Alaska State Archives

Alaska State Archives Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Alaska State Archives, Public & Government Service, 395 Whittier Street, Juneau, AK.

Alaska State Archives Awarded $220,146 National Endowment for the Humanities Grant to Expand Access to Statehood Records...
07/22/2026

Alaska State Archives Awarded $220,146 National Endowment for the Humanities Grant to Expand Access to Statehood Records

Juneau, Alaska — The Alaska State Archives of the Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums has been awarded $220,146 from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through the Rediscovering Our Revolutionary Tradition grant program to support a two-year archival project, Foundations of Statehood: Alaska’s Constitutional Development and the Process of Self-Determination and Full Representation. The Rediscovering Our Revolutionary Tradition grant program supports activities to preserve and improve access to primary source materials in honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the nation’s principles of equality, liberty, and government by consent. The Alaska State Archives was one of 33 grant recipients out of 103 applicants to receive the NEH grant award.

The Alaska State Archives project will include archival processing, enhanced catalog description, digitization of audiovisual materials, and transcription. The project will result in improving access for researchers, educators, students, and the public to explore the historical records of one of the defining periods in Alaska’s history, supporting new scholarship, classroom learning, and a deeper public understanding of Alaska’s path to self-government.

In addition, the project will produce a comprehensive online guide to statehood-related records held throughout the Alaska State Archives, bringing together resources from multiple record groups into a single point of discovery. Four standards-aligned lesson plans for grades 9–12 will also be developed using newly accessible primary sources.

For more information on the Rediscovering Our Revolutionary Tradition program, visit the NEH website: https://www.neh.gov/program/rediscovering-our-revolutionary-tradition.

Media contact: Amy Phillips-Chan, Director, Libraries, Archives and Museums, [email protected]

Calling all supporters of National History Day! The current Volunteer Alaska History Day Coordinator is moving out of st...
04/24/2026

Calling all supporters of National History Day!

The current Volunteer Alaska History Day Coordinator is moving out of state and Alaska History Day needs a new home! The Alaska Historical Society has organized a survey to plan for the future of Alaska History Day which can be accessed here:
alaskahistoricalsociety.org/alaska-history-day

If you or your organization would like to provide input please take a minute to fill out the survey.

has this to say:
“Alaska History Day is in jeopardy of disappearing unless an organizational home and annual funding can be found. The Alaska Historical Society has prepared this survey to gauge the amount and location of support for Alaska History Day. If there is widespread support, we will likely convene a meeting so we can formulate a plan to ensure its continuation.”

The estimated annual cost of running the program, as estimated by the current coordinator, is $16,000.

Happy Birthday 🎉🎉 (Feb. 27, 1925) Glacier Bay National Monument (now Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve) was estab...
02/27/2025

Happy Birthday 🎉🎉

(Feb. 27, 1925) Glacier Bay National Monument (now Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve) was established by presidential proclamation. Recommended for conservation by the Ecological Society of America and endorsed by the National Geographic Society, Glacier Bay presented a “unique opportunity for scientific study of glacier behavior, of resulting movements and development of flora and fauna, and certain valuable relics of ancient interglacial forests”.

Fun fact: Glacier Bay is just a short flight from Juneau! If you’re planning on coming here to do research in person think about adding on a couple of days to your trip to check out this amazing area!

[Image of documents in box VS 246, Series 726, Territorial Governors subject and correspondence files.]

HBD 🎉🎉On February 26, 1917 Congress established Denali (then Mt. McKinley) National Park “for the benefit and enjoyment...
02/26/2025

HBD 🎉🎉

On February 26, 1917 Congress established Denali (then Mt. McKinley) National Park “for the benefit and enjoyment of the people”.

Have you had an opportunity to visit the park? Share your stories in the comments!

[Image of documents from the Governors subject and correspondence files, Series 130, Box VS 151]

“The General had declared that rank and file soldiers, who did so much to construct the road, were to be given genuine r...
02/21/2025

“The General had declared that rank and file soldiers, who did so much to construct the road, were to be given genuine representation at the ceremony. The ribbon was held by four enlisted men: Corporal Refines Sims Jr. of Philadelphia and Private Alfred Jalufka of Kennedy, Texas, representing the Whitehorse sector, and Master Sergeant Andrew E. Doyle of Philadelphia and Corporal John T. Reilly of Detroit, representing the Fort St. John sector. Sims and Reilly are Negroes, symbols of the colored troops whose toil has played a material part in the 1,630-mile undertaking.”

In 1942 the Alcan Highway was built, connecting Alaska to the Lower 48 through Canada, as a response to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States entering into World War II. Integral to the completion of this enormous project were the African American troops of the U.S. Corps of Engineers. When the ribbon was cut at the official opening ceremony at Soldiers’ Summit, Lt. Richard Neuberger was there to witness the historic event and described them to his friend Hon. Anthony Dimond in this letter found in the Territorial Governor’s subject and correspondence files, Series 727, Box VS 458.

“It was an episode which will not soon be forgotten by those who participated in it. My own most vivid memory of it is the playing of our national anthem by the band at Soldiers’ Summit. As the music faded away and I looked around me at the stern faces of the American soldiers and at the grim countenances of the Mounties, I felt sure that in such a scene as this lay the future of the United Nations – that in the ability of us all, Canadians, Americans and Alaskans, white and black, civilian and soldier, to fuse together our efforts in such a project as the Alcan Highway rests the hope of the free peoples throughout the earth.”

February is Black History Month and we’re excited to share some of our records from territorial and state government tha...
02/07/2025

February is Black History Month and we’re excited to share some of our records from territorial and state government that reflect the contributions of African Americans to our state!

Willard Bowman was the first Director of the Alaska Human Rights Commission, where he served from 1963-1970 when he was elected into the State House of Representatives. From Alaska Statute 18.80.200 “it is determined and declared as a matter or legislative finding that discrimination against an inhabitant of the state because of race, religion, color, national origin, age, s*x, physical or mental disability, marital status, changes in marital status, pregnancy, or parenthood is a matter of public concern and that this discrimination not only threatens the rights and privileges of the inhabitants of the state but also menaces the institutions of the state and threatens peace, order, health, safety, and general welfare of the state and its inhabitants”.

The Commission launched investigations into cases of discriminatory practices from cases of denied bank loans for a couple because the bank refused to take into consideration a wife’s salary to the allegations of servitude against the U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries for their management of the community on St. Paul Island in the Pribilof Islands.

The Alaska State Archives holds select records of the Commission (Record Group 304) including speeches from Bowman during his time as Director. These speeches are available online on Alaska’s Digital Archives at vilda.alaska.edu.

I spy with my little eye… a fly??For those of you who watch for pests in your collections, how often do you find those t...
01/29/2025

I spy with my little eye… a fly??

For those of you who watch for pests in your collections, how often do you find those that could have entered your collections decades ago? This bug hitched a ride in some Burial or Removal Transit Permits from Nome and was just discovered by one of our archivists currently processing these records from Series 1297, U.S. Commissioner vital statistic records (Nome). This series of permits date from 1920-2006, but we suspect this jitterbug swung its way into the records in the 1940s based on the dates within this particular booklet!

It’s National Plan for Vacation Day and we want to encourage you to visit us here in Juneau!We dug into the Division of ...
01/29/2025

It’s National Plan for Vacation Day and we want to encourage you to visit us here in Juneau!

We dug into the Division of Tourism slides from Series 1231 to find some examples of things to do when you’re not visiting us in the Research Center. Happy planning!

Happy National Fish Taco Day to those who celebrate! If you’re feeling in the holiday spirit here are some lovely photos...
01/26/2025

Happy National Fish Taco Day to those who celebrate! If you’re feeling in the holiday spirit here are some lovely photos of fish tacos for inspiration, from the Alaska Seafood Marine Institute.

Talk about a wall of text! For National Handwriting Day we are showcasing some of the handwriting found in our recorders...
01/24/2025

Talk about a wall of text! For National Handwriting Day we are showcasing some of the handwriting found in our recorders volumes from around the early 20th century. The penmanship of the recorders could vary quite a bit, from flourishing and elegant to borderline chicken-scratch. Which one of these samples is your favorite?

Address

395 Whittier Street
Juneau, AK
99801

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Alaska State Archives posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category