Guide to the Frederick A. Milan papers
circa 1870-1995, bulk 1942-1995
Collection number: HMC-0687.
Creator: Milan, Frederick A.
Title: Frederick A. Milan papers.
Dates: circa 1870-1995, bulk 1942-1995.
Volume of collection: 8.0 cubic feet and 4.44 GB.
Language of materials: Collection materials are in English, Sami, Swedish, and Inupiat.
Collection summary: Papers of an anthropologist, linguist, and human physiologist who worked in Alaska and other Arctic regions.
Biographical note:
Frederick A. Milan was born in 1924 and grew up in Waltham, Massachusetts. In 1948, he enrolled at the University of Alaska, where he received a B.A. in anthropology and linguistics in 1952. In 1959, he received an M.S. in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin Madison. In 1962, Milan received a Ph.D. in physical anthropology with a linguistics minor, also from the University of Wisconsin Madison. During his studies at the University of Alaska, Milan worked as an assistant on the Harvard Peabody Museum’s anthropological expedition to the Aleutian Islands in 1949 and as an archaeological assistant at Deering and Kodiak during the summers of 1950 and 1952. In 1953, Milan began studying the effects of cold exposure, first at the U.S. Air Force Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory (where he also participated in the Mount Wrangell Research Project in 1954) and at the International Geophysical Year Little America Base in Antarctica in 1956-1957. In 1957 and 1959, he also participated in physiological studies of temperature regulation in native peoples of Australia and Chile. Beginning in the 1960s, Milan became involved in the physiological study of northern peoples and was appointed chairman of the Eskimo Study Program. The results of this study were published in 1980 as The Human Biology of Circumpolar Populations, edited by Milan. He was also instrumental in establishing, with C. Earl Albrecht and others, the International Symposium on Circumpolar Health in 1967 and served as president and board member of the American Society for Circumpolar Health. In later years, Milan was Professor of Human Ecology and Anthropology at University of Alaska Fairbanks. Frederick Milan died in 1995.
Collection description:
This collection contains papers relating to Frederick A. Milan’s work as an archaeologist, anthropologist, linguist, and human physiologist, mostly in Alaska and other Arctic regions. These papers include study data and photographs, maps, notes, field notebooks, grants and proposals, Alaska Native genealogies, word lists, audiotapes, and moving image film.
Arrangement: The materials in this collection are arranged in the order in which they arrived at the Archives.
Digitized copies: Selected video, audio, and films have been digitized, some of which are available on Alaska’s Digital Archives. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Digitization was made possible by a Recordings at Risk grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The grant program is made possible by funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Access restrictions: Materials in the collection may be subject to privacy restrictions. Folders with known restricted materials are indicated in the container list below. Other folders that are not marked restricted may still contain sensitive materials. Requests to use the material must be made in advance of a research visit. Because the collection contains potentially culturally and personally sensitive information, prior to access all researchers must sign an archives-provided forming agreeing to abide by the American Anthropological Association’s Code of Ethics in using this collection.
Use restrictions: Photographs containing images of patients or human subjects taken for scientific studies may not be duplicated.
Rights note: Archives has copyright to materials created by Frederick Milan. The collection contains materials not created by Milan, which may be subject to copyright restrictions.
Preferred citation: Frederick A. Milan papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Separated materials: 1 cubic foot of publications were removed in February 2011 to the Rare Books collection.
Related materials: Refer to the research guides to “Anthropology collections” and “Health and medicine-related collections” for related archival collections in Archives and Special Collections.
Acquisition note: This collection was donated to the Archives in 2004 by Leda Milan, Frederick Milan’s wife.
Processing information: Some materials were re-foldered and boxed by Jeffrey Sinnott prior to 2006. Megan K. Friedel wrote an initial description of the collection in 2011, with further description added by Veronica Denison in 2018. Whenever possible original folder titles were retained. Becky Butler provided additional description when audiovisual materials were digitized in 2019.
Container list:
Box/Folder | Description | Dates |
1/1-2 | Arctic anthropology: Notes, schoolwork, and papers, including archaeology at Karluk, Alaska Native word lists, and ground temperature studies | undated, 1951-1964 |
1/3 | Class notes and course work: Advanced Physical Anthropology and Introduction to Human Biology | circa 1959-1970 |
1/4-5 | Advanced Physical Anthropology: Notes and coursework | 1953 |
1/6 | People of South East Asia 438 class notebook | 1952 |
1/7 | Anaktuvuk Pass genealogical record | circa 1975 |
1/8 | Relationships of Pt. Hope | 1970 |
1/9 | Sami words from Kurravaara | undated |
1/10 | Words collected at Karluk | 1954 September |
1/11 | House temperature measurements, Wainwright | 1955 |
1/12 | Gambell and Saint Lawrence field notebook, includes Inupiat word lists | 1956 |
1/13 | “Health, performance and genetics in the Arctic” reports and papers | 1969 |
1/14 | Chile field book | 1954 |
1/15 | 11th International Symposium on Circumpolar Health notes | 1978 |
1/16 | Little America Station, Antarctica field book | circa 1958 |
1/17 | Field book: Wainwright, Alaska and Sweden, includes Sami, Norse, and Finnish word comparisons | undated |
1/18 | “The effect of a year in the Antarctic on human thermal and metabolic responses to an acute standardized cold stress” by Frederick A. Milan, Robert W. Elsner, and Kaare Rodahl, Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory, Fort Wainwright, Alaska | 1961 |
1/19 | Medical Science 511: Regional Anatomy: Notes | 1977-1978 |
1/20 | Medical Science 511: Regional Anatomy: Exams, articles | 1977-1978 |
1/21 | Danish Class notebook | 1954-1955 |
1/22 | “Proposal for research contract between the United States Air Force and the University of Oregon Medical School, Departments of Radiology and Medicine” | circa 1958 |
1/23 | Lulea 1977: Reindeer herder study in Sweden | 1965, 1976-1978 |
1/24 | RESTRICTED: Chemawa Indian School Study | 1963 |
1/25 | Koniag-Karluk: Kanyag word lists and translations | 1952 |
1/26 | “The Alaska gateway viewed from the Aleutian Islands” by William S. Laughlin | undated |
1/27 | Linguistics 411 class notebook | 1953 |
1/28 | Class notebook [probably for a linguistics class] | undated |
1/29 | Class notebook: History and structure of Scandinavian languages | 1961-1962 |
1/30 | Arctic Archaeology class notebook | 1949 |
1/31 | Peoples of Oceania class notebook and papers | 1959 |
1/32 | Alaska Native radiology (x-ray) study data | circa 1955-1968 |
1/33 | RESTRICTED: Alaska Native anthropometry and medical information study data (includes Harvard University anthropometry study data) | circa 1951-1958 |
1/34 | Burmese Kammavaca: Correspondence and information | 1942-1980 |
1/35-36 | Barrow genealogy | circa 1964 |
1/37 | Fred Milan’s genealogy | 1985 |
1/38 | RESTRICTED: Wain. [Wainwright] economics in dollars | circa 1952-1955 |
1/39 | Lapes: Research and Milan’s articles relating to reindeer herders in Scandinavia; “The human ecology of caribou hunters and reindeer herders in Alaska and Scandinavia” by Milan | circa 1955-1979 |
1/40 | Sami language, studies of Sami | 1947-1974 |
1/41 | Milan family correspondence and genealogy | circa 1973-1986 |
1/42 | 1969 Alaska Native study subject list | 1969 |
2/1 | RESTRICTED: Wainwright village list | 1968 |
2/2 | RESTRICTED: Rennie’s Analysis of 55-58: EKGs done under Wainwright study by Donald Rennie, M.D. of SUNY Buffalo, also includes Wainwright study information | circa 1952-1969 |
2/3 | Alaska Native cardiovascular study data | circa 1952-1960 |
2/4 | RESTRICTED: Wainwright and Point Hope study data, grant proposal for radiographic examinations in Point Hope, Wainwright, Gambell, and Point Lay; Anaktuvuk Pass W.N. Irving’s study data and report; Health comparison data of Alaska Natives | 1950-1968 |
2/5 | Greenland languages notebook | undated |
2/6 | Photographic copies of sketches created by V. Perfilieff, sent to Milan by Laurence Irving | 1973 |
2/7 | Notebook from trip to Scandinavia | 1977 |
2/8 | RESTRICTED: Anaktuvuk Pass bone/x-ray study | 1958 |
2/9 | RESTRICTED: Old Harbor, Kodiak Island skin folds study data | 1958-1960 |
2/10 | Draft grant proposals | 1981-1982 |
2/11 | St. Lawrence Island survival environment study | 1963 |
2/12 | Inupiaq: Inupiat language file, includes lecture and audio tape notes; Hymns in Inupiat | undated, 1972 |
2/13 | Sixth International Symposium on Circumpolar Health: Letters from potential participants, planning information, presentation abstracts | 1983-1984 |
2/14 | “Archaeological investigations at Karluk on Kodiak Island. March 10, 1953” by Frederick Milan; “Ethnographic sketches of the people of Russian America” by Heinr. Joh. Holmberg and translated by Milan; Karluk research and reading notes | undated, 1953 |
2/15 | Wainwright material culture | circa 1955 |
2/16,
Oversize folder |
Inari Lapps: “Demographic studies on the Inari Lapps in Finland with special reference to their geneaology” by Camilla von Bonsdorff, Johan Fellman, and Thord Lewin; “Marriage pattern of the Skolt Lapps in Northern Finald” by Thord Lewin; “Natality of the Skolt Lapps” by Thord Lewin, Hans W. Jurgens, W. Lehmann, and Jerzy Skrobak-Kaczynski; Annotated map [Note: the map was moved to the oversize folder] | circa 1974 |
2/17 | Lapp photos: Photographs of Sami, buildings, houses, and scenery | undated, 1956 |
2/18,
Oversize folder |
Lapp notes: Notes and articles on the Sami, reading lists, research, annotated map [Note: the map was moved to the oversize folder] | 1954-1977 |
2/19 | Anchorage annexation and migration data for 1960-1970; Inter-racial household list | 1946-1974 |
2/20 | 1954 Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory Yukon River Expedition reports; “Observations of hypothermia and cold injury experiments carried out on humans in Dachau Concentration Camp” by D.R. Webster and W.J. Pirozynski with annotations; Arctic Aeromedical Nutritional Survey at Anaktuvuk Pass; “Oxygen consumption and body temperature of Eskimos during sleep” by Frederick Milan and Eugene Evonuk; “Some aspects of traditional medical cures among the Alaska Athabascans of the Yukon River Region” by Ginger A. Carroll | 1954-1971 |
2/21 | RESTRICTED: Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory physical examinations and clinical summary of Alaska Natives | 1955-1956 |
2/22 | Somatotypes-Health: Sami research and notes, Uralic languages notes | undated |
2/23 | Greenland: Culture and health | 1950-1983 |
2/24 | Lapp fieldwork: Talma population data, field diary | undated, 1956 |
2/25 | Lappish customary law articles and notes | undated |
2/26 | Nutrition of Alaska Natives in the Arctic: Research, notes, articles | undated |
2/27 | Alaska Native language notes | undated |
2/28 | Wainwright hand drawn village maps, language lists | 1955 |
2/29 | Old Harbor linguistic notes | undated |
2/30 | Gambell filed notes, Inupiat word lists | undated, 1956 |
2/31-32 | Human Evolution course book and notes | 1962 |
2/33 | Lapp articles: Research and articles on the Sami | undated, 1977 |
2/34 | RESTRICTED: Wainwright x-ray study, data code sheets for Dotter [Dr. Charles Dotter] Eskimo Study | 1956-1958 |
2/35 | Notes on reindeer and genetics | undated |
2/36 | RESTRICTED: 1966 Barrow census | 1966, 1971 |
2/37 | RESTRICTED: Cold exposure study data | 1957 |
2/38 | Pt. Hope genealogical record of Eskimo families Edna MacLean | undated |
2/39 | Wainwright genealogical records of Eskimo families Edna MacLean | undated |
2/40 | Health notes; Chart: Survival times in cold water with various combinations of clothing and equipment; Notes on Adélie Penguins | undated |
2/41 | Correspondence with Alan Swedlund regarding life table for 328 Nubians calculations | 1977 |
2/42 | Pete Scholander seminar notes | 1978 |
2/43 | RESTRICTED: “Pedigree analysis of sucrose intolerance among Native Alaskans” by Robert Meier, Harold Draper, and Fred Milan. Includes photographs of cleft lip patients | 1968, circa 1989 |
2/44 | “Phylctenular eye disease in Alaska” | undated |
2/45,
Oversize folder |
Trip to Sweden notes regarding reindeer herding, annotated map [Note: the map was moved to the oversize folder] | 1977 |
2/46 | Photographs and news clippings regarding Milan [Removed from album] | circa 1947-1995 |
2/47 | Wainwright photographs | 1968 |
2/48 | Draft: “Report on visits to three Alaska Pioneer’s homes: Sitka, Anchorage, and Palmer (9-12 June 1981)” by Frederick Milan | 1981 |
2/49 | Correspondence and articles regarding Milan’s life | 1993, 1995 |
2/50 | Photocopies of Milan’s degrees, awards, certificates; CV; Albrecht-Milan Foundation information | undated, 1983-1995 |
2/51 | “Evaluation of a Holistic Health Program at the Fairbanks’ Pioneers Home” by Fred Milan, P.O. Nice, and P. Tallas | 1981 |
2/52 | Notes on Emperor Penguin | 1957 |
2/53 | “My Memoirs” by Fred Milan | undated |
2/54 | Albrecht-Milan Foundation: Mission, by-laws, Articles of Incorporation | 1991 |
2/55 | Notes: Cardiology | undated |
2/56 | RESTRICTED: X-ray master list of Alaska patients | 1955-1958 |
2/57 | Cold water research; Articles related to Alaska Native and Sami physiology; High latitude land use policies; Subsistence in Alaska; | undated, 1964-1981 |
2/58-61 | Aerial photographs taken between Scott Point and Goon, Goon to NASA Nunavik to Point Barrow | 1968 |
2/62 | Photographs: Skiing | undated |
2/63 | Photographs: Possibly Australia | circa 1959 |
3/1-28 | Photographic slides: filed by year | 1943-1982 |
3/29 | Photographic slides: groups and unidentified | Undated |
3/30 | Photographic slides: Antarctica and New Zealand | 1957-1958 |
3/31 | Photographic slides: South America | 1959 |
3/32 | Numbered presentation slides | Undated |
3/33 | Winter survival and insulated raft slides | 1962-1966 |
3/34 | Studies of survival in cold water presentation slides | Undated |
3/35 | Frostbite slides | Undated |
3/36 | Presentation slides | Undated |
3/37 | Glass and presentation slides | Undated |
3/38 | Lapps slides | Undated |
3/39 | RESTRICTED: photographic slides | Undated |
4/1-3 | Photographs of Wainwright | 1968 |
4/4-17 | Photographs of Wainwright, Barrow, and Point Hope study subjects | undated, 1968 |
5/1 | RESTRICTED: Medical information of subjects | circa 1958 |
5/2 | Inupiat word lists | undated |
5/3 | Copies of American Field Service letters, membership certificates, appointment to Professor of Human Ecology and Anthropology at UAF, transcripts, participation in Mt. McKinley [Denali] rescues, aircraft repair bills | undated |
5/4 | Copies of news clippings about Milan or in which Milan was mentioned, and photographs | undated |
5/5-9 | Photographs and postcards: Boston; Milan family; Antarctica; Kotzebue, Wrangell, Juneau, Taku Glacier, Barter Island, Resolute Bay, Kaktovik, and other places in Alaska; cold water studies; New Zealand; skiing; Chile | circa 1870-1980 |
6 | Photographs, includes negatives of Wainwright, Barrow, and Point Hope study subjects and the Milan family | undated |
7 | Eskimo study data IBM tabulations | circa 1958 |
8 | Glass plate negatives: Alaska Natives; Cold injury study photographs; Tests of life rafts etc. at Kodiak NS March 1966 [Title taken from negative box lid] | 1957 |
9/1 | 1/4 inch audio reel: For Inupiaq Ukaluni (Mildred Leavitt & DH Webster). Recording of a man and woman speaking Inupiat, possibly reading from a children’s reader. | undated |
9/2 | 1/4 inch audio reels: Health, Disease & Behavior – The International Study of Eskimos. Session 2. Arranged by David Hughes; Chairman: F. Milan. Recording of conference presentations discussing the dentition growth statistics of various Eskimo groups (Dr. Dahlberg), the physical fitness and respiratory function of Wainwright Eskimos (Dr. D. Rennie), the cardiovascular health of Wainwright Eskimos (Dr. D. Rice), the growth of Wainwright Eskimo children (Dr. Paul L. Jamison), and the circadian and circannual rhythms in Wainwright Eskimos (Dr. J. Bohlen). | 1969 |
9/3 | 1/4 inch audio reels: Health, Disease & Behavior – The International Study of Eskimos. Session 1. Arranged by David Hughes; Chairman: F. Milan. Recording of conference presentations discussing the heights and growth spurts of Eskimos, health reports on the residents of Igloolik and Hall Beach for the International Study of Eskimos (Dr. Jack Hildes), cultural impacts on Alaska Native dentition (Dr. John Mayhall), growth and development in the Iglulik people (Dr. Joann de Peña), and the physical working capacity of indigenous children (Dr. Kemper [?]). | 1969 |
9/4 | 16mm film: PT Barrow Whole Body. Chlorimeter Eskimos, Hannon 1960. Silent film recording of Arctic Research Laboratory facility in Barrow, Alaska. Film depicts physical examinations of a test subject and a water immersion experiment. RESTRICTED: Identifiable human subject. | 1960 |
9/5 | 16mm film: Arctic Aeromedical Lab, USAF, “Cold Case.” Silent film recording of a man in flight gear using survival equipment and building a shelter in the snow. The film also depicts the Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory facility and a researcher fitting a test subject with biometric equipment. RESTRICTED: Identifiable human subject. | undated |
9/6 | 16mm film: RAMS Nov. ’66. Silent film recording of four men collecting firewood, building a bonfire, and building snow huts on a frozen lake in a forest. | 1966 |
9/7 | 16mm film: Pre-run & Tracking; Edited & print – Mukluks MPU 329-621 04/23/1965. Silent film recording depicting a man in an Air Force uniform fitting a test dummy with warm socks and boots labelled “Arctic Aero Medical Research Lab.” The dummy is then placed in a plane crash simulator, ejected into the air, and crash-landed using a parachute. | 1965 April 23 |
9/8 | 16mm film: Vapor Barrier, Tracking & Post-run, Edited: Vapor Barrier Boots, 04/23/1965. Silent film recording depicting a man in an Air Force uniform fitting a test dummy with vapor barrier [bunny] boots labelled “Arctic Aeromedical Research Lab.” The dummy is then placed in a plane crash simulator, ejected into the air, and crash-landed using a parachute. | 1965 April 23 |
9/9 | 16mm film: Cold Water Immersion, Raft in Cold Chamber. Silent film recording of two Air Force researchers fitting a test subject with biometric equipment and cold water survival gear. The subject is then placed in a pull with a raft and instructed to get in the raft and put on gloves. The researchers then remove the subject from the pool, remove his gear, and place him in another pool. RESTRICTED: Identifiable human subject. | undated |
9/10 | 16mm film: Building a Snow Hut, December 1964. Silent film recording of a man building a snow hut on a frozen lake. | 1964 December |
9/11 | Audiocassette recording of lectures at the 6th International Symposium on Circumpolar Health. Dr. Frederick Milan serves as the Master of Ceremonies. Topics include the Hepatitis B virus, its relation to liver cancer, and its prevention (Dr. Baruch Blumberg); the relationship between the Alaska Public Health Association, University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Board of Consultants for Health and Social Services, and the U.S.S.R. (Dr. Lydia Novak, in Russian through a translator); the symposium’s opening (Dr. Wayne Meyers), the Public Health Service and the Alaska Native Council (Dr. Bernard Kelly and Dr. Faye Abdellah); Arctic health services research and delivery (Dr. John Robert Pugh); the relationship between Arctic health research and the environment (UA President Jay Barton II); the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (Dr. Dalee Sambo); and the Hepatitis B virus, its relation to liver cancer, and its prevention (Dr. Baruch Blumberg). | 1984 |
9/12 | Audiocassette recording of lectures at the 6th International Symposium on Circumpolar Health. Topics include the approaches of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland in engaging indigenous peoples in their oral healthcare (Dr. John T. Mayhall) and paleo-pathological investigations of 500-year-old Eskimo mummies (Dr. Hart Hanson). | 1984 |
9/13 | Audiocassette recording of lectures at the 6th International Symposium on Circumpolar Health. Dr. Brian McMahon and Dr. William Mills serve as hosts. Topics include persistent viral infections (Dr. Peter Skinholz [?]) and the human physiological capacity to adapt to temperature (Dr. Jacques LeBlanc). | 1984 |
9/14 | Audiocassette recording of a lecture at the 6th International Symposium on Circumpolar Health. Dr. Wayne Meyers acts as host. Topics include global population growth and its impact on health (Dr. Sripati Chandrasekhar) and the unique population research potentials in Iceland (Dr. Pedersdatter). | 1984 |
9/15 | Audiocassette recording of lectures at the 6th International Symposium on Circumpolar Health. Topics include recent research projects on clean water delivery and disposal in Alberta (unidentified speaker) and acculturation and mental health in circumpolar regions (Dr. John Barry). | 1984 |
9/16 | Audiocassette recording of lectures at the 6th International Symposium on Circumpolar Health. Peggy McMahon and Dr. Cindy Scherer act as hosts. Topics include descriptive and analytical epidemiology (unknown speaker); health care delivery options for remote patients (Dr. Sixton Haroldson [?]). | 1984 |
9/17 | Audiocassette recording of a lecture at the 6th International Symposium on Circumpolar Health. The lecture discusses public health issues in the U.S. and their relation to Arctic health associations (Dr. Victor Sidel). | 1984 |
9/18 | Audiocassette recording of a lecture at the 6th International Symposium on Circumpolar Health. The lecture discusses iron deficiency in Alaska Natives, its possible causes, and prevention (Dr. Leif Hallberg) and healthcare based in indigenous knowledge and the Spirit Movement started by traditional Inupiaq healer Della Keats, Nina Dahl, and Bertha Jennings in Kotzebue (unknown speaker). | 1984 |
9/19 | Audiocassette recording of a lecture at the 6th International Symposium on Circumpolar Health. Dr. Burns acts as host. Topics include the circumpolar health movement and Inuit health history (Dr. Otto Schaefer); health research in Siberia (Dr. Yuri Nikitin, in Russian through a translator); Arctic health research trends and challenges (Dr. Han Maurice [?]); and the coordination of health research in the Nordic countries (Dr. Per-Ola Granberg). | 1984 |
9/20 | Audiocassette recording of Milan’s travel diary on a trip to Barrow. Topics described include the flight from Fairbanks to join Ralph Eluska and Jerry Gilliland in Barrow; an interaction with John Aktovuk [?] on the plane; meeting Jacob Adams and other members of Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission; attending a church service led by Reverend Armstrong; visiting with Dan Saunders, the director of the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory, Charlie Edwards, a Hungarian named Otto, an unknown family in Mr. Edwardsen’s house, and Ella and Josephine (hotel employees); the village’s response to whaling rights efforts; the high rates of white people and obesity in town; and how Inupiaq phrases sound on tape. | 1980 February 17 |
9/21-26 | Audiocassettes: Swedish language class | undated |
Box 10 | RESTRICTED: Eskimo study index cards | circa 1955-1960 |
Box 11 | Index cards of Alaska Native study subjects | circa 1955-1960 |
Map tubes 1-2 | Genealogical charts, and maps of cemeteries, archaeological sites, and other areas | undated |
Oversize folder | Hand-drawn map of Wainwright, Alaska | 1969 |