River of Return

Our forth and final installment of our 2020 Short Film Series is again brought to us by the good folks over at NRS Films. This is a fascinating look at a native-American tribe who set out to re-introduce their next generation to Mother Earth. We hope you enjoy “River of Return.”

The Middle Fork of the Salmon River was named the “River of No Return” by white settlers, who piloted wooden scows down the river and used the lumber from the boats to build homesteads, never to return to so-called civilization. But for the people of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, the Middle Fork is a place to come back to, after too long an absence, to reconnect with Mother Earth, their culture and themselves. Join Jessica and Sammy as they guide a journey with their Newe people to be whole again in River of Return.

Learn more and support their organization, River Newe, at: https://rivernewe.org/

For the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, the Middle Fork of the Salmon River has been their home since time immemorial. They and their people remain inextricably linked with its waters even after a history of forced removal from the landscape and generations of disconnection and trauma.

The Middle Fork Salmon River lies within the state boundaries of Idaho. Idaho boundaries overlap the usual and accustomed areas (or traditional lands) of five tribes: the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, the Nez Perce Tribes, the Coeur d’Alene, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, and the Shoshone-Paiute.