The Apassingoks live on St. Lawrence, a remote Alaskan island in the Bering Sea, with their shy teenage son Chris. Unlike mainland kids, he must regularly miss school and head out in -20°F into the deadly waters to provide food for his family and community elders. Chris is one of the last whale hunters of his generation, a profession now challenged by climate change. When Chris becomes the youngest person to harpoon a whale, the village is ecstatic. His proud mother shares photos with other Native communities on social media, but the family is blindsided when hundreds of hate messages and death threats pour in from online activists around the world. Already emotionally vulnerable and struggling to graduate high school, Chris looks to his family to overcome this intense adversity, especially his older sister Nalu, but she faces her own challenges and must leave the island to find love and happiness.

“One With the Whale” chronicles the obstacles Chris and his family face, amidst larger currents of food security, environmental justice, climate change, cultural genocide, and social media. The livelihood of the Apassingoks and their village are threatened as they search for a balance between modernity and a traditional subsistence lifestyle