As a group of Indigenous teenagers and young adults neared the end of a historic, long-awaited first journey down the newly restored Klamath River, CNN caught up with a few of the participants.
Over a century ago, the California Oregon Power Company (now PacifiCorp) installed the first of four hydroelectric dams along the Klamath River.
By the time the fourth and final dam had been constructed in the 1960s, the project had severely impacted several tribes' way of life and cut them off from a vital source of sustenance.
For decades, advocates fought to undam the Klamath, and by the 1990s, population levels for several species of local fish had become critically low. A massive fishkill in 2002 amplified calls to remove the dams and restore the natural flow of the river.
In April 2020, officials approved a plan to remove the Klamath dams, which started what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration called the "world's largest dam removal effort." By early 2024, removal of the dams was underway.
As of October, all four dams were gone, allowing the Klamath to flow naturally for the first time in roughly a century.
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On June 12, the Klamath First Descent commenced, organized as part of Ríos to Rivers' Paddle Tribal Waters initiative — prepping the young group of kayakers to be the "first people to paddle the restored river from source-to-sea."
Keeya Wiki, a 17-year-old kayaker on the journey, recalled her excitement as the last dam came down. She told CNN that the experience of traversing the restored Klamath was "surreal" and something her older relatives doubted would ever come to pass.
"So many of our elders and our aunties and uncles … fought so hard to get these dams down. It was a really long, hard fight, and a lot of people thought — even my grandma thought — they would never see the dams come down in their lifetime," Wiki explained.
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Definitely 👍 Ríos to Rivers founder Weston Boyles told CNN that it was important for Indigenous people to "lead" the initial descent down the Klamath, and Wiki agreed.
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"We are getting justice, and making sure that my people and all the people on the Klamath River can live how we're supposed to," she said.
The 310-mile, month-long expedition concluded on July 13 in Requa, California, where the young kayakers were met with enthusiasm by waiting friends and family.
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