The importance of using education as a a vehicle for change is key. Education, especially of the youth, is the primary way in correcting a society’s approach to issues and biases, Before the process can begin outside of Alaska it is crucial to identify ways in which OWTW can be used as an educational tool to empower Alaska Native teens and help them navigate present-day obstacles. 

Part 1: ALASKA NATIVE SCHOOLS 
When we first began OWTW, we believed that the film’s primary goal was to educate non-Alaska Natives, who urgently needed to understand and respect Indigenous Lifeways. But early on in the project one of our producers, Marjorie Kunaq Tahbone, recognised that the film needs to be seen within Alaska Native High Schools, first and foremost. She saw how OWTW can help students learn to identify the issues in their own lives and find constructive solutions to mitigate their impact. Since then the team has been approached by multiple educators within the Alaska Native education system, to have screenings in Indigenous high schools across the state. 

Part 2: INDIGENOUS SCHOOLS IN THE LOWER 48
This trajectory would begin with Alaskan Native schools, and would scale up and move to Indigenous schools in the lower 48. Although the climate is different, the multifaceted issues faced by Indigenous teens in the lower 48 are broadly similar and need addressing. The OWTW team are beginning to receive invitations to take the film ‘down south’.
The Johnson O’Malley program may be a suitable partner to pursue this vision, which would help get the film screened in every Indigenous school in the USA.

Part 3: MAINSTREAM SCHOOLS
For today’s media-centric youth, film is an appropriate and effective teaching tool. To be prepared to participate in tomorrow’s global arena, students need to gain an understanding of the world beyond their own borders. The OWTW team plans to build on the PBS TV screenings to introduce Alaska Native issues, subsistence hunting and Indigenous Lifeways vis-a-vis the film into the educational curriculum in the lower 48, on both the high school and university level.
In this spirit, OWTW has already begun a collaboration with the California Film Institute. We have developed a preliminary curriculum guide, to help teachers integrate ONE WITH THE WHALE into their classrooms, examining the complex issues faced by Alaska Native communities, while encouraging students to be active rather than passive viewers, Students can travel through these characters lives and stories to create awareness, understanding and empathy for Indigenous issues. This curriculum guide was successfully tested this Fall with University of California Berkeley students, challenging inaccurate ideas and narratives around subsistence hunting and in turn promoting Indigenous Lifeways.

Part 4: Professional Institutions and Government Stakeholder
Outside of the educational sphere, we have already received many invitations to screen the film by professional and governmental institutions in the US and around the world; such as scientific conferences, the US Military, Department of Energy, Oil companies, State Department, Airlines staff and other groups. They understand the importance of educating their staff and employees; raising awareness can create more efficient, thoughtful, compassionate, just partnerships with Indigenous people and organizations in Alaska