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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.

91 to 120 of 125 Objects
[McMillin Pribilof films AAF-14558--14559]
[McMillin Pribilof films AAF-14558--14559]
Films were shot by L.C. McMillin on the Pribilof Islands of Alaska during the late 1930s and early 1940s prior to World War II. At the time, McMillin was employed as an agent by the United States government to manage the islands and its peoples, and to oversee fur seal harvests. McMillin’s first and middle names were Lee Carroll or possibly Lee Clarence. AAF-14558 is labeled, "Natives 1," and "St. George, Road Building, P. Manderville[?]," and contains images of men carrying wooden planks, men on shore and near a house, man killing fox [approximately 55 seconds of this material removed from online display due to culturally sensitive content], a small boat arriving and men pulling the boat ashore, crates on a truck, a boat leaving and arriving, men with a wooden beam, old church being disassembled, bulldozer, men moving rocks, and man climbing cliff. AAF-14559 is labeled, "Natives 2," and contains images of men with ropes climbing over a cliff to retrieve eggs, men hauling water, a white building and woman holding pitcher, men with a boat or umiak, people harvesting blocks of ice, wedding scenes, men in small boats, a religious procession, truck pulling boat, men portaging boat, boat rowing toward another boat, man high up on pole, man snipping fur from fox tail [approximately 41 seconds of this material removed from online display due to culturally sensitive content], child, and men with wheelbarrows near shore., Titles and title screens included here are part of the original film, and may include words, phrases, and attitudes that would now be deemed insensitive, inappropriate or factually inaccurate. Some scenes have been removed from online display due to culturally sensitive content. Where removed, the omission is noted by a title screen. Contact film archivist for more information.
[McMillin Pribilof films AAF-14560--14562]
[McMillin Pribilof films AAF-14560--14562]
Films were shot by L.C. McMillin on the Pribilof Islands of Alaska during the late 1930s and early 1940s prior to World War II. At the time, McMillin was employed as an agent by the United States government to manage the islands and its peoples, and to oversee fur seal harvests. McMillin’s first and middle names were Lee Carroll or possibly Lee Clarence. AAF-14560 is labeled, "4th Julys, games, wedding, birds," and contains scenes of men with an octopus, a procession of people coming out of a church and going back into church, row boat arriving at a dock, waves crashing against the shore, ship, whale spout, construction of a large dam at unknown location, football game at unknown location, man with film camera, sled with barrels, people carrying an umiak or boat and lifting it onto a truck, and a road made of planks on the tundra. AAF-14561 is labeled, "Surf," and contains images of a shore and waves, rowboats coming ashore, a ship in the bay (possibly a military ship), supplies being offloaded onto the shore, a boat named "Veca," rowboats along the shore, man climbing a mast, and flowers. AAF-14562 is labeled, "Good scenes," and contains scenes in the Pribilofs and outside Alaska including men and a green truck, seals, men with crates, birds, flowers, travel outside Alaska, car on a snowy road, snowy mountains, people sledding, woman and flowering shrub, garden and flowers, train, large dam, train, United States flag, and a priest leading a procession., Titles and title screens included here are part of the original film, and may include words, phrases, and attitudes that would now be deemed insensitive, inappropriate or factually inaccurate.
[Mining activities, winter carnival parade]
[Mining activities, winter carnival parade]
This film contains footage of a moose in the woods, a large warehouse, Williams Equipment Company, people in the woods, a field, cars racing around a dirt track, mining activities including digging out dirt, a sluicebox, men operating mining equipment, scenic views of the landscape, a sunset, a fishwheel, a small boat on the river, scenic views of the river, several draglines in operation mining and dredging gravel out of a pit, men working on mining activities, the outside of a red house in the winter, a winter parade with floats, the Ladd Air Force Base marching band, SS Lathrop float, military men marching, fire trucks, marching bands, Santa Claus North Pole float, Uncle Panch KFAR-TV cart, dog mushing, airplanes in the sky including a T-33 Shooting Star and/or Northrop F-89 Scorpion, people dancing indoors, the Chicken Roadhouse and other buildings, a person walking in snow, people coming out of a cabin, a sign for Sadie and Gertie and Myrtle, people in parkas, a winter landscape, people playing with a dog outside in the snow, a winter parade with floats, women in white fur parkas with red hearts on sleeves, a military band, troops in arctic gear, white and black camouflaged tanks, Pioneers of Alaska float with "then and now" design, fire trucks including the College Community Fire Department trucks, Randy Acord flying over in a v-tailed Bonanza airplane with "KFAR" and "Acord" written on the wings and side of aircraft.
[Mining, Fairbanks parades]
[Mining, Fairbanks parades]
This film contains footage of a two little girls in dresses in front of a big piece of equipment, a man and woman holding babies, men camping out of the back of a truck, men spear fishing, piglets, a rosebush, two people playing with dogs, people gold panning, a woman with a large gold nugget, two people showing off fish they caught, people fishing in a river, overview of a mining camp or town, a man cutting firewood in front of a cabin with a double-bladed axe, a parade in winter with troops marching and an "iceworm" float, Fairview Hotel visible in background of the parade, people in parkas, a blanket toss, a man parachuting, cars racing around track, a large structure on fire, a man standing in front of a small airplane in a field next to a church, the Mines Building at the University of Alaska under construction, a Felix Pedro monument, scenic views of a small town in winter, a man chipping snow and ice off a roof, a parade in winter including large floats and horses and women marching, businesses along Cushman Street in Fairbanks, airplanes parked in a field, people wading in a river, people gold panning, a small airplane landing in a field, a winter celebration with a blanket toss and Alaska Native dancing and dog mushing, a banner for North American Grand Champion Sled Dog Derby, a man digging a small airplane out of snow, four men walking past Alaska Railroad cars, the Nenana Bridge over the Tanana River, and abuilding with "Nenana" on roof.
[Mining operations]
[Mining operations]
This film contains images of a mining operation, a bulldozer pushing muck, sluice box cleanup, a snowy landscape, children playing, a truck loaded with logs, a man operating a hydraulic giant, Wien aircraft, a parade and other travel scenes outside Alaska, a Boeing VC-137B Air Force One aircraft painted in white-and-red color scheme at an airport outside Alaska.
[Miscellaneous Alaska scenes]
[Miscellaneous Alaska scenes]
The donor’s original number and title for AAF-20844 are: “RW 109. Travel Scenes, St. Moritz, Skiing.” This film features scenes outside Alaska, which include a road trip in the United States and skiers at St. Moritz in Switzerland. Scenes in Alaska include the Russian Orthodox Church and Spirit Houses at Eklutna, Skagway street scenes, Skagway Inn, Kirmses Curios shop, White Pass & Yukon Railroad train trip, men at a fancy dinner, aerial views of mountains, a boat trip to a glacier, competitive downhill skiing, people eating and huddling around newspapers, men being served an extravagant meal including wine and caviar on an airplane, a series of historic black and white photographs, a group of Alaska Native children eating, William Egan meeting with people, entertainer Burl Ives at Alaskaland, cabins and carnival rides and games at Alaskaland (also known as A-67 or Alaska 67 Centennial Exposition), and Alaska Native people dancing with masks. This is followed by scenes of a lighted sign for Alaska Airlines Golden Nugget Jets followed by "Golden Samovar Service" aboard a Boeing 727 Golden Nugget Jet. Passengers are served an extravagant meal that includes hors d’oeurves, wine, caviar, soup and a main course. Alaska Airlines introduced “Golden Nugget Service” in the early 1960s as a tribute to the 1890s gold rush era. Passenger planes were decorated in red and gold wallpaper and plush red seats. In the early 1970s, Alaska Airlines added the extravagant samovar service to highlight the fact that it had recently begun offering charters to the Soviet Union. This is followed by black-and-white scenes (striations indicate this may be Kodacolor film) of an Alaska town (possibly Rampart?) and flowers, well-dressed people at a conference or meeting, soldiers fighting in Vietnam, William Egan and Henry "Red" Boucher talking to men and women at a dinner, “Egan for Governor” sign, a map of the Bay of Bengal, a moose, the Santa Claus House in North Pole, people on go karts on a track in downtown Fairbanks, Woolworths Building in the background of the track, a log cabin visitors center in Fairbanks, an airplane taking off in Fairbanks and landing at Umiat, a Wien airplane, and a small totem pole.
[People and parties]
[People and parties]
AAF-11485 consists of one reel of 8mm film labeled “People and Parties” and contains footage of various locations throughout Alaska, a sign for ‘Evelyn’s'; footage of a dog; footage of the Traveler’s Inn in Fairbanks; footage of a number of well-dressed women exiting a building and showing off their clothing to the camera; a number of various scenic views of Alaska landscapes; images of people and couples dancing indoors at an unidentified location; a party or family gathering at a home; and footage of a woman and a baby playing together.
[Pipeline, South Atigun Pass]
[Pipeline, South Atigun Pass]
This film contains very grainy and static images of the Trans-Alaska pipeline, a washed out culvert along the road, and a distant shot of a vehicle traveling along the Haul Road.
[Savoonga, Kenai, Homer, McNeil River]
[Savoonga, Kenai, Homer, McNeil River]
Location identifications are from Victor Rovier's notes. According to original notes accompanying this film, the first five segments, all dated 1966, were likely filmed by Jack Fuller in Savoonga and include scenes of women skinning seals, travel by umiak, a walrus laying on ice, walruses scattering after gunfire, a baby walrus swimming in water, Native men in a shelter, men pulling an umiak across snow, men with harpoons and guns shooting a walrus at a breathing hole, piles of muktuk, men pulling up and cutting a whale, a boat and a whale, men carving a whale in water, walrus tusks and meat, people with dogsleds and snowmachines meeting a airplane, a blanket toss, men harpooning a walrus through a hole in ice, and distant views of an umiak at sea. According to original notes, the following three segments were filmed by Victor Rovier in June of 1966 and include views of Anchorage, an earthquake-caused slump in Turnagain Arm, a man (identified in notes as Wilcox) fishing at Alexander Creek, airboat travel up Alexander Creek, oil tanks and an oil platform, Kenai, and dock facilities. Remaining film segments are all titled "McNeil 1967" and include images of filmmaker Victor Rovier packing a tent, men (identified in notes as Hans and Rovier) loading an airplane, the airplane taking off, buildings in Homer, takeoff of an airplane and aerial views, the instrument panel of an airplane, mountains, Rovier talking to the pilot, Mt. Augustine, McNeil River from the air, Rovier carrying gear at a beach, Rovier setting up a tent and blowing up an air mattress, bears wrestling, a bear with a red tag, waterfowl (poor focus), bears walking, Hans giving Rovier a shave while Rovier holds a revolver, bears fishing in a river, Rovier fishing in McNeil River, men (identified in notes as Rovier and Dick) wading across McNeil River, Rovier at McNeil Falls, Homer spit, fjords and islands en route to Seldovia, and Rovier with a camera in Seldovia.
[Scenes from around Alaska]
[Scenes from around Alaska]
This film contains images of a dead wolf, bulldozers, a man and woman and two boys, people sledding on a hillside, blowing snow along Steese Highway, Circle Hot Springs in winter, a mining operation, men working in sluice box as children play, fall landscape, caribou, winter landscape, summer landscape, Cat train moving over snowy ground, Ocean Van Line trailer, tractor trailers hauling supplies, a bulldozer plowing a path through trees, scenes in northern Alaska, a dog team, a dead seal, an Alaska Native family posing for the camera outside of a wall tent, a Cat train, an airport, tractor trailers, a bulldozer plowing snow, a Cat train, and men working to free a vehicle that has fallen though ice.
[Seward scenes]
[Seward scenes]
The donor’s original number and title for AAF-20866 are: “RW 134. Early Seward.” This film features scenes from Seward, which include images of the railway station, people gathered around a small structure fire, the start and finish of the Fourth of July Mt. Marathon race, an Alaska Railroad AuRoRa prototype engine 1050 with a plow attached, women with flowers, a man and women outside a building, and a large ship in a bay and approaching a dock.
[Skagway, White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad, Carcross]
[Skagway, White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad, Carcross]
This film is labeled “Reel #3 Unknown, Part Railroad.” Footage contains scenes of Skagway, passengers disembarking from a ferry or ship, a White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad steam engine and railroad cars, sites along the railroad from Skagway to Carcross in Yukon, Canada, the Caribou Hotel and the Matthew Watson General Store in Carcross, and a sternwheeler in Carcross.
[Snowmachines, trapping]
[Snowmachines, trapping]
All film segments are labeled "Trapping - December 1961 to January 1962," and they contain images of filmmaker Victor Rovier driving to the Alaska Marine store, a Polaris Sno-Traveler sign, men looking at and test-driving various models of snowmachines, moose in the snow, a wounded moose on the road, a bridge, a small group of cabins, people driving snowmachines, people driving on snowmachines and walking with snowshoes while checking and setting traps, a fox in a trap, a wolverine in a trap, a fox in a trap, dogs running alongside snow machines, an elderly man posing on a snowmachine and going for a ride on a snowmachine.
[Stenberg films 1]
[Stenberg films 1]
This film was developed in November 1963 and is labeled, “Mitkoff Highway.” The Mitkof Highway runs south from Petersburg, Alaska to the southeast point of Mitkof Island. the film contains images of a Tongass National Forest sign, trees being cleared, logs being moved by cables, road construction equipment, crews at work, explosions on a hillside, and bulldozers clearing a road.
[Stenberg films 2]
[Stenberg films 2]
This is a film from the early 1970s containing scenes of Smokey the Bear greeting children and families at a Lions Club picnic. The remaining scenes are from Alaska’s North Slope and include caribou crossing a road, a Wien Consolidated jet taking off, a sign for Frontier Transportation Company, construction equipment covered in snow, and a large fire possibly at an oil well.
[Stenberg films 3]
[Stenberg films 3]
This is a film that was developed in August 1961 and September 1962 and is labeled, “Mitkoff Job 75 Reel No. 1.” The film contains scenes of a human skull, a Caterpillar tractor and operator, a tug boat, chainsaw crews and bulldozers clearing land, travel along a shoreline in a boat, a tree being felled, large construction equipment moving rocks, a welder repairing a broken crane, a man climbing and topping a large tree, a man standing on top of a tree cut, men standing on floating logs and forming a timber raft, a man in a work camp, a twilight sunrise or sunset, road construction activities along a shoreline, a blast warning sign, and construction crew housing and cars.
[Stenberg films 4]
[Stenberg films 4]
This is a film that was developed in August 1962 and is labeled, “Mitkoff Hiway No. 2.” The film contains scenes of road construction along a shoreline, crews removing trees and blasting rock, a coastal Alaska town (Petersburg?), and men washing clams.
[Stenberg films 5]
[Stenberg films 5]
This is a film from about 1961 labeled, “Petersburg" and "Hunting Fishing #4.” The film contains scenes of women processing halibut and men processing salmon in a commercial processing facility, shrimp being unloaded from boats, an Alaska Coastal-Ellis Airlines seaplane landing and taxiing to shore, passengers posing, a seaplane taking off, mountains and glaciers, a snow-covered car and trailer home, Petersburg main street and wharf, a parade with adults and children in costume, a dunk tank, people walking around town, a boat race, and Alaska Marine Highway ferry M/V Malaspina.
[Stenberg films 6]
[Stenberg films 6]
This is a film that was developed in June 1959 and the early 1960s and is labeled, “St. Juneau - end is [illegible].” The film contains scenes of southeast Alaska, aerial views from a seaplane in flight, views from a small powerboat, a Grumman seaplane at a dock (N1019N), families swimming, a Petersburg parade, the Petersburg 4-H Club with a banner in a parade, a family camping and swimming, a wildfire along the roadside, and a bulldozer clearing a fire line.
[Stenberg films 7]
[Stenberg films 7]
This is a late 1950s film labeled “Moving dredge - coal mine - ferry at Nenana.” The film contains aerial and ground views of a large dredge being moved – likely Dredge Number 6 being moved from Gold Hill to Sheep Creek near Fairbanks in 1958. The film also contains aerial views of mountains, a mining operation, and Fairbanks International Airport as well as footage featuring a railroad bridge in Nenana and the sternwheeler Yutana in Nenana.
[Stenberg films 8]
[Stenberg films 8]
This is a film that was developed in September 1959 and is labeled, “Moose hunting, Fairbanks world champ dog races and blanket toss.” The film contains scenes of men hunting and butchering a moose, an Alaska Dog Mushers Association banner, sled dog races, a woman in a crown posing and driving a dog sled, an early snow machine near a fence, and a blanket toss.
[Stenberg films 9]
[Stenberg films 9]
This film is labeled, “Home Reel 1.” The film contains scenes of southeast Alaska, men and women posing with bundles of furs, small boats, mountains and glaciers, a waterfall, views from a boat, fishing vessels at a dock, and women walking along a snowy street. The segment titled “Alaska River Voyage” by the Alaska Sportsman Magazine includes scenes filmed in Southeast Alaska such as tourists boarding a boat, a woman posing with a dog, women looking at totem poles, boats, and bears.
[Thompson Valdez film]
[Thompson Valdez film]
Footage includes a moving building, buildings in Old Town, signs identifying buildings, burning buildings in Old Town following the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, ships in the harbor, Alyeska Terminal 1976, a fire across from Port Valdez Hotel, porpoises and a sea otter, a woman getting her hair styled, a fishing boat with an outboard motor, men hauling a dingy aboard, flying over New Town and Old Town, an unidentified man, Old Town after the tsunami, fishermen pulling a crab pot, and a panorama of New Town. Reels of Super-8mm films had been donated to the Valdez Museum by Jim Thompson in 2006, and were officially transferred to the Alaska Film Archives in 2015.
[Thompson Valdez film 2]
[Thompson Valdez film 2]
Footage features Prince William Sound winter scenery from airplane, Columbia Glacier, an airplane landing on gravel runway at Valdez Airport, Old Town in May, Port Valdez Motel, Old Town fire, Harolds Rent-A-Truck pulling mobile home, Gold Rush fashion show, women in gowns, Old Town, people moving a building, New Town boat harbor, a boat named “Scrounger Too,” a parade in New Town with a military band, a fire truck, a school bus, a fire in Old Town, aerial views of Old Town and New Town, Pinzon Bar, cafe sign, Switzerland Inn, New Town harbor, Rexall store, Xavier Catholic Church, the police department, the Visitors Bureau, paved roads, Eagles Lodge, Old Town, an abandoned church, people moving the Eagles building, and people moving other buildings and an old church. Reels of Super-8mm films had been donated to the Valdez Museum by Jim Thompson in 2006, and were officially transferred to the Alaska Film Archives in 2015.
[Trailers hauled to snowy pipeline camp]
[Trailers hauled to snowy pipeline camp]
This film contains scenes featuring S.S. Mullen Construction Company equipment, a Caterpillar dealership in Fairbanks, aerial views of the Haul Road, a sign that says "Ice May Be Unsafe - Cross at Your Own Risk - State of Alaska Dept. of Highways," men standing next to a cargo airplane, trucks hauling equipment along a narrow snowy road, aerial views of the Brooks Range and a road, aerial views of trucks on a snowy road, aerial views of a pipeline camp, and trailers being assembled and put into place at the camp.
[UAF fire department 1980 to 1981]
[UAF fire department 1980 to 1981]
This film contains footage of a large group of people swimming and playing in a backyard swimming pool during cold weather and warm weather as well as footage of a firefighting competition which includes firefighting races and fires being extinguished by groups of firefighters.
[Valdez, Alaska and Outside travel]
[Valdez, Alaska and Outside travel]
The first segment in Alaska includes footage of blowing snow in Valdez the and aerial views of winter countryside. Footage outside of Alaska includes George Meals at his farm in Atkinson Nebraska with unidentified women, traffic at night, a Northwest Airlines airplane, a man chopping wood, a woman and dog, tourists watching a dog sled in the summer, mountains, women in a Valdez Light and Power office, men and women in a garden (Nancy, Frank and Ertha Mills in Sebastapol CA), seals in cages, homes and roads, lights in downtown Las Vegas, an old west town (Nancy and Ertha with figures), a dam site, Nancy and friends posing for the camera, homes, people posing (Nancy and family near Amarillo Texas, George Meals with a hay wagon, and farm scenes in Atkinson Nebraska with Melvin and Marvin Meals. The second segment includes footage of downtown Valdez, snow removal vehicles, a propeller-driven vehicle (probably built by Owen Meals) driving down a street, freight being unloaded from a ship, fuel tanks, Alaska Freight Lines and other semi-trucks with trailers and freight, a snowplow, parked semi-trucks, snow removal, a snowy road, wintertime dock activities, an Alaska Steamship Company trailer being offloaded from a ship,Valdez street scenes during winter, trucks hauling pipes, a Valdez Light Power & Telephone Company truck, a small helicopter landing and taking off, and dock views. The third segment includes footage at the Valdez airport with a military DC-3 and other airplanes, an airplane taking off, cars driving on a snowy road, Anchorage city lights, mountains and a lake, foxes at a fox farm, a small water wheel, a cabin and cache, a bear cub and people, scenic views, highway travel, a small airplane taking off and flying by, wind in the mountains, a no-hunting sign, a waterfall and ice, Valdez City School (built in 1936 and used until the 1964 earthquake), and views from a ship. The fourth segment outside of Alaska includes images of families posing for the camera, scenes at a large airport, a woman climbing oil derrick/tower stairs, oil-drilling operation, a small windmill, and oil rigs.
[Waymon Vest collection films 4]
[Waymon Vest collection films 4]
AAF-13898 is from a film identified by the filmmaker as dog mushing in Anchorage on Cordova Street with mushers George Attla and Roland “Doc” Lombard, circa 1969-1971. The full 16-minute reel was made from five smaller reels labeled by the filmmaker as follows: no label; "dog races Lombard and Attla;" "porky camp robber;" "dog races;" and "fur [illegible]." The films contain scenes of crowds watching sled dog races in downtown Anchorage, a cat train, aerial mountain views, a porcupine, a man hiking with a large pack, men at a cabin feeding a Gray Jay or “camp robber,” sled dog teams in Anchorage navigating a corner, and mushers and sled dog teams at the start line.
[White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad, Bennett Lake]
[White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad, Bennett Lake]
This film is labeled “Train.” The footage contains scenes of travel on the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad, Bennett train station in Canada, a log cabin, the Trail of ’98 sign, a railroad trestle over a gorge, an Inspiration Point sign, people gathered at a monument, Skagway, a ferry, an engineer, and a church at Bennett Lake.
[White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad summer and winter, de-railed train]
[White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad summer and winter, de-railed train]
This film is labeled “Reel 1, Reel 2, Steam engine trip to Whitehorse August 1961, Railroad shorts June 1960.” The footage contains scenes of the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad, a steam engine pulling a train, a train crossing a bridge and arriving at Carcross in Canada, scenery along the railroad route, black–and-white scenes of derailed train cars, train travel, a bulldozer at work, a train at Bennett Lake in Canada, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church at Bennett Lake, a train operating under snowy conditions, black-and-white scenes of a bulldozer pushing railroad cars down a ravine, passengers inside a train car, train travel in winter, a White Pass and Yukon Route sign in Whitehorse in Canada, horses along a railroad route, a machine with a shovel filling a train car, and train travel in summer.