N-1992-012 DOUGLAS E. WILKINSON FONDS An Inventory Prepared by Janice Brum and Janet Pennington NWT Archives Culture and Heritage Department of Education, Culture and Careers Government of the Northwest Territories Yellowknife, Northwest Territories December, 1993 1 N92-012 GUIDE TO CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 3 SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE 4 SERIES DESCRIPTIONS AND ITEM LIST SERIES I - MOVING IMAGES. - 1953-1973; copied 1991 6 Sub-Series I – National Film Board of Canada. - 1953, copied 1991 7 Sub-Series II - National Film Board Newsreel Division. - 1953-1961; copied 1991 7 Sub-Series III - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. - 1960-1966; copied 1991 9 Sub-Series IV - Douglas E. Wilkinson. - 1960-1972; copied 1991 11 Sub-Series V - Miscellaneous Film Footage. 1955-1973; copied 1991 16 SERIES II - SOUND RECORDINGS. - 1952-1975 18 Sub-Series I - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 1963-1970 18 Sub-Series II - Sound Effects, People and Music. 1952, 1961-1963, 1975 19 SERIES III - TEXTUAL RECORDS. - 1953-1968 22 Sub-Series I - Douglas E. Wilkinson Journals. 1953-1968 22 Sub-Series II - National Film Board of Canada. c.1961-1962 24 SERIES IV - FILMSTRIPS. - 1950'S-C.1970'S 26 APPENDIX A....................................................29 2 N92-012 INTRODUCTION AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Douglas Earl Wilkinson was born on October 26, 1919 in Toronto. After graduating from school in 1937 he worked for the T. Eaton Company, Ltd, before joining the Canadian Army in 1941. He served with the army until 1944. In October, 1941 he married Vivian Jean Latremouille. In 1945 he joined the National Film Board of Canada, working as a production assistant, film editor, photographer and a writer\director. He worked for the National Film Board until 1952 when he began a career as a freelance writer and photographer. In 1953 he received a research grant from the Arctic Institute of North America and spent one year living with the family of Idlouk (Joseph Idlout) in the Pond Inlet region, on the northern coast of Baffin Island. From 1955 until 1958 Doug Wilkinson worked as a Northern Service Officer for the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources. He was based in Ottawa, Frobisher Bay (Iqaluit) and Baker Lake. Between 1959 and 1969 he served as the Vice-President of Robert Anderson Associates, Ltd., a film production agency in Ottawa. From 1959 until his retirement in 1987 he worked as a freelance writer, film-maker, and photographer. During this period he wrote a number of books which were based upon his experiences in the north including "The Land of the Long Day", "Sons of the Arctic", "The Arctic Coast", and "Arctic Fever". In 1969 he spent one year working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as an executive producer; and in 1974 he spent one year working as a community development officer for Canadian Arctic Gas, Ltd. in Yellowknife. In 1987 Doug Wilkinson retired to Kingston, Ontario. These records were purchased from Mr. Wilkinson in 1990. 3 N92-012 SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE This accession consists of records created by Doug Wilkinson during his employment with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and during his work as a freelance writer, film-maker and photographer. Included in the accession are 43 16mm. films, 41 umatic video copies of the original 16mm. films, 37 audio tape reels, 1 audio tape cassette, 11 filmstrips, and 50cm. of textual records. As there was no discernable original order within this collection, four series of records groups were created: moving images; sound recordings; textual records; and filmstrips. The first series, moving images was divided into five sub-series: National Film Board of Canada records, National Film Board Newsreel Division records, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation records, Douglas E. Wilkinson records and Miscellaneous FIlm Footage. Two sub-series were created from the second series, sound recordings: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation records and Sound Effects, People and Music. The third series, textual records was also divided into two sub-series: Douglas E. Wilkinson Journals and National Film Board of Canada records. The fourth series contains 11 filmstrips. The original sorting and numbering was completed by Janice Brum. Final arrangement and description was completed by Janet Pennington. An item listing of the films is available in Appendix A. One of the films (item :0034) consists of 13 very short pieces of film that Wilkinson either took or acquired from other photographers. The 43 films include: "Land of the Long Day", "Angotee: The Story of an Eskimo Boy"; "White Man in the Arctic"; "Resolute: Eskimo Village", "Exploring the Arctic Ice"; "Inuvik: The New Type of Arctic Town"; "Return to the Arctic"; and "Christmas in the Big Igloo". There are also reels of film footage which were used in the production of an NFB series on the Netsilik Inuit. In addition, there is film footage that was used in a CBC series, "The True North". The accession also contains 17 journals which were kept by Wilkinson between 1953 and 1968. The journals provide a detailed account of Wilkinson's activities while he lived with Idlouk's family in 1953 and 1954. They also provide an account of his activities when he was employed as a Northern Service Officer for the Department of Northern Affairs and Natural Resources. The diaries document the traditional lifestyle of Inuit living on Baffin Island in the 1950's. They also cover the period of the famine in the Keewatin in the 1950's. The sound recordings cover a variety of subjects including a series of interviews with Vilhalmjur Stefansson, a Citizens Forum on the Eskimo Dilemma (1964), and a Citizens Forum on the Indian Dilemma (1964). A number of the sound recordings contain sound effects such as the breaking of ice which was recorded onboard the "Louis St. Laurent" a Canadian ice-breaker; the refueling of a Hercules aircraft at Alert; a printing press in operation at Inuvik; and a radio room at the Eureka Weather Station on Ellesmere Island. 4 N92-012 One of the primary subjects depicted in these records is the traditional lifestyle of the Inuit (especially the Netsilik). Depicted are Inuit travel in the north, the construction of snow houses (igloos), Inuit hunting and fishing techniques, DEW Line sites, aviation, shipping, commercial fishing, the famine in the Keewatin, and government activities. Some of the films depict various research projects being undertaken in the north including: the Defense Research Board of Canada's camp at Lake Hazen, Ellesmere Island; a research project on the potential for environmental damage if a pipeline were to be constructed in the Mackenzie Valley; and a wildlife survey conducted on Bathurst Island. Locations depicted include: Aklavik, Alert, Axel Heiburg Island, Bathurst Island, Clyde River, Chesterfield Inlet, Coral Harbour, Eureka, Fort Simpson, Frobisher Bay (Iqaluit), Inuvik, Lake Hazen, Pelly Bay, Pond Inlet, Resolute, Yellowknife and Thule (Greenland). Extent: 43 16mm. film reels 41 umatic video tapes 11 filmstrips 37 audio tape reels 1 audio tape cassette 50cm. of textual records Restrictions: Copyright on some of these materials resides with the National Film Board of Canada, and\or the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Restrictions are listed in each item description. 5 N92-012 SERIES I - MOVING IMAGES Series I - Moving Images. - 1953-1973, copied 1991 43 reels : 16 mm film 41 master copy video tapes : umatic This series consists of films that Doug Wilkinson was involved in creating, either as a director, writer or cameraman, or that he collected for his own personal interest. Some of these films were produced while Wilkinson was under contract to either the National Film Board of Canada or the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, or while he was an advisor to Canadian Arctic Gas Studies, Ltd. As there was no discernable original order within this collection, five sub-series have been created: i) National Film Board of Canada; ii) National Film Board of Canada Newsreel Division; iii) Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; iv) Douglas E. Wilkinson; v) Miscellaneous Film Footage. Subjects include the traditional lifestyle of the Netsilik Inuit, Christmas celebrations in the Arctic, a wildlife survey on Bathurst Island, and European explorers in the Canadian Arctic. Locations depicted include Pond Inlet, Chesterfield Inlet, Inuvik, Resolute, Frobisher Bay (Iqaluit), Pelly Bay, Axel Heiberg Island, Bathurst Island, and the True North Pole. Sub-Series I - National Film Board of Canada. - 1953, copied 1991 2 reels : 16 mm 2 master copy videos : umatic This sub-series consists of two films written and directed by Doug Wilkinson, and produced by the NFB. The films depict the traditional lifestyle of Inuit living at Chesterfield Inlet and the Pond Inlet region. Land of the Long Day / National Film Board of Canada; director and writer, Doug Wilkinson. - 1953, copied 1991 1 reel : 16mm; col.; sd.; 1,366 ft.; 38 min. 1 video copy : umatic The film depicts one year in the lives of a group of Inuit hunters living in the Pond Inlet region of north Baffin Island. The film won various national and international awards including the Golden Reel Award for 1954. This item is a print made directly from the original, purchased by Wilkinson in 1953. Copyright believed to be held by the NFB. Item number :0001. Angotee: The Story of an Eskimo Boy / National Film Board of Canada; director and writer, Doug Wilkinson. - 1953, copied 1991 1 reel : 16mm; col.; sd.; 1,140 ft.; 31 min. 1 video copy : umatic 6 N92-012 SERIES I - MOVING IMAGES This film depicts the story an Inuk boy's life. It begins with his birth in a snowhouse and continues through to his marriage and the birth of his children. It is a companion film to Land of the Long Day and was shot in the Chesterfield Inlet area.