks, the Cushman St. bridge, A-67 Exposition, and a Turtles concert at Bartlett Plaza.
Glacier priest
Glacier priest
This is a series of highly dramatized reenactments from the life of Father Bernard Hubbard, a scientist and missionary. Occasionally, the reenactments don't jibe with the story. Scenes dramatized include: climbing the Taku Glacier, traveling by dogsled to the village of Holy Cross to combat an influenza epidemic (the musher is shown wearing short, Sami-style boots and three nuns are shown in their fur-hooded cloaks), Father Hubbard's run to an unnamed village when he was sick with the flu himself, Father Hubbard's ascent of Aniakchak Volcano (men dig through a layer of ash to find clean snow), exploring the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes (men cross rocky terrain with a wheeled dog sled, men in a forest of dead trees, men and a dog wear gas masks as they approach the volcano), his work among the King Island Eskimos (many shots of King Islanders including a Wolf? dance), and his promotion of Alaska as a place to settle in (children play on an old-fashioned merry-go-round, a man digs up large potatoes, and agriculture scenes which may have been shot in Matanuska Valley).
[Glaciers, Wonder Lake, Merrill and airplane]
[Glaciers, Wonder Lake, Merrill and airplane]
This film contains images of men sorting supplies for a field expedition (likely including Roscoe Bonsal, Ben Wood, Percy Pond, Andrew M. “Andy” Taylor, and Paul Kegal), a man unloading supplies from a small boat onto shore, men with packs hiking across an uneven glacier surface, a rock slide in the distance, canvas tents on a glacier, men hiking and posing for the camera, men hiking alongside crevasses, men roped together while hiking, men looking out across an icefield, snow covered mountain peaks, a glacier calving into water, mountain peaks as viewed from a boat, men on a boat, men posing with mountain goats they’ve hunted, a boat moving through icy waters, men with animal hides on a dock, a man (possibly skipper Paul Kegal) repairing the boat M/V Eurus, Paula and John Anderson’s fox farm and roadhouse (Polly’s roadhouse) at the north end of Wonder Lake in what is today Denali National Park, dogs pulling a sled in summer with one man driving and another riding in the sled, men at a cabin near the lake, a man and woman (possibly Paula and John Anderson) at a cabin, dogs, railroad tracks as viewed from a moving train, a train going through a tunnel, a south or southeastern coastal Alaska town, the Anchorage No. 1 Travel Air biplane taking off and climbing steeply, men in a rowboat towing the Anchorage No. 1 on floats, pilot Russel Merrill fueling an airplane, a man cranking and hand propping the Anchorage No. 1 airplane, aerial views of landscapes and shorelines from an airplane, a totem pole, Ketchikan, the Ketchikan Spruce Mill, a fish trap tender boat named the "Eureka of Seattle" with a fish scow alongside it named "APEX No. 3" (or possibly No. 8 or No. 9). The poles sticking out of the water are part of a fish trap known as a standing trap or pile trap. Identifications were made by comparing the film to photos in “With a Camera in My Hands: William O. Field, Pioneer Glaciologist: a Life History as Told to C. Suzanne Brown,” edited by C. Suzanne Brown and published by University of Alaska Press, 2004. According to Ketchikan author and retired Alaska Marine Highway System Captain William M. Hopkins in 2016, the end of the film contains views of Ketchikan, including the old Spruce Mill at the mouth of Ketchikan Creek. The waterway scenes are of the Eastern Channel of the southern end of Tongass Narrows between Mountain Point and the Coast Guard base and the Spruce Mill. If the entire clip was filmed in the same general area, the fish trap is possibly located somewhere along the southern Tongass Narrows or along nearby Annette Island.
[Gold mining, Alaska travel and activities 1]
[Gold mining, Alaska travel and activities 1]
Footage features a bulldozer caught in ice on the Chena River in downtown Fairbanks, a large Service Motor Company fire in downtown Fairbanks, mining activities, a man holding a large gold nugget, a bulldozer and dragline in operation at a large placer mine operation, men walking toward camp, a sluice, tailings piles, a bulldozer stuck in the Chena River after breaking through ice, people in parkas ice skating, a man photographing people on skates as well as a man ice fishing with a net, people weighing fish with a scale, Chena River and Cushman Street bridge, the railroad depot in Fairbanks, chained black bear cubs being fed, river views, people in a small boat and a man with a duck, a cow and pig, St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox church and graves in Eklutna, women feeding a baby moose with a milk bottle, a man in a small boat, a tent and campsite, a family at a camp or picnic, men and women posing by a Birch Lake sign, a woman outside of a log post office, placer mining operations, aerial views of a mine area, a man operating a dragline, and people posing near an airplane. Handwritten notes on the film boxes are as follows: “Service Motor.” “Tractor and Gold Mine.” “Alaska, trip to Palmer, grave house, baby moose, skating, Birch L. “Bert P[?].” “Trip to Ophir, [?] Barrow trip.”
[Gold mining, Alaska travel and activities 2]
[Gold mining, Alaska travel and activities 2]
Footage features people aboard a boat outside of Alaska, dog mushing, a tractor pulling a load of timber or logs with the Cushman Street Bridge visible in the distance, small girls at a birthday party, a girl with a dog, a bridge and road, people posing for the camera, a Farmall tractor pulling a boat out of the river at Cushman Street Bridge, hay piles, mountain scenes, Savage Rock at Denali or McKinley National Park, a large coal chute near Healy, a truck loaded with coal, mining operations, men and women in a boat, a waterfall, mountains and a sunset, aerial views of a river and mountains, airplanes and a camp on a rocky beach in northern Alaska, men posing by an airplane, aerial views of wildfires and mountains, men with cameras posing along with children in a northern Alaska coastal village (Barrow?), children in parkas posing, village homes, a woman chopping wood, a caribou, children in parkas with a small dogsled in Fairbanks, a brief glimpse of Leonhard Seppala with a dog team in Fairbanks with the Samson Hardware Building in the background, winter carnival scenes in Fairbanks, women in parkas posing near a Pacific Alaska Airlines airplane, a brief aerial view of the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, people disembarking from a DC-3 airplane, women and a man posing, people re-boarding the airplane, winter carnival lights, people shoveling deep snow at a cabin, men and women posing with a dog team, a man placing dogs in harnesses (black & white section of film with the first man identified as Jeff Studdert by local historian George Lounsbury in 2014), dogs running under the Noyes Slough swinging bridge and out onto the Chena River in Fairbanks, and another man driving a dog sled as a woman rides in the sled. Handwritten notes on film boxes are as follows, though the order does not seem to correspond with the order of scenes above: “Boat trip, Bowler[?].” “Dog team and tractor.” “Trip to Delta – loop.” “Fire scenes at Mc Park, coal mine at Healy.” “Lake Chelan boat trip sunset.” “Trip to Barrow, caribou, carnival and dog sled ride.”
[Gold mining in Alaska]
[Gold mining in Alaska]
The donor’s original number and title for AAF-20641 are: “M 7. Gold Mining in Alaska.” This film contains scenes of a bulldozer clearing land and knocking down an old log cabin, a pilot with an airplane on floats, a large placer mining operation, draglines and hydraulic giants, a man and women cleaning a large sluice box, the Sternwheeler Nenana pushing a barge, many people on the porch of a Northern Commercial Company building as barrels are loaded onto the barge, a sternwheeler paddling away, hydraulic giants removing overburden at a mining operation, a sign for N.C. Co. Air Field, metal-sided buildings, a Gullwing Stinson airplane being fueled, an International tractor wrecked in the ice, and sled dogs.
[Golden Days, Valdez, log home construction, Dawson City 1]
[Golden Days, Valdez, log home construction, Dawson City 1]
AAF-10409 is made up of several smaller reels of film. Handwritten notes on original film boxes are as follows: “Turnagain arm, Homer Spit, first of Golden Days parade 1989, Bell’s.” “Bell’s, Golden Days Parade 2 1989.” “Bell’s, 1989, Golden Days 3.” “Bell’s, 1989, Smalley Creek Mine.” “Bell’s, 1989, Valdez, Matanuska Glacier.” “Bell’s, 1989, Valdez.” This film contains footage of scenic travels, a large halibut, glacier views, a 1989 Fairbanks parade, Golden Days celebration scenes and parade, a man with a small sluicebox, gold flecks in a pan, calving glaciers, icebergs and seals, an eagle's nest, a waterfall, a dredge, a tour boat, sea otters, glaciers, and icebergs.
[Golden Days, Valdez, log home construction, Dawson City 2]
[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.
[Governor and Mrs. Hammond at the Governor's Mansion]
[Governor and Mrs. Hammond at the Governor's Mansion]
Footage includes Governor Jay Hammond playing pool at the Governor's Mansion in Juneau with Frank Gold of Fairbanks. Additional footage includes Bella Hammond showing Frank artwork in the mansion.
[Governor Egan inauguration and speeches]
[Governor Egan inauguration and speeches]
This footage shows Lieutenant Governor Boucher and Governor Egan are sworn in followed by a portion of the Governor's inaugural address. Additional footage includes Governor Egan speaking before the Alaska Chamber of Commerce about the value of Prudhoe Bay oil, Governor Egan speaking about collective bargaining by public employees, Governor Egan swearing in Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court Rabinowitz, Governor Egan speaking about suing the Federal Government over land withdrawals, and Governor Egan speaking before the Alaska Visitors Association about bringing Alaska Natives into the visitors industry.
[Grafton Burke collection - film 1]
[Grafton Burke collection - film 1]
Motion picture films in this collection were made by Grafton Burke in and outside Alaska circa the early 1930s. Grafton and Clara Burke oversaw St. Stephen's Mission and hospital - later Hudson Stuck Memorial Hospital - at Fort Yukon, Alaska for three decades until Dr. Burke died in 1938. AAF-23401 is labeled, "Burkes Trip in 1932."
[Grafton Burke collection - film 2]
[Grafton Burke collection - film 2]
Motion picture films in this collection were made by Grafton Burke in and outside Alaska circa the early 1930s. Grafton and Clara Burke oversaw St. Stephen's Mission and hospital - later Hudson Stuck Memorial Hospital - at Fort Yukon, Alaska for three decades until Dr. Burke died in 1938. AAF-23402 is labeled, "...Trip 1930..."
[Grafton Burke collection - film 3]
[Grafton Burke collection - film 3]
Motion picture films in this collection were made by Grafton Burke in and outside Alaska circa the early 1930s. Grafton and Clara Burke oversaw St. Stephen's Mission and hospital - later Hudson Stuck Memorial Hospital - at Fort Yukon, Alaska for three decades until Dr. Burke died in 1938. AAF-23403 is labeled, "Burke in France."
[Grafton Burke collection - film 4]
[Grafton Burke collection - film 4]
Motion picture films in this collection were made by Grafton Burke in and outside Alaska circa the early 1930s. Grafton and Clara Burke oversaw St. Stephen's Mission and hospital - later Hudson Stuck Memorial Hospital - at Fort Yukon, Alaska for three decades until Dr. Burke died in 1938. AAF-23404 is labeled, "Burke's Yukon R. Shots – Mission."
[Grafton Burke collection - film 5]
[Grafton Burke collection - film 5]
Motion picture films in this collection were made by Grafton Burke in and outside Alaska circa the early 1930s. Grafton and Clara Burke oversaw St. Stephen's Mission and hospital - later Hudson Stuck Memorial Hospital - at Fort Yukon, Alaska for three decades until Dr. Burke died in 1938. AAF-23405 is labeled, "Burke - London - On board the boat."