Finding Aids to Collections Organized by Topic in the Archive of Folk Culture

ALASKA COLLECTIONS
IN THE ARCHIVE OF FOLK CULTURE

Compiled by: Wm. Maxwell Derrickson and Mary E. Lister
Series Editor: Joseph C. Hickerson

Publication Date: May 1995; Web Revision: August 2008
Series Number: LCFAFA No. 14
ISSN 0736-4903

AFS 6328-6353: Amos Burg / Alaska Recordings
Twenty-six 12-inch discs of accordion performances, interviews, narratives, a recitation, and songs, recorded in various locations in Alaska by Amos Burg, 1941. The following annotations are largely based on a "Survey and Spot Analysis" compiled by Samuel V. Wilson (1992). (4 hours and 10 minutes; tape copy on LWO 4872 reels 404A-406A)

AFS 6328-6329; 6337A-B2; 6342; 6349-6350: Five discs containing a narrative by Paul Satko and his family about their journey from Virginia, hardships, arrival, and success in Alaska as homesteaders in 1938.

AFS 6330; 6340: Two discs containing an interview with Harold Wood, a Seventh Day Adventist, about his experiences as a boat-traveling missionary doctor in southeastern Alaska. Recorded in Juneau, December 3, 1941.

AFS 6331A1: A song sung by a male voice accompanied by piano.

AFS 6331A2-3; 6336: Two discs containing "Annie Laurie" sung with piano accompaniment and "The Mouse," by B. Burns, sung and recited by Al Robertson. Recorded in Ketchikan.

AFS 6332-6334; 6337B3; 6338; 6353: Six discs containing an interview with Charles W. Carter about his adventures, employment, and life in Alaska beginning in 1901. Recorded in Juneau.

AFS 6335; 6339; 6343A; 6345; 6352: Five discs containing recollections and songs by "Lonesome Pete." Recorded in Meyer's Church.

AFS 6341: One disc containing interviews with children.

AFS 6343B: One disc containing interviews concerning Alaskan Native myths.

AFS 6344; 6346: Two discs containing accordion music.

AFS 6347: One disc containing "Alaska, My Alaska" sung by Ed Sandy and accompanied by Helen Lane on piano.

AFS 6348: One disc containing harmonica solos, songs sung by a male voice accompanied by guitar, and a song by "Lonesome Pete" accompanied by accordion.

AFS 6351: One disc containing an interview with Elmer Capstead, including anecdotes and animal calls.

AFS 10,515-10,744: Frances Densmore American Indian Recordings
Two hundred and thirty 16-inch discs mostly of North American Indian songs originally recorded on cylinders in various locations primarily by Frances Densmore, 1907-36, for the Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution. Transferred from the National Archives in 1948.

AFS 10,712A: One disc containing Ingalik Indian songs sung by James Fox, recorded on cylinders in Anvik by John Wight Chapman, February 23, 1925. (8 minutes; tape copy on LWO 5111 reel 344A)

AFS 11,919: John Panamarkoff Alaskan Promyshlenniki Recordings
One 3-inch tape of a 25-verse song written at the behest of the Promyshleniki, a Russian settlement administrative unit in Sitka, 1808. Sung by John Panamarkoff. Received June 1958. (40 minutes; LWO 3541)

AFS 11,934-11,937; 12,057: Frederica de Laguna and Catherine McClellan Collection
Five 10-inch tapes of Tlingit Indian songs, conversations, explanations of the songs and their origins, and interviews in English and Tlingit from Angoon, Copper Center, Copper River, and Tanana Valley. Recorded in Chistochina and Yakutat by Frederica de Laguna and Catherine McClellan, March 23-August 31, 1954. The collection includes 188 pages of notes and textual transcriptions. (10 hours; LWO 3707)

AFS 11,998-12,003: Frederica de Laguna and Catherine McClellan Tlingit Indian Recordings Collection
Six 10-inch tapes of Atna Athabascan and Tlingit Indian songs, descriptions of animal noises, interviews, and narratives from Chistochina, Copper River, and Gulkana. Recorded in Copper Center and Yakutat by Frederica de Laguna and Catherine McClellan, June-August 1952 and July 11-September 4, 1958. The collection includes 13 pages of notes and textual transcriptions. (12 hours; LWO 3859)

AFS 12,066-12,073: Frederica de Laguna / Catherine McClellan Atna-Athabascan Collection
Eight 7-inch tapes of narratives, songs, and vocabulary of the Atna Athabascan Indians. Recorded in Chistochina and Copper Center by Frederica de Laguna and Catherine McClellan, July 22-August 25, 1960. The collection includes four pages of textual transcriptions. (16 hours; LWO 4150)

AFS 12,076-12,078: Ada Charlton / Haida Indian Songs and Stories
Three 7-inch tapes of Haida Indian songs and stories sung by Nana-Sly Morrison and spoken by Mrs. Lyda Charles. Gift of Mrs. Ada Charlton of Hydaburg, Alaska, 1964. (4 hours and 30 minutes; LWO 4209)

AFS 14,052-14,055: J.P. Harrington / Chilkat, Karuk, Nez Perce, Tlingit Recordings
Four 10-inch discs of Chilkat Tlingit, Karuk, and Nez Perce Indian language and legends. Recorded in New York, New York, by John P. Harrington, 1929, for the Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution. (Tape copy on LWO 5111 reel 436B)

AFS 14,052A: One disc containing examples of the Chilkat Tlingit language spoken by Louis S. Shotridge. (3 minutes)

AFS 14,055A: One disc containing the Tlingit legend of the "Origin of the Mosquito" narrated by Louis S. Shotridge. (4 minutes)

AFS 14,373: Frederica de Laguna and Catherine McClellan / Tlingit Recordings
One wire spool of Tlingit Indian Billy Jones narrating the story of the "Destruction of Angoon," singing and accompanying on drum the "Song of the Raven Hat" and "Song of the Beaver Hat" with Mr. and Mrs. Jimmie Johnson, and singing three Tsimshian songs with Mr. and Mrs. Jimmie Johnson, Mary Willis, and Mrs. Elsie Frank. Recorded in Angoon by Frederica de Laguna, June 21-22, 1950. The collection includes 8 pages of textual transcriptions. (45 minutes; tape copy on AFS 10,499 [LWO 1878])

AFS 14,618-14,625: Willard Rhodes / American Indian Recordings
Eight 10-inch tapes of music by North American Indian tribes including the Apache, Cherokee, Comanche, Creek, Hopi, Kiowa, Navajo, Pawnee, Shoshone, and Tlingit, as well as Ecuadorian Indian and Eskimo music. Recorded in Arizona, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming by Willard Rhodes, June 1951-July 1952, and in Oregon by Louise B. Johannaber, 1952, for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

AFS 14,619A7: One tape containing a Tlingit "Rowing Song," arranged by Michael O. Ossorgin and sung by the Boy's Chorus of the Mt. Edgecumbe School, Mt. Edgecumbe, Alaska. Copied by Willard Rhodes, 1951, from an earlier recording. This song has been published by the Library of Congress as "Tlingit Paddling Song" on recording number AFS L36, Indian Songs of Today. (2 minutes; LWO 6692 reel 2A)

AFS 14,624B4-6: One tape containing three renditions of an Eskimo "Motion Dance" sung by Tony Joule of St. Michael, Alaska. Recorded in Brigham City, Utah, by Willard Rhodes, July 1952. (5 minutes; LWO 6692 reel 7B)

AFS 15,403-15,423: Bureau of American Ethnology Transfers / American Indian Recordings
Twenty-one 10-inch tapes of linguistic material and songs of the Aleut Indians of Alaska, language and music of the Cherokee and Chumash Indians, songs of the Mission Indians of California, and other material. Recorded at various locations by John P. Harrington and others, 1930-41, mostly for the Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution.

AFS 15,414-15,419: Six tapes containing descriptions of animals and birds of the Aleutian Islands, explanations of Aleut pronunciations, and Aleut narratives and songs. (12 hours; LWO 7221 reels 12-17)

AFS 17,029; 21,251-21,254: John R. Swanton / Tlingit Indians [and] Federal Cylinder Project
Five 10-inch tapes of Tlingit Indian songs originally recorded on cylinders by John R. Swanton in Sitka, January 9-March 21, and in Wrangell, March 22-May 5, 1904, for the Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution. The collection includes 21 pages of notes. (4 hours; LWO 7211 reel 1 and RWA 3776-3779)

AFS 19,379-19,380: Carol Beery Davis / Tlingit Songs
One 7-inch tape and one cassette of Tlingit Indian songs. Recorded in Juneau by Carol Beery Davis, beginning "almost immediately [in] December, 1920...[and representing] the result of 52 years of effort." Submitted for copyright on July 3, 1978. (2 hours and 30 minutes; LWO 12,907)

AFS 19,922-19,957: American Folklore Genres Lectures
Thirty-six cassettes of lectures on American folklore genres delivered by various ethnomusicologists and folklorists. Recorded and produced by Everett/Edward, Inc., Deland, Florida, 1979.

AFS 19,941A: One cassette containing 2 lectures on Alaskan Eskimo and Indian folklore given by Thomas F. Johnston. (56 minutes; RSS cass. 13,408)

AFS 22,068-22,070: Maria LaVigna "Native American Heritage on Wax" AnthologySelected recordings from the Federal Cylinder Project. Includes music from the Apache, Blackfoot, Cahuilla, Cherokee, Comanche, Dakota, Fox, Gabrielino, Hopi, Karok, Keres, Kickapoo, Konomihu, Luiseno, Mescalero, Navajo, Nez Perce, Omaha, Oto, Passamaquoddy, Pawnee, [?], Sauk, Serrano, Shawnee, Sioux, Tachi Yokuts, Tewa, Tiwa, Tlingit, and Winnebago tribes. Includes oration and peyote, love, corn, gambling, mourning, flute, Ghost Dance, and Sun Dance songs. Recorded between 1890 and 1941 by various collectors.

AFS 23,719: Connie Goldman / "Horizons: The Grand Generation" Collection
One cassette entitled "Horizons: The Grand Generation" of performances and interviews with elderly artists at the Smithsonian Institution's Festival of American Folklife, July 1984, with commentary by Gene Bluestein. Recorded and produced for National Public Radio by Connie Goldman, 1984. (RYA 4724)

AFS 23,719A3: One cassette containing an interview with storyteller Estelle Oozevaseuk, a Yupik Eskimo from St. Lawrence Island. (15 minutes)

AFC 1973/028 : Laura Boulton Collection

AFS 16,845-16,957: Part 14: Miscellaneous speech samples and narratives: Miscellaneous speech samples and narratives. Many dubbed from commercial recordings. Areas represented are Africa (Sierre Leone, Uganda), North American Indian (Chilcat, Dakota [ Sioux], Karok, Nez Perce, Onandaga, Oneida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian).

AFS 17,115-17,124: Part 16: Eskimo Songs: Ten 10-inch discs of Eskimo dance songs, some with drum accompaniment, and songs of the Messenger Feast, recorded in Point Barrow by Laura Boulton, October 11-17, 1946. This is Part 16 of the Laura Boulton Collection and includes eighteen pages of explanations of songs, notes, and some textual transcriptions. (3 hours; tape copy on LWO 7551 reels 69B-70B)

AFC 1975/054: Paul Roseland Alaska Folk and Popular Songs Collection
One tape cartridge of songs sung with guitar accompaniment by Paul Roseland ("The Singing Sourdough") and recorded by the singer, 1974. (1 hour; LWO 8678; tape copy on RWD 5690) (Includes AFS 17,980)

AFC 1984/015: International Design Conference in Aspen Collection
Two audiocassettes of National Endowment for the Arts Fellows presentations at the 1984 International Design Conference in Aspen. Lectures include Molly Smith on the Perserverance Theatre of Alaska; Alan Jabbour on cultural flow and interchange in North America based upon American Folklife Center field projects; and Tom Hodne on architecture. Recorded in Aspen, Colorado, June 21, 1984.

AFC 1986/017: Agnes Bellinger Tlingit Collection
Two videocassettes of Tlingit Indian dance, music, and narratives, featuring the Eagle-Raven Dancers of Juneau, and a lecture given by Agnes Bellinger on Tlingit cultural customs. The collection also includes an accompanying booklet entitled Tracks Along the Beach: Tales of the Raven, which documents 7 stories about the Raven, the Tlingit creator-hero. Donated by Agnes Bellinger, September 11, 1986. (2 hours and 10 minutes) [catalog record] [finding aid]

AFC 1987/017: Musical Characteristics of Tanana Athabascan Dance Song Manuscript Collection, by Tony Scott Pearce
Master of Arts thesis, University of Alaska Fairbanks, May, 1985. 212 pages.

AFC 1987/033: Institute of Alaska Native Arts / Athabascan Old-Time Fiddling Festival Collection
Two cassettes entitled "Athabascan Old-Time Fiddling Festival" and "The Metal That Sings," recorded at the annual festival by the Institute of Alaska Native Arts in Fairbanks, November 10-11, 1983, and November 9-10, 1984. (1 hour and 5 minutes)

AFC 1994/004: Alaska Native Musicale Collection / Native American gospel music
Nineteen audiocassettes of Native American gospel music from the 1983 through 1993 Native Musicales, plus one undated cassette labeled "Simeon Anarkin, "He's there all the time." Languages or tribal affiliations mentioned are: Tanaina, Yupik, Inupiaq, Eskimo. Many groups represented on each Musicale cassette.

AFC 1997/021: Paul Roseland Alaska Music Collection
Two audiocassettes, four CDs, and forty-one pages of manuscripts documenting Klondike gold rush, cowboy, and logging songs from Dawson, Alaska, and the state of Alaska. The collector, Paul Roseland, performs all songs. Recordings include: "Alaska Folk Songs: 1864-1977," "Gold Rush Collections: 1849-1941," "Traditional Cowboy Songs: 1880s-1950s," and "Traditional Logging Songs: 1853-1930." The two audiocassettes are unpublished versions of two CDs. The manuscripts consist of lists, melodic and textual transcription, notes, and photographs.

AFC 2000/007: Edward Sapir / Kutchin Cylinder Recordings
Two 10-inch tapes (copied from 18 wax cylinders) of Kutchin spoken-word by John Fredson, a Kutchin Indian from Ft. Yukon, Alaska. Recorded at Camp Red Cloud, Pennsylvania, by Edward Sapir, summer 1923. Textual transcriptions and translations by Edward Sapir; melodic transcriptions (of speech tones?) by George Herzog.

AFC 2003/049: Chuna McIntyre and the Nunampta Yupik Eskimo Dancers Concert Collection
Homegrown 2003 concert, Yup'ik Eskimo folklife from Alaska
Collection includes sound recording, video recording, and photographs of the concert at the Library of Congress; program flyer and publicity materials. Corey Flintoff, a newscaster for National Public Radio (NPR) introduced Chuna McIntyre, who learned the dances, songs, and stories of his Eskimo ancestors in Yup'ik from his grandmother. [catalog record]

AFC 2004/008: Herbert Halpert Collection
Two hundred forty-seven 12-inch discs, six 10-inch discs, fifty-nin 16-inch discs, plus correspondence, indexes, manuscripts, research notes, photographs and photographic negatives, newspaper clippings, student papers, ephemera and other materials primarily representing the documentation and analysis of the folklore of regions of New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Alaska by folklorist Herbert Halpert.