This week in class our professor played through a game called When Rivers Were Trails. The game explains through gameplay the life of the indigenous people and their communities during the 1890s. This game was made for educational purposes, said the developer of the game Elizabeth LaPensee. I loved the idea of this game and the intentions for it. It’s a great way for people to drop stereotypes and certain profiles they had about Native Americans. The game has a very simple mechanic, you just have to drag your mouse around and click. A game that is related to When Rivers Were Trails is Oregon Trail another educational computer game about 19th century pioneer life on the Oregon Trail. But When Rivers Were Trails are just about the life of the Indigenous during this time. You are about to see both perspectives of life in the 19th century. 

Games like these are amazing and help teach people new things in a different way than just sitting down and reading a book. I know that I was the type of kid that had and still does have trouble learning something new if it just requires me to read or listen to a lecture about the subject. I learn better if I’m able to do it myself or see it. So video games like these were great for me while growing up. And it shows that games aren’t just made for entertainment purposes. They can help to be a great educational tool. And on a side note I have to do an essay for my Indian image on film class and talk about how they are represented in cartoons, animations, and videos, so this is another game that I can talk about. I really didn’t think there were any beside some games that just feature them. But this game will help with how well the culture and lifestyle of indigenous people is presented in the game.