hitoláayca (Going Upriver) | Official Trailer

“What I liked about rafting is, being on the river. Floating through the rapids, hearing that water. Getting out there. A lot of people like me, don’t get out there.” Devin Reuben For Nez Perce teen Devin Reuen, learning the lines on the Snake and Salmon Rivers is about much more than a job—it’s an act of cultural reclamation. hitoláayca (Going Upriver) follows Devin as he trains to become the first certified Nimiipuu whitewater guide of his generation, forging a pathway back to his ancestral waters so others will follow. As Devin puts it: “It's one big step for us: not just me, all of us. We're slowly bringing our culture back.” Full Film Drops 6/5 -- 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/