Klamath Heartlands
Many people across the world know about the “undaming” of the Klamath River, which has made headline news as the largest dam removal in U.S history. However, the fight is just starting, and many advocates are unaware of the two dams that remain on the Klamath River and the toxic water that has been killing the Klamath for decades and continues to flow down the Klamath River. While four major dams on the Klamath River have been removed, two major dams remain on the river, the Link and Keno dams, that still degrade water quality and threaten the survival of the nearly extinct C’waam (Lost River sucker) and Koptu (shortnose sucker) species, as well as the long-term viability of the recently returned salmon (Ciyaa’ls).
The Klamath Heartlands, the heart that the Klamath River flows out of is still blocked by dams that obstruct it’s water flow, impact fish spawning grounds, and the entire ecosystem. The watershed is often referred to as the Everglades of the West and prior to colonization, the watershed was a vast system of lakes, rivers, streams, marshes, and wetlands. The maqlaqs (“people“) would travel by canoe up and down the watershed.
Traditionally, maqlaqs would cremate their loved ones and place them into the watershed at sacred cremation sites. With the watershed blocked and disconnected, we are unable to release our loved ones into our sacred waters. After over a 100 years our Ciyaal’s have returned, but some are trapped behind the two dams, likely to suffer the same fate as our C’waam and Koptu if we do not act soon.
Background
The Klamath River flows from Upper Klamath Lake, the largest fresh body of water west of the Rocky Mountains in the USA. We, the Klamath Tribes (Klamath, Modoc, Yahooskin Paiute) people have inhabited this region since time immemorial. Our ancestral home of over 22 million acres contains the majestic Crater lake (Giiwas) and the headwaters of the Klamath River, our heartlands, including Upper Klamath Lake, Lower Klamath Lake, and several rivers, creeks, springs, and marshes. Our region is rich in biodiversity and endangered species found nowhere else in the world–all holding on by a thread.
Severe water quality issues due to the effects of colonization, termination, and climate change have led to a climate emergency for The Klamath Tribes. Our watershed is the largest fresh body west of the Rocky Mountains and is often referred to as the Everglades of the West.
Key Issues
Currently, Klamath Lake has toxic algae blooms caused by runoff from western agricultural methods, mismanagement of the land and waterways, and a lack of enforcement by government. In the 1850s, the Upper Klamath Lake went from being clear to a eutrophic state, and by the mid-1900s had become hypereutrophic, with thick year-round algae blooms, including those that are toxic (USGS 2004, 2006). The Lower Klamath Lake has been almost completely drained, wetlands are without sufficient water, and other dams and canals have disconnected and dismantled the entire watershed.
Lake recreation is not permitted year-round, but that same water is used for farming. Locals report dogs dying from drinking the water and unusually high rates of cancer, and there are fish kills. Our Tribe has not eaten our sacred fish (c’waam and koptu) since 1986. After over 100 years, our sacred ci’yaals (salmon) have returned but are in a toxic home. The community is suffering and racing against the clock to save our home and culture. (Jackson, 2025)
Our sacred C'wam and Koptu are the lifeblood of our culture and part of our creation story. They are on the brink of extinction and do not have much time left. Water quality issues impact everyone in the Upper Klamath Basin and all who live in or around the watershed or who eat the food the water goes on.
Our Project`
The Klamath Heartlands project aims to preserve cultural history and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) about the Klamath watershed that can be used for future legal actions. To do this, we are engaging in a process by which elders can share oral histories and stories with tribal youth. Our project aims to raise awareness about this destruction in hopes that we can restore the watershed, heal our waters, heal our animal relatives and heal our people.
With the additional goal of preserving our Indigenous “science” through a storytelling collection, key knowledge needed to protect nature, wildlife, our people, and sacred Klamath watershed. We will focus on TEK of the Klamath watershed, such as knowledge essential for stewarding the watershed, information about endangered and key species sacred to the Tribe, oral histories, stories, language, and songs connected to the watershed and/or species, and the importance of species to the Tribe’s cultural practices and rituals (Cajete, 2000; Kimmerer, 2023; Whyte, 2017; Wilson & Inkster, 2018). This data could be used in current management plans, and help scientists better understand how this watershed has changed over time and why it is essential to protect it as a sacred place for the Tribe, a benefit for the Tribe, local community, downstream users, and for all people who consume the food and water from the Klamath watershed.
Our Approach
Our team is mobilizing our community to preserve essential knowledge about our watershed and homelands before elders pass away and in preparation for future legal advocacy. Our youth are eager for this transmission of knowledge and are the future, which is why we are deeply focused on uplifting and including youth throughout all of our projects. The information we collect will be safely preserved, saved, and made accessible to the Klamath Tribes and its members.
Legal & Policy - our team will facilitate interviews between elders and youth, and preserve the information gathered in legal declarations, video and audio recordings. Our environmental historian and team will work on gathering essential items needed for a traditional cultural property nomination under the National Historic Preservation Act.
Community Mapping - our community will actively participate by using a secure App that allows them to easily map our ancestral homelands and waters by taking photos, saving audio and more! Community members will map from the land and water. Their efforts will be combined to a master map that will be available for all Klamath tribal members.
Education - throughout our project we plan to engage the community with various education workshops, community engagement field trips and more: canoe restoration, food sovereignty, language that reinforces key aspects of our project, and advocacy action campaigns.
Media/PR - we aim to educate our community, native and non-native, as well as others outside our homelands. Our homelands, the Everglades of the West, need to be restored to save our animal relatives, culture, people, and to improve the health for all who live near, and/or drink the water or food from this region.
Outcomes
This is a community grassroots effort led by various Klamath Tribal members and supported by allies. If we are successful, we will have strengthened the community, while also have created a foundation of viable documentation/evidence that will be accessible for the Klamath Tribes and its members, and critical for future legal advocacy related to tribal sovereignty and treaty rights.Get In Touch
If you're interested in working with us, send us a note here and one of our team members will get back to you.
mo sepk'eec’a (thank you)