'Rooted Waters' documentary turns a spotlight on a New Mexico youth fishing camp

For centuries, Native Americans have relied on fish for sustenance.

Spiritual beliefs, community life and respect for the environment are woven into each fishing technique.

This is why Vidal Gonzales began The Uncivilized Outdoorsman.

The organization started a fly-fishing camp as a platform to teach Indigenous and Hispanic youth about their culture and language, along with conservation and cultural landscape. The camp also addresses the economic, social, environmental and health issues that face those communities.

“At our youth fishing camps, we use fly-fishing as a tool to pair Indigenous youth with Indigenous elders and Hispanic youth with Hispanic elders in culturally significant locations like the Valles Caldera, Jemez Mountains and others,” Gonzales says. “These locations serve as a background to share knowledge, culture and experiences, and serve as a bridge between communities to demonstrate that we all share an appreciation for these places and need to work together to protect and preserve them.”

A documentary on the camp, “Rooted Waters,” is making its way around the festival circuit and is available on YouTube.

The film premiered at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe on May 23.

“The main message of what we want to get across is, that we really want to pass on traditional knowledge,” Gonzales says. “We want to pass on the knowledge of our lands and the connection to the ancestral lands. What it means to us as a community is that it’s led us to make the opportunities to inspire youth and fight back against the colonial structures. On Santa Clara Pueblo, fishing is a way to form a community as well as harvesting fish for our physical health. We are trying to build a community in modern times.”

Gonzales says there will be two more film festival showings this year.

He originally funded these opportunities out of his own pocket to get the program off the ground, and later found support through friends, family, Trout Unlimited and the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division’s Outdoor Equity Fund.

“This funding has allowed us to make these camps as accessible as possible to our local Indigenous and Hispanic communities,” Gonzales says. “We take care of everything — equipment, lunch, transportation costs, guide costs and more, so everyone can take part. We also compensate our elders for their willingness to share their expertise and stories with new generations.”

Gonzales received a $3,000 grant from the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division for the film.

It took about six months to start and finish the project.

There were weekly meetings throughout production.

“We were getting together every Sunday from about 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and going through film and story lines,” he explains. “When we got our first cut of the film, it was about 35 minutes. There was so much storytelling because it went back all the way to the Pueblo Revolt.”

After months of editing, it was whittled down to just under 12 minutes.

“My respect for the filmmakers really grew during this process,” he says. “So much time and energy went into creating this piece and it’s really succinct now. It gets to the point and tells an important story.”

Filming took place during the fall and winter and included one day of filming at Cow Creek Ranch in the mountains near Pecos, just outside of Santa Fe.

Gonzales says Cow Creek donated the private ranch for filming for the day.

Then there were three more film days of youth mentors fishing.

“We also conducted short interviews with our elders and myself,” he says. “It was a lot of work but we were able to get it all done. One day it even snowed while we were filming.”

Gonzales says there will be a screening at San Ildefonso Pueblo in a few weeks, and in Taos in July. Albuquerque will also have a screening later this summer, he says.

“We want to uplift these youth and provide them with a positive path to holistic healing and inspire them with traditional knowledge,” Gonzales says. “We are working to craft the next generation of leaders.”

'Rooted Waters' documentary turns a spotlight on a New Mexico youth fishing camp