"So many times in Western academic models there’s science, and reading, and history, and there’s the arts over here. But we didn’t have art for art’s sake, and I would say we probably didn’t have science for science’s sake. It was part of everything."

Teri Rofkar
Tlingit Culture Bearer

The Lessons

Our curriculum is intended for high school and undergraduate college/university students, with four of its seven lessons meeting Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Each lesson is designed for a one-hour class period, though all lesson content is scalable to fit shorter or longer sessions. Students will derive maximum benefit by watching the film and completing all seven lessons in their intended order, as lessons are sequenced to create an arc of subject familiarity and comprehension. That said, some educators may elect to screen the film for their students without implementing the accompanying curriculum. Others may implement only the individual lessons that are best suited to their students’ interests and learning objectives.

Lessons include contextual information about the specific topics and subtopics explored; an identification of the lesson’s learning objectives; preliminary reading material; and in-class exercises. Analysis of our film is paired with additional audio, video, and text media to investigate the curriculum’s key inquiries.

The curriculum—including all seven lessons and a screener of the film—is available to educators for free. We simply ask that you: 1. Provide us with basic information about the educational setting the curriculum was used in; 2. Respect that our curriculum is copyrighted material containing Indigenous intellectual property; 3. Respect that our curriculum is intended for educational purposes only; and 4. Refrain from distributing our film or curriculum without our prior consent.

Lesson Overview


Environmental racism suffered by Native Americans extends beyond disproportionate pollution of Indigenous territory; it also manifests in the promotion and acceptance of the White lens, dictating how Natives “should” or “should not” interact with their ancestral lands. The devaluation of traditional Native science and educational practices also constitutes a common and widely accepted form of environmental racism.

In this lesson, students will consider the roots of anti-Native policy in the United States, which is a critical foundation for understanding contemporary attitudes and opposition toward the Alaska Native harvest of marine mammals. The lesson simultaneously provides guidelines for managing emotional, vulnerable, and challenging conversations about racism in educational environments.

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The relationship between Alaska Natives and sea otters has withstood numerous threats over its lengthy history, including colonization, cultural censure, anti-Native legislation, and environmental catastrophe. The relationship’s evolution is chronologized via this lesson’s extensive historical timeline, which also introduces a wide range of topics touched on throughout the curriculum, including: the historical and contemporary harvest of sea otters by Alaska Natives; settler colonial management of Alaska’s marine ecosystems; sea otter ecology and population dynamics; mainstream opposition to Alaska Native harvest; and legislation affecting sea otters and Alaska Natives. The lesson ensures that students from diverse backgrounds will have a fundamental understanding of what a sea otter is, who Alaska Natives are, and the connection they have.

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The United States Congress enacted the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) on October 21, 1972. The Act aims to prevent marine mammal species from falling below their optimum sustainable populations and prohibits most U.S. citizens from hunting, crafting, buying, or selling marine mammals and their parts. An exemption is provided for coastal Alaska Natives, who are allowed to harvest marine mammals for the purposes of subsistence, craftwork, and commerce, albeit within a vaguely articulated yet strictly regulated legal code. The federal government presents the MMPA as legislation designed for “co-management,” i.e., law that is implemented and overseen in a partnership of both Alaska Native and non-Alaska Native voices. But underrepresentation of Alaska Natives at all levels of marine policymaking may undermine this objective. What effects does the MMPA have on Alaska Natives’ self-determination, relationship with place, and the species they harvest?

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The first documented use of blood quantum in America was in the Virginia Colony in 1705, in which civil rights were denied to those of African or Native American ancestry. From that point on, blood quantum played a major, though divergent, role in Native and African American histories: One drop of “Black” blood was enough to categorize someone as being African American; this expansive blood quantum policy increased colonists’ capital via slavery. However, a reductive blood quantum policy was pursued for Native Americans, whose blood could be generationally diluted by having children with non-Natives. By systematically diminishing Native blood in this way, the government would eventually be free of obligations made to tribal nations promised in treaty documents, and settlers would have a clearer legal path to expropriating the historical lands and assets of America’s Indigenous peoples.


Today, Alaska Native tribal entities retain autonomy in determining who qualifies as a tribal member, but they do not retain full autonomy in determining who can practice traditional Alaska Native culture. The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), a federal law, limits the harvest and craftwork of marine mammals to coastal Alaska Natives, but only if they are at least one quarter or higher Alaska Native blood quantum. Will this blood quantum policy gradually erode Alaska Natives’ right to harvest marine mammals?

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This lesson explores the basics of contemporary sea otter population dynamics using statistics from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Stock Assessment Reports (SARs). It emphasizes the interpretation and critical analysis of data to expand students’ understanding of how sea otter populations are affected by Alaska Native harvest, allowing students to confront and investigate common misconceptions and preconceived notions they may have about the conservation status of sea otters and the effect that Alaska Native hunting has on sea otter stock levels. Population dynamics offer students a new way to view environmental research, weaving together a complex story about how numerous factors play a role in our understanding of a given marine environment, including the method and means of the research and how we interpret the data.

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The consequences of climate change are particularly acute in Northern latitudes; Alaska experiences the effects of global warming at twice the rate as the contiguous United States, creating an existential threat to sea otters potentially on par with the devastation seen during the periods of Russian and early American colonization. This lesson examines the severe effects that climate change has on the marine ecosystems inhabited by sea otters, particularly as it manifests in increased ocean temperatures, ocean acidification, algal blooms, and wildfires.

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Alaska’s coastal Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by anthropogenic climate change and environmental degradation. Yet, as traditional harvesters of marine species, Natives are simultaneously scapegoated as contributors to biodiversity loss. If ecological collapse accelerates, so too might this dynamic of misdirection and blame-shifting.

Fortunately, non-Native allies can be an instrumental force in countering prejudicial attitudes toward Indigenous people and protecting Alaska Natives’ cultural sovereignty. In this lesson, students learn how to be respectful, constructive allies to Alaska Natives and apply what they learned about the Alaska Native harvest of sea otters to their own actions.

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Enriching the Content

Our core lessons are implementable by any educator, regardless of cultural background, familiarity with Indigenous subjects, or financial means. That said, additional resources are available to educators who wish to enhance their students’ learning experience. Please contact us if you are interested in receiving:

  • Tactile education kits, including harvest equipment, shells of common sea otter prey, and traditional Alaska Native fur craftwork.
  • Remote instruction from a professional Indigenous educator.
  • In-person instruction from a professional Indigenous educator.

Who’s Behind the Project?

The curriculum was created by Ilegvak (Yup’ik), a culture bearer, artist, and educator based in Sitka, Alaska; Michael Dempster, a writer and editor based in Jerusalem; and Odia Wood-Krueger (Métis), a curriculum writer and educational consultant based in Minneapolis.

Sea anemones Sitka, Alaska

Teach our Film and Curriculum

Want to learn more about our film and curriculum? Get in touch with us at harvestalaska@gmail.com.