Paddle Tribal Waters
The First Descent of the Klamath River
When the largest dam removal in history begins, a group of Indigenous youth learn to whitewater kayak in hopes of becoming the first people to paddle the restored river from source-to-sea. As the young paddlers reconnect sections of the Klamath River that have not flowed freely for more than a century, they use kayaking to galvanize a movement while reconciling a stolen history and building a future of hope and healing.
Salmon populations in the Klamath have almost died out because they have been unable to return to their spawning headwaters. Now that four dams on the Klamath are removed, in the spring of 2025, the first generation of recently spawned salmon will make the inaugural trip to the sea alongside the young kayakers.
For centuries, dams have displaced Indigenous communities, submerged ancestral territory, and eliminated traditional food sources. Damming free-flowing rivers is detrimental to bio and cultural diversity, and contributes to climate change through the release of under-reported methane.
Paddle Tribal Waters is a positive way to celebrate the removal of the Klamath dams and support the sovereignty of the Klamath Basin Tribal Nations by ensuring that more of their youth have a voice in the dam removal process.
Watch a short film about the inaugural year of Paddle Tribal Waters
Program Updates
Learn more about all the programs and activities Paddle Tribal Waters has been up to:
Background of Paddle Tribal Waters
Program Launch
In July of 2022, Paddle Tribal Waters began with a two-and-a-half-week kayak and river advocacy training program for 15 Indigenous youth from the Klamath Basin. The program continues with weekend kayaking trips and kayak roll training sessions.
The resounding positive impact of this program motivated us to offer the Paddle Tribal Waters experience to future cohorts.
In the summer of 2023, a second cohort of 15 Native students participated in the multi-week beginner program.
In the summer of 2024, a third cohort completed the initial training, bringing our total number of students to 43.
Students continue to develop their kayak and advocacy skills with a series of trainings offered throughout the year.
In January 2024, the first two cohorts combined to participate in a semester-long kayak training and high school program that Ríos to Rivers created in collaboration with World Class Kayak Academy. The semester-long kayak and high school program is key to setting these students on the path to truly having the skills needed to make the first descent of the Klamath.
The long-term vision of the Paddle Tribal Waters program is to support the youth who participated in the first descent of the Klamath to go on to create tribally led river programs in their communities.
Paul and Ashia Wilson from the Klamath Tribes led by example by creating Maqlaqs Paddle in 2018 after their first exchange program with Ríos to Rivers.
In 2023 and 2024, alumni from Paddle Tribal Waters created Páah Áama Paddle Club (Karuk Territory in the Lower Klamath Basin) and Wana Waixtishama Paddle Club (Warm Springs community) to invite Native youth to enjoy their rivers through kayaking, advocacy, and language revitalization efforts.
We need your support, please consider supporting the Paddle Tribal Waters program
Films about Paddle Tribal Waters
In collaboration with award-winning filmmaker Rush Sturges and our Indigenous storytelling committee, we have been creating a series of short films about participants’ journeys as they develop their kayak and advocacy skills and prepare for the descent. The short films can be viewed here. We are also working to create a feature-length documentary that will serve as a compelling way for the story of the restoration of the Klamath River to reach larger audiences and serve as a tool to show the importance of protecting free-flowing rivers and the un-damming of dammed rivers. In addition, the film provides an opportunity for the students to speak at film festivals and other community events, elevating their voices and raising their profiles as activists in the global push to protect free-flowing rivers.
Thank you to the supporters of Paddle Tribal Waters!
