Past Programs
Toh’nlįbizaad: the river’s story
26 OCTOBER – 2 NOVEMBER, 2023 | RIO GRANDE, TEXAS
An autumn canoe journey along the Rio Grande, and an intimate exploration of borderlands though writing, history, and Indigenous perspectives
hosted by Sherwin Bitsui
RUNNING TO STAND STILL
5 – 10 SEPTEMBER, 2023 | WHITEFISH, MONTANA
Six days of trail running + creative workshop + unrelenting humor
hosted by Brendan Leonard
PLACE, POWER, AND PURPOSE
Storytellers as change agents in the American West and beyond
1-7 SEPTEMBER, 2023 | GATES OF LODORE, GREEN RIVER, UTAH
A five-day float through Gates of Lodore and Dinosaur National Monument, focused on mining the power of a good story to affect change
hosted by Ed Roberson
Good Ancestors
23 – 29 JULY, 2023 | MISSOURI RIVER, MONTANA
A four-day river journey through the Missouri River Breaks, plus two nights on the American Prairie, in the company and service of our ancestors.
hosted by Chris La Tray
WRITING THE NONHUMAN
A 2023 Freeflow Institute writing workshop
13 – 19 JULY, 2023 | SAN JUAN ISLANDS, WASHINGTON
A rich, multidimensional journey across genres and species, and a dreamy midsummer exploration of the Salish Sea by kayak
hosted by Ana Maria Spagna
THE LAW OF PEOPLE AND PLACE
Missouri River Breaks + American Prairie Reserve
12-18 JUNE, 2023 | MISSOURI RIVER, MONTANA
A seven-day field course in natural resources and Indian law in the context of an iconic western landscape, offered in collaboration with the University of Montana’s Summer Indian Law Program
with Professors Monte Mills + Michelle Bryan
THE DESERT EYE
Seeing the Landscape through Words
26 APRIL – 1 MAY, 2023 | COLORADO
A four-day terrestrial exploration of Southwestern Colorado’s high desert, centered on witnessing and writing
hosted by Craig Childs
Rewilding Bodies, Rewilding Writing
A 2023 Freeflow Institute Online Workshop with Chris La Tray
Tuesday evenings | April 4 – 25, 2023 | 6:30 – 8:00 pm Mountain Time | Online
A four-week online workshop for writers who are compelled to bravely defy the boundaries of convenience, comfort, and convention
hosted by Chris La Tray
SPRING
A three-week kickstarter course in building stories out of ideas
Monday evenings | March 6 – 20, 2023 | 6 – 9 pm Mountain Time | Online
An intensive three-week kickstarter workshop to help you find and hone ideas, turn them into stories, and get them published
hosted by Heather Hansman + Chandra Brown
PAUSE
A winter creative retreat for rest + recalibration
23 – 27 February 2023 | Mission Lake, Washington
hosted by Anna Brones, author, artist, and founder of Creative Fuel Collective
SAN JUAN ISLAND WORKSHOP
Humor Me: Finding Your Voice and Audience, and Having (Some) Fun With It
May 7 – 13, 2022 | San Juan Islands, Washington
A seven-day writing workshop + exploration of the San Juan Islands by sea kayak, focused on the role of humor in storytelling and navigating a crowded, evolving media landscape
hosted by Brendan Leonard, author of Sixty Meters to Anywhere and creator of Semi-Rad
BLACKFOOT RIVER WORKSHOP
June 18 – 21, 2022 | Big Blackfoot River, Montana
A four-day float down the storied Big Blackfoot River with Chris La Tray, and a focused, exploratory, deep dive into place
hosted by Chris La Tray, author of Becoming Little Shell + One-Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays From the World At Large
SALMON RIVER WORKSHOP
Streams Cascading Empty ©
June 23 – 28, 2022 | Main Salmon River, Idaho
A six-day celebration of magical Pacific Northwest salmon, ecological and cultural connectivity, and a vanishing legacy
hosted by David James Duncan, author of The River Why + The Brothers K
THE LAW OF PEOPLE & PLACE: YELLOWSTONE
July 11 – 17, 2022 | Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Montana
A dynamic field course in Indian and natural resource law, comparing federal, state, and tribal approaches to cultural and natural resource management, offered in partnership with the University of Montana’s Blewett School of Law
hosted by Professors Michelle Bryan and Monte Mills
GREEN RIVER FIELD INSTITUTE
Downriver Through Dinosaur
September 2 – 8, 2022 | Gates of Lodore, Green River, Utah
A seven-day journalistic exploration of the Green River’s Desolation Canyon, focused on inquiry, truth-telling, and resonance in the realm of ecological and social issues
hosted by Heather Hansman, author of Downriver: Into the Future of Water in the West and Powder Days
RIO GRANDE WORKSHOP
Terrain, Transition, and Myth in the Borderlands
October 16 – 23, 2021 / Rio Grande + Big Bend National Park, Texas
hosted by Fransisco Cantú, author of The Line Becomes A River, and sound artist Karima Walker
GATES OF LODORE WORKSHOP
Beyond the Great Aridness
September 3 – 8 / Green River, Utah
hosted by William deBuys, award-winning author, conservationist, and Pulitzer Prize finalist
THE LAW OF PEOPLE & PLACE
The Crown of the Continent
July 25 – 31, 2021 / Flathead + Badger-Two Medicine watersheds, Montana
A field course in Advanced American Indian Natural Resources, offered in partnership with the University of Montana’s Blewett School of Law
hosted by Professors Michelle Bryan and Monte Mills
THE ECOLOGY OF WISDOM
Biology, History, and the Feminine in the Idaho Wilderness
July 5 – 10, 2021 / South Fork Salmon River drainage, Idaho
hosted by CMarie Fuhrman, author of Camped Beneath the Dam: Poems and co-editor of Native Voices
BLACKFOOT RIVER WORKSHOP
Silence: The Daily Practice
June 30 – July 2, 2021 / Blackfoot River, Montana
hosted by Chris La Tray, author of One-Sentence Journal: Short Poems and Essays From the World At Large
GREEN RIVER FIELD INSTITUTE
Telling True Stories From the Edge of Desolation
June 12 – 18, 2021 / Desolation Canyon, Green River, Utah
hosted by Heather Hansman, author of Downriver: Into the Future of Water in the West
FALL 2020 COMMUNITY SERIES: SHIFT
Hybrid online + solo + small group format
November 9 – December 7, 2020
featuring Pam Houston, Amy Irvine, Sherwin Bitsui, Camille Dungy, and Craig Childs
ROGUE RIVER WORKSHOP
Making Your Own Weather: Finding a Voice and Finding an Audience in an Evolving Media World
September 24 – 28, 2020 / Rogue River, Oregon
hosted by Brendan Leonard
SUMMER 2020 COMMUNITY SERIES: SHIFT
Hybrid online + solo + small group format
July 1 – 29, 2020
featuring Nick Triolo, Amy Irvine, Craig Childs, Camille Dungy, and Pam Houston
THE LAW OF PEOPLE AND PLACE
Upper Missouri River + American Prairie Reserve, Montana
in collaboration with the University of Montana’s Summer Indian Law Program
with Professors Michelle Bryan + Monte Mills
2020 WINTER WORKSHOP SERIES
hosted by innovative Montana leaders, Alexis Bonogofsky, Ben Stookesberry, and Chris La Tray
2019 SALMON RIVER WRITING WORKSHOP
Main Salmon River, Idaho
hosted by Brendan Leonard
2019 STORIES IN THE SANDSTONE
Gates of Lodore, Green River, Utah
hosted by Pam Houston
2019 LEARNING TO TELL THE RIVER’S STORIES
Blackfoot River, Montana
hosted by David James Duncan
2019 YELLOWSTONE RIVER FIELD INSTITUTE
Yellowstone River, Montana
hosted by Alexis Bonogofsky + Elliott Woods
2018 WILD JOURNALISM
Missouri River + American Prairie Reserve, Montana
hosted by Hal Herring
2018 SALMON RIVER WRITING RETREAT
Main Salmon River, Idaho
hosted by William deBuys