\u201cThis is a historical moment for us,\u201d said Susan Masten, former Yurok Tribal Chair, past president of the National Congress of American Indians<\/a>, and the president and co-founder of Women Empowering Women for Indian Nations<\/a>. \u201cWe haven\u2019t had the opportunity yet to celebrate the dams coming down as a people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis moment in time, with these youth that have traveled 30 days, the river has guided them down to us,\u201d said Masten. <\/p>\n It was a foggy morning as Masten stood on the beach, eagerly awaiting to welcome her niece and the other kayakers. <\/p>\n For more than a century, four hydroelectric dams blocked the Klamath River, disrupting once-abundant salmon runs and disconnecting Indigenous communities from the river that they have lived along since time immemorial. The last of those dams were removed in the fall of last year, marking the completion of the largest dam removal project in history. <\/p>\n \u201cThe most significant and important thing about it is that the river is healing,\u201d said Masten. <\/p>\n \u201cThe river remembers,\u201d she added.\u201cThe fish are coming back to spawn where they haven\u2019t been able to be in a hundred years plus. The fish remember. We, as this river system, are healing.\u201d<\/p>\n On June 12, the young kayakers ranging in age from 13 to 20 set out to paddle the newly free-flowing river at the headwaters in southern Oregon, and on July 11, they made the long-awaited dream of the Klamath basin tribes a reality once they entered the mouth of the river. Youth from the Klamath, Yurok, Karuk, Quartz Valley, Hoopa Valley, Warm Springs as well as the Tohono O\u2019odham Nation were represented in the program.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been generations of individuals and tribes who have been fighting this fight,\u201d said Masten. \u201cOur ancestors have provided safety for them on their journey. We\u2019re just excited and want them to feel like we\u2019re honoring them, because they have provided international and national attention to our river and the importance of having a free flowing river. They have inspired millions to be advocating and fighting for their own rivers and their homelands.\u201d<\/p>\n More than three years of preparation led to this moment, as youth traveled to places like Chile, Costa Rica, Canada and Africa to train and learn how to navigate whitewater with kayak instructors from the Paddle Tribal Waters<\/a> program, part of the nonprofit R\u00edos to Rivers<\/a>. <\/p>\n As mothers helped their children dress into traditional Yurok regalia \u2014 deerskin skirts adorned with rows of abalone and shells, placing Yurok hat baskets atop their heads, and more \u2013 the sound of drums and songs blended with the cheers of those on shore as the bright neon-colored kayaks emerged from the fog, led by two traditional Redwood dugout canoes.<\/p>\n \u201cI look up and I see so many family members there, and so many community members and my grandparents and everybody, and someone who\u2019s like my uncle singing his song and drumming for us, and I was like, \u2018Oh my gosh. We\u2019re actually about to finish this. We actually did it,\u201d said Danielle Frank, Hupa tribal member and Yurok descendant, Director of Development and Community Relations for R\u00edos to Rivers. <\/p>\n \u201cIt felt very scenic and very deep,\u201d said Frank, \u201clike the river and the world was having this deep moment, welcoming us into this historic time and place.\u201d<\/p>\n Smiles lit the faces of the kayakers as they reached the shore. They immediately jumped from their kayaks and sprinted through the lines of cheering people to the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a big moment in history, and in everybody\u2019s lives,\u201d said 20-year-old Isqotsxoyan Scott, of the Hupa Valley Tribe, as she tried to catch her breath after celebrating in the ocean with the others. \u201cAll of our families have been fighting for dam removal. Everybody\u2019s been fighting for us to be able to reach different parts of the rivers that we haven\u2019t been able to in over 150 years. So it\u2019s really so much, I can\u2019t even explain how I feel right now.\u201d<\/p>\n On the beach, one elder was overcome with emotion watching the youth kayakers. She apologized to the people standing next to her. They told her that \u201cNo, we can cry grandma. Crying is part of it. Crying is healing.\u201d<\/p>\n After the landing, everyone jumped in kayaks, rafts and boats to join tribal elders, community members and family at the boat dock for a celebration. Youth and representatives took turns sharing about their experiences.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just a river trip and it\u2019s not just a descent to us,\u201d said Frank in her speech. \u201cThis whole trip is really a letter to our community. It\u2019s a letter of love\u2013 the love that has been shown to us our entire lives, the love we get to show to each other and ourselves that was wrapped into this trip. That\u2019s what built this trip, was knowing that we were loved enough to be supported to do something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s also a letter of promise,\u201d Frank continued, \u201cWe promise that we will do whatever we have to, to protect our free-flowing river now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u200d<\/b>Underscore Native News<\/b><\/a> is a nonprofit newsroom committed to Indigenous-centered reporting in the Pacific Northwest. We are supported by foundations and donor contributions. Follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>,TikTok<\/a>,YouTube<\/a>andBluesky<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/CVRQCKGBYVGDLN3UFZGFNL3JKA.webp\")
Two traditional Redwood dugout canoes joined the group and led the kayakers to the final landing on July 11, 2025. (Photo by Jarrette Werk, Underscore Native News)Jarrette Werk, Underscore Native News<\/p>\n