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Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit Visit our website This black-and-white picture from 1963 is part of the American documentary television program “The Big Picture”, which aired from 1951 to 1964. This episode features the activities and training of local scouts in the Alaska National Guard near the Arctic Circle, with the goal of preventing foreign invasion and the spread of communism. The Big Picture series contains over 800 episodes produced by the United States Army Signal Corps Army Pictorial Service. (Note: Alaskan Natives are referred to as Eskimos in this film. However, it is now considered unacceptable by most natives, mainly because it is a colonial name imposed by non-Indigenous people.) Two soldiers from the Korean War era (00:07). Soldiers in Germany driving an M41 Walker Bulldog tank (00:13). Cross-country skiing in Alaska (00:16). Soldier arriving on shore in Puerto Rico (00:20). An illustrated globe (00:23). “The Big Picture” title banner (00:36). US Army Sergeant Stuart Queen talks about the US Military mission on the most northern frontier in Alaska popularly called Seward’s Folly (00:46). Birds-eye-view of the landscapes of the Island of Nunivak in Alaska (01:44). Views of the Army’s camps at Nunivak Island (01:49). Schoolchildren on Nunivak Island (02:06). The sign of a native store (02:30). A native Alaskan family (02:33). Seals (02:36). Reindeer (02:55). Reindeer skin and antlers (03:05). A traditional arctic kayak (03:09). A traditional arctic dog sled and the Alaskan huskies used to pull the sled (03:16). Walruses caught by local hunters (03:39). One hunter sits on a walrus and sharpens his knife (03:49). Scenes from local life on the Nunivak Island, including kayaking, chopping wood, making clothes, knitting, and ivory carving (04:03). Masks used to repel evil spirits in Alaskan folklore (05:39). Volunteer scouts meet at the Alaska National Guard (06:00). The volunteers attend classes with US Army instructions (06:13). A standard army drill (06:52). Volunteers prepare their dog sleds (07:28), and dress in all white wind-suits to camouflage themselves in snow as part of another training drill (07:43). They advance over the drifts and shoot their rifles for combat training (08:29). Locals fish through holes in the frozen sea-surface (09:07). Ice blocks are piled to be melted for the water supply (09:34). A ski-plane followed by volunteers riding dog sleds (09:41). The cargo is unloaded from the ski-plane after landing (09:50). A sign for the ‘Kotzebue Alaska Airport’ (10:08). A landed aircraft, likely a C-130 Hercules (10:12). The volunteer scouts board the plane (10:19). Views of Camp Denali at Fort Richardson Alaska (10:34). The volunteers are seated together for their briefing (10:48). A sign for the camp’s Rifle Range (10:56). The volunteers practice rifle-shooting (11:00). An outdoor class where the volunteers are dressed in their white wind-suits (11:08). Teams practice scout-strategies through training drills (11:25). The volunteers stand in line waiting to be served food (11:53). The scouts are marching (12:05). Brigadier general of the Alaskan Command praising the scouts for completing their Denali Camp training (12:29). A summer training session at a US military camp on Saint Paul Island (12:41). The scouts are marching (13:20) and digging trenches, foxholes, and gun emplacements (13:32). They eat lunch (13:44), practice map-reading (13:50), embark on a practice trek (14:16), and perform drills (14:35). The scouts return to the camp (15:03). The Flag of the United States (15:27). Possibly a type C4-class cargo ship (15:31). “The End” written on screen (15:34). We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
