hitoláayca (Going Upriver)

“I think I’d be a bad ass guide. I see myself as being a badass guide. Native guide.” Devin Reuben The Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) people have a deep, foundational history with river travel—including helping the Lewis and Clark Expedition on their descent of the Snake and Columbia rivers. Yet, centuries of forced displacement and systematic disconnection have left Tribal members largely absent from their ancestral waters. hitoláayca (Going Upriver), a film by Anna Lueck, follows Devin Reuben as he trains to become the first certified Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) whitewater guide of his generation, forging a pathway back to ancestral waters, reclaiming his culture and laying a foundation of possibility for others to follow. "I just really hope that I do get the opportunity to have grandchildren, and tell them stories about how the river has impacted my life. I hope they see that, you know, you’re a young rez kid, you can do what you can imagine you can do. Push forward, you know? Break those boundaries. Be the first person.” - Devin Reuben -- Filmed & directed by: Anna Lueck Featuring: Devin Reuben Location: Nimiipuu Homelands / Snake and Salmon Rivers Advised by: Josiah and Tiyana Blackeagle With support from: The Redford Center, IF/Then Shorts, Mountainfilm, Pandion Institute, Winding Waters River Expeditions, ROW Adventures, Canyons River Company and NRS. -- Learn more about the Pandion Institute's guide training and workforce development programming, and support the next generation of Indigenous river leaders: https://www.pandioninstitute.org/