The Oral History Project got started in 1996 when wolf trapper Paul Kirsteatter spoke at the Alaska Trapper's Association monthly meeting. Paul regaled the audience with tales of trapping in the eastern Interior back in the 1940's & 50's. The program was so popular that it has been continued on an annual basis. The Oral History Project was born.

The Oral History Project seeks to document Alaska's rich hunting and trapping heritage by interviewing those who know it best: long-time Alaskans who have spent their lives living from the land. The interviews are documented, stored, and excerpted on tapes for general listening. The project recently obtained digital capability that will lead to compact discs.

Since most "old-timers" couldn't come to Fairbanks to be interviewed, it took the financial support of the Hunter Heritage Foundation of Alaska to bring the project to them.