No. 27 of 108
July 10, 2025
Indigenous youth kayakers are about to complete the 310-mile descent of the Klamath River for the first time in about 100 years. They are Klamath, Yurok, Quartz Valley, Karuk, and Hoopa Valley peoples. Some learned to kayak white water for the purpose of this historic descent. It has been less than a year since the Klamath was released from the last of four dams in “the world’s largest dam removal effort”. Within days, chinook salmon were seen in parts of the river for the first time in sixty years. It will take longer for the channels to clear, banks to realign, plant life to take hold. Some of this will be helped along by excavating sediment and planting billions of native seeds; much of it will be nature reasserting itself. In other news, a federal judge blocked efforts to implement the end of birthright citizenship, moving ahead with one of the exceptions to the Supremes’ order against nationwide injunctions – a class action suit.
In a season in which wins are measured by blocks and stops, we are inspired and reminded to release and reconnect. The leap forward returns us to source. It will feel new and hard, so bound are we to all the reasons and strictures and can-nots. Restoration for future thriving is the foundational task.
No. 27 of 108