1950s ALASKA HOME MOVIE BELUGA WHALE HUNT, SLED DOGS, AND IGLOO CONSTRUCTION XD97625

Genre: home movie

Year Published: 1950s

Description:

Shot by an unknown filmmaker, this short film from the 1950s contains footage of a visit to an Inuit or Eskimo village. The well-shot film portrays the indigenous people of Alaska performing traditional activities, such as whale hunting and eating whale meat, the use of sled dogs, and the entire igloo construction process.

A group of children pull a dead beluga (white) whale by rope across a grass field (00:08). The whale is cup open (00:31). A man is cutting block outs from thick snow (00:35). He starts building an igloo (01:01). He uses a snow saw to carve the snow blocks to fit each other while building the igloo (01:46). He closes up the top hole to finish the igloo (03:13). He breaks away a block to create an opening in the igloo (04:52). He patches holes between the blocks with snow (04:59). Inside the igloo he stomps down the snow to create an even floor (05:47). He smoothes out the walls from the inside (05:51). He uses his snow saw to cut more snow blocks from the thick snow layer on the ground (05:57). A group of young men are walking together (06:40). A man uses an ax to cut into snow (07:00). Two men use carrying poles over their shoulder to carry buckets (07:04). Some people and many sled dogs are walking across snow with foggy weather (07:11). Natives use an ax to prepare frozen whale skin for eating (07:51). They cut pieces with knives and eat (07:59). Sled dogs pull packed sleds across snow (08:23). A boat is pulled on a sled by sled dogs (08:34). Broken ice lies on the surface of a body of water (08:47). Sled dogs assist a group of natives to pull a sled across grass (09:16). Children and adults exit from a building and shake the hand of a preacher/priest outside the building (09:29). Other women and men are greeted by priests as they exit from a building (09:54). Young women with headscarves, possibly nuns walk in a group outside (10:24). A group of men are standing and talking outside (10:35).