The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are located on the Flathead Reservation in western Montana. They have undertaken a large-scale watershed restoration project in an effort to benefit bull trout in the Jocko River drainage. An important component of this project is education and outreach, of which the centerpiece is a multimedia set of educational materials describing the ecology and importance of bull trout and its relationship with the Salish and Pend d’Oreille people. This integrated set includes the storybook Bull Trout’s Gift, the Field Journal, and this interactive DVD Explore The River: Bull Trout, Tribal People, and the Jocko River.
This interactive DVD combines extensive text, video, multilayered maps indicating changes over time, interviews, animations, audio, and access to a large number of websites of relevance to the project. It integrates scientific information about bull trout, state-of-the-art restoration strategies and techniques, and extensive historical information about the importance of fish to the Tribes, with information from Tribal elders about the Tribes’ long-term relationship with bull trout. In all, the DVD contains more than sixty hours of material and is structured so it can reach multiple audiences, from children to adults.
