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Our Living Lands is a collaboration of the Mountain West News Bureau, Koahnic Broadcast Corporation and Native Public Media.

New film highlights Indigenous and Hispanic youth fly fishing camp

A young man wearing a backwards baseball cap, a long-sleeved shirt and a vest poses for a portrait outdoors. He is smiling for the camera. Behind him is a snowy landscape of trees.
Courtesy of Treston Chee
Treston Chee, Navajo, is the director of the new documentary film Rooted Waters.

The West is known for its spectacular outdoor recreation. But for Indigenous communities, access to many of those activities has been difficult due to factors like climate change and discrimination. Our Living Lands Producer Daniel Spaulding spoke to Treston Chee, a Navajo filmmaker, about his new film documenting one camp's work to connect Indigenous and Hispanic youth with the environment.

Rooted Waters is a film that highlights the work of the camp as well as the natural beauty of Indigenous lands in New Mexico. The film premiered on May 23rd, 2025, at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. “It really instills that conservation mindset into these kids and into ourselves,” Chee said. “We need to protect these landscapes more than the way we have been.”

I joined Boise State Public Radio as the Indigenous Affairs Reporter and Producer for Our Living Lands, a weekly radio show that focuses on climate change and its impact on Indigenous communities. It is a collaboration between the Mountain West News Bureau, Native Public Media and Koahnic Broadcast Corporation.

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