Indian tribes awaiting Klamath Dam removal

From Indian Country Today:

One thing is clear after driving north through small towns and along winding mountain roads to reach the base of the Klamath River Basin. Its isolation has helped save it.

A century after European contact, the river region remains forested and is dominated by four tribes – the three largest in California: Hoopa, Yurok and Karuk, and the largest in Oregon, the Klamath. Most other California tribal regions have been overtaken and ravaged in comparison.

But although the lush basin appears pristine, it hasn’t been immune to interference. Today seven dams line the 263-mile Klamath River, some producing toxic algae in the still waters of reservoirs and all blocking salmon from reaching 350 miles of spawning grounds.

A glimmer of hope appeared in November when the Bush administration proposed a nonbinding agreement that would result in removal of the four lowest dams beginning in 2020 – which would be the largest dam removal in U.S. history. The possibility comes after 100 years without salmon for Klamath tribes upriver.

“The salmon are really the base of our culture,” said Annalia Norris, 33, of the Klamath tribe at the mouth of the river, for whom the spawn was the time of their world renewal ceremony. “We honored the fish; they’re the ones that give us life and feed us,” Norris said. “That’s our whole culture. It’s centered around the salmon – we’re salmon people.”

Read more from Indian Country Today by clicking here.

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