When Rivers Were Trails

About

When Rivers Were Trails is a point-and-click adventure developed by the Indian Land Tenure Foundation that follows an Anishinaabeg person navigating life in the 1890s. Players explore a narrative driven by historical events, guiding the character through challenges like displacement from their homeland in Minnesota to a journey westward. The gameplay blends dialogue choices, environmental interactions, and resource management as the protagonist balances survival with cultural traditions. Activities include hunting, fishing, and traveling by canoe while encountering figures like Indian Agents and members of other Indigenous nations. The game stands out for its unflinching look at colonization’s impact on Native communities, using a minimalist art style and deliberate pacing to underscore its themes. The single-player experience focuses on quiet resilience and adaptation, with a community-sourced tone labeled as dark by voters. Set against real historical policies like the allotment acts, it weaves education into its storytelling without overt didacticism. Available on PC and Mac since 2019, it offers a reflective, narrative-driven journey shaped by specific cultural perspectives.

Storyline

An Anishinaabeg in the 1890s is displaced from their traditional territory in Minnesota and heads west to California due to the impact of allotment acts on Indigenous communities, facing Indian Agents, meeting people from different nations, and hunting, fishing, and canoeing along the way as they balance their wellbeing.