Overcoming The Odds: "When Rivers Were Trails and Indigenous Storytelling

An important point we’ve been discussing is Native American representation in modern game culture, and just in general. In the American games industry especially, the library of games containing genuine representation designed by indigenous people is unfortunately scarce and overlooked due to the low participation of indigenous people in the games industry and the hugely oversaturated market of indie games. As we talked about before as well, a lot of times when a game with an indigenous focus and background is envisioned, the lack of resources can stand in the way of aspiring indigenous creators from finding each other and being able to support the grueling process of game development long-term.

However, the indie games that have been fully developed by indigenous lead designers and developers have sought out and to capture and immerse a player in an experience that captures the Native American lifestyle and history as accurately as possible, and in most cases are successful in that goal. Such is the case in When Rivers Were Trails, a 2D point-and-click game exploring the journey of an Anishinaabe tribe moving from Minnesota to California due to the Native American displacement and land allotment laws set in place in the 1890s.

The game was created as a collaboration with the Indian Land Tenure Foundation and Michigan State University’s Games for Entertainment and Learning Lab specifically to create a game where the Native American experience in the old Midwest could be accurately showcased and taught. The project was able to successfully see itself to completion thanks to over 30 indigenous creators ranging from writers, artists, and musicians contributing to give the game authentic Native American representation from all angles. The game was creatively led and designed by two Indigenous individuals, and the gameplay and art was led by an Anishinaabe game designer.

The game contains lots of familiar gameplay elements to other point and click predecessors, most notably The Oregon Trail, having minigames for fishing, travelling, hunting, and canoeing. In addition however, as a point-and-click, When Rivers Were Trails relies heavily on its storytelling and dialogue to weave interesting stories for players to engage in. The game has several different stories for players to play through, and new stories are unlocked through gameplay and player progression. Over 30 indigenous writers contributed to the creation of the historical stories, with each one giving a fun and informative (and most importantly, accurate) glimpse into the life of indigenous tribes in the US as the Anishinaabe tribe travelled across the country and overcame several obstacles on their way. As well as progressing the overall plot of the game, each story would often seek to encapsulate and illustrate an aspect of indigenous living at the time, such as gathering, hunting, intertribal relations, illnesses, and their vibrant culture. Dialogue frequently includes indigenous language, which is not often represented in video games, even those that feature indigenous characters in their plot.

       
        With a majority of the game’s direction being decided by Indigenous creators, the game manages to keep established gameplay elements engaging while delivering several stories that stay heavily grounded in realism, most likely due to the fact that most may very well have been based directly on real events. That being said, as we have talked about earlier on this blog, there can be a huge benefit to also having non-indigenous creators on the team, as they could learn more about how to design an inclusive game by working firsthand with the lead designers and cooperating with them. When Rivers Were Trails does indeed include a diverse team of several ethnicities and backgrounds in order to positively represent an environment with an indigenous creative team at the helm. All workers were paid industry standard rates as well, and were given equal spaces in which to create their combined vision, which is a huge deal in the games industry. When Rivers Were Trails is a stellar example of an environment where indigenous creators were able to finally take the reins and create a work of art that tells legitimate stories about their cultures and past, and should be considered a huge symbolic step for the games industry.

Works Used:

LaPensée, Elizabeth A, Outi Laiti, and Maize Longboat. “Towards Sovereign Games.” Games and Culture, (June 2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120211029195.

“When Rivers Were Trails by Indianlandtenure.” itch.io. Accessed October 24, 2021. https://indianlandtenure.itch.io/when-rivers-were-trails. 

“Historical Stories.” When Rivers Were Trails Wiki. Accessed October 24, 2021. https://whenriversweretrails.fandom.com/wiki/Historical_stories.