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One with the Whale | Alaska Insight

Lori Townsend was joined by Chris Apassingok and Jim Wickens to discuss the documentary telling the Apassingok family's story. (Mark Sherman/University of Alaska Anchorage)
Lori Townsend was joined by Chris Apassingok and Jim Wickens to discuss the documentary telling the Apassingok family's story. (Mark Sherman/University of Alaska Anchorage)

The story of St. Lawrence Island whaler Chris Apassingok’s first harvest was celebrated by his community as a rite of passage for a young hunter and for the food it provided to Gambell residents, but the local celebration was met with a vicious backlash from anti-whaling activists online. A new documentary titled One with the Whale captures the Apassingok family’s efforts to heal and maintain their indigenous values in the aftermath of the event. On this episode of Alaska Insight, host Lori Townsend is joined by Chris’s father, Daniel Apassingok, and one of the film's directors, Jim Wickens, to discuss the story it tells.

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Madilyn Rose is the program producer at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at mrose@alaskapublic.org.