Confederated Umatilla Journal

Native American teens kayak major US river to celebrate removal of dams and return of salmon

KLAMATH, Calif. (AP) — As bright-colored kayaks push through a thick wall of fog, voices and the beats of drums build as kayakers approach a crowd that has formed on the beach. Applause erupts as the boats land on the sandy spit that partially separates the Klamath River from the Pacific Ocean in northern California.

Native American teenagers from tribes across the river basin push themselves up and out of the kayaks and begin to cross the sand, some breaking into a sprint. They kick playfully at the cold waves of the ocean they’ve been paddling toward over the last month — the ocean that’s seen fewer and fewer salmon return to it over the last century as four hydropower dams blocked their ideal spawning grounds upstream.

“I think our ancestors would be proud because this is what they’ve been fighting for,” said Tasia Linwood, a 15-year-old member of the Karuk Tribe, on Thursday night, ahead of the group’s final push to the end on Friday.

Read more at https://cuj.ctuir.org/2025/07/native-american-teens-kayak-major-us-river-to-celebrate-removal-of-dams-and-return-of-salmon/

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Time & Location
June 4, 2025, 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM
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