Become A Paddle Tribal Waters Academy STUDENT

Applications Open for
Paddle Tribal Waters Academy, Spring, 2025

The Paddle Tribal Waters Academy is welcoming youth who have attended our Paddle Tribal Waters programs to apply to join our second semester of accredited traveling high school and kayaking training program.

In the Winter/ Spring of 2024, Ríos to Rivers, in collaboration with World Class Academy (an accredited private high school), was able to offer the first-ever Paddle Tribal Waters Academy semester. The Paddle Tribal Waters Academy semester is a truly unique opportunity for PTW students to attend and receive credits for a full semester of 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade while also learning to kayak, traveling the world, and engaging in an Indigenous-informed curriculum.

This program was the first of its kind, and Ríos to Rivers is excited to announce that we will be able to offer a PTW Academy for the upcoming Spring 2025 school semester! This is an application-based program with limited student spots, and this year we do expect to receive more applications than the number of student spots available. We encourage any PTW students who are interested to apply! 

Read below for more details!

Application Deadline: September 5th, 2024

Application Deadline: September 5, 2024

Program Dates:

First Quarter: January 19, 2025 - March 1, 2025 | Location: Chile

Spring Break: March 2, 2025  - March 22, 2025

Second Quarter: March 23, 2025 - May 10, 2025 | Location: Pacific Northwest, USA

Participation Eligibility

Ages: 13 - 18

Experience Required: Students must have attended previous PTW programs

Submit an application

Here is the link for the application. Applications will close on September 5th and decisions will be sent out by September 15th. Please consider submitting your application as soon as possible.

Additional Details

This is a tuition-free program and includes accommodations, teaching, coaching, travel, and use of kayak gear. Students/families will be responsible for fundraising $1,500 to help cover meal costs during the program. Students/families will also need to cover the cost of a passport as well as any student spending money for the semester for optional snack/souvenir shopping for their student. In order to ensure there is no barrier to student access, we will work to have some full scholarships available. Once the student selection process has been completed, we will reach out with more details about supporting student fundraising and need-based scholarships.  There will be monthly meetings throughout the fall for students and families to ensure students are fully prepared and have everything needed (passport, etc.) for the PTW Academy. 

Program Details

Watch a short film about the first year of Paddle Tribal Waters

Why Your Participation is a Celebration

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.

Salmon populations in the Klamath have almost died out because they have been unable to return to their spawning headwaters. In 2025, after the completion of the removal of four of the Klamath River dams, for the first time in decades, a generation of recently spawned salmon will make their journey to the Pacific Ocean alongside a group of young indigenous kayakers who got their start and will have ongoing support and opportunity through the Paddle Tribal Waters program.

For centuries, dams have displaced indigenous communities, submerged ancestral territory, and eliminated traditional food sources. Damming free-flowing rivers is detrimental to biological and cultural diversity, and contributes to climate change through the release of under-reported methane.

We celebrate all youth that come to our programs. You can be a part of this historical moment of celebration of healing and reconnecting to our river.

Paddle Tribal Waters Academy

The Paddle Tribal Waters Academy (PTWA) is a Ríos to Rivers collaboration with World Class Academy. Paddle Tribal Waters Academy was created as an opportunity for PTW students to continue to grow whitewater kayaking, river safety, and Native leadership skills, while simultaneously fulfilling credits and requirements of a full semester of 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grades. The Paddle Tribal Waters Academy will take place during the Spring Semester of 2025 in Chile and the Pacific Northwest USA. By creating a World Class-style program developed specifically for Paddle Tribal Waters, students will engage in a continuation of the Indigenous-guided and stewardship-focused curriculum woven into the ethos of Ríos to Rivers. Further, the PTW Academy will connect students with other Indigenous groups in Chile and the Pacific Northwest who face similar challenges regarding the health of clean and free-flowing rivers and the communities that are inherently connected to and dependent upon them.  

What is World Class Academy?

World Class Academy is an accredited private high school based out of White Salmon, WA, founded in 2001. While World Class is based out of White Salmon, the students and staff spend the entire school year traveling to various destinations around the world. The year is broken up into four quarters, each of which takes place in a different country. The basis of the school is that students follow a traditional high school schedule and curriculum while traveling the world and training both after school and on the weekends in their specific sport. World Class currently has four academies: Kayaking, Rock Climbing, Mountain Biking, and Kite Boarding. 

Informational Zoom: Wednesday August 21st, 6:00 pm-7:00 pm PST

We will be holding a scheduled informational Zoom meeting for parents and PTW students to learn more about the Spring Academy, and to offer space for students and families to ask questions. Please reach out if you'd like to schedule an individual Zoom meeting or a call to learn more.

Questions, please contact: PTW@riostorivers.org