- THE FUTURE IS FREE-FLOWING -
Paddle Tribal Waters
Paddle Tribal Waters (PTW) is a youth leadership and whitewater kayaking program that brings together Indigenous youth from across the Klamath River Basin river communities for transformative source-to-sea journeys. Through cultural exchange, mentorship, and hands-on river training, students build whitewater skills, leadership, and environmental stewardship while strengthening their connection to community, place, and people. PTW centers young leaders whose communities are deeply tied to rivers, equipping them to protect and advocate for the waters that sustain them.
The First Descent of the Klamath River
When the largest dam removal in history began, a group of Indigenous youth learned to whitewater kayak to become the first people to paddle the restored river from source-to-sea. As the young paddlers reconnect sections of the Klamath River that have not flowed freely for more than a century, they use kayaking to galvanize a movement while reconciling a stolen history and building a future of hope and healing. Salmon populations in the Klamath have almost died out because they have been unable to return to their spawning headwaters. When four dams on the Klamath were removed, in the spring of 2025, the first generation of recently spawned salmon made the inaugural trip to the sea alongside the young kayakers.
For centuries, dams have displaced Indigenous communities, submerged ancestral territory, and eliminated traditional food sources. Damming free-flowing rivers is detrimental to bio and cultural diversity, and contributes to climate change through the release of under-reported methane.
Paddle Tribal Waters is a positive way to celebrate the removal of the Klamath dams and support the sovereignty of the Klamath Basin Tribal Nations by ensuring that more of their youth have a voice in the dam removal process.
First Descent - 30 days of Daily Updates
Day 29
Day 30
Background of Paddle Tribal Waters
In July 2022, Ríos to Rivers and Maqlaqs Paddle launched Paddle Tribal Waters with a two-and-a-half-week kayak and river advocacy training for 15 Indigenous youth from the Klamath Basin. The program’s powerful impact led to new cohorts in 2023 and 2024, bringing total participation to 43 students. Youth continue developing their whitewater and advocacy skills through year-round trainings, including a semester-long kayak and high school program created in partnership with World Class Kayak Academy—a critical step in preparing students for the first descent of the Klamath.
The long-term vision of Paddle Tribal Waters is to support alumni in building tribally led river programs in their own communities. After an early exchange with Ríos to Rivers, Paul and Ashia Wilson of the Klamath Tribes founded Maqlaqs Paddle in 2018, modeling this vision in action. In 2023 and 2024, PTW alumni continued that legacy by launching Páah Áama Paddle Club in Karuk Territory and Wana Waixtishama Paddle Club in Warm Springs, creating spaces for Native youth to connect with their rivers through kayaking, advocacy, and language revitalization.
Films and Media
In collaboration with award-winning filmmaker Rush Sturges and our Indigenous storytelling committee, we have been creating a series of short films about participants’ journeys as they develop their kayak and advocacy skills and prepare for the descent. The short films can be viewed here. We are also working to create a feature-length documentary that will serve as a compelling way for the story of the restoration of the Klamath River to reach larger audiences and serve as a tool to show the importance of protecting free-flowing rivers and the un-damming of dammed rivers. In addition, the film provides an opportunity for the students to speak at film festivals and other community events, elevating their voices and raising their profiles as activists in the global push to protect free-flowing rivers.
Your Support Matters
Your contribution will directly support our mission to use whitewater kayaking and education to protect rivers worldwide and the communities that support them.
PRogram updates
Learn more about all the programs and activities Paddle Tribal Waters has been up to:
PADDLE TRIBAL WATERS
2023 UPDATE
PADDLE TRIBAL WATERS
2024 UPDATE
