All photos by Jasmine Kinney
When Jasmine Kinney reflects on her upbringing along the Klamath River, she speaks of a lifeline—one not just for her Yurok community but for the interconnected ecosystems and knowledge systems that have sustained them for generations. A graduate student in Stanford’s Community Health and Prevention Research (CHPR) Master’s program, Kinney’s story is deeply intertwined with the historic removal of dams from the Klamath River—a fight led by advocates in her community to restore balance to their ancestral lands and waters.
Growing up on the Yurok Reservation in Northern California, Kinney describes the profound relationship her people share with the Klamath River. "Our traditional villages are along the river because we see it as our lifeline," she explains. "The river is where we fish, where we gather for our baskets, and where we receive nutrients and food. Everything is connected." This interconnectedness is a core tenet of Yurok knowledge systems, which recognize the health of the river as directly tied to the health of the people.
The Fight for the Klamath River
The construction of dams along the Klamath River, which began in the early 20th century, disrupted this lifeline, severing vital salmon migration routes and destabilizing ecosystems that had sustained the Yurok people for millennia. Kinney recalls the devastating effects vividly: “When the river was disrupted, it disrupted the salmon, and when the salmon were disrupted, it disrupted our diet, our connection to food, and our health. It was very intentional.” She notes how one of the largest fish kills in U.S. history, which saw thousands of salmon belly-up on the shores of the Klamath, became a harrowing symbol of the dams' ecological and cultural toll.
For decades, Yurok advocates fought to remove these dams, facing resistance from corporate and government entities that often dismissed Indigenous knowledge. Yet Kinney sees this resistance as emblematic of a broader struggle: “We’ve always taken care of the things that take care of us, but those in positions of power weren’t thinking about that.” Despite this, the Yurok community’s advocacy persisted, guided by their relational worldview that values reciprocity with the land over anthropocentric control and dominance.
A Moment of Victory
In 2024, the Yurok Tribe and their allies achieved a monumental victory: the removal of the last two dams on the Klamath River, making this the largest dam removal project in U.S history.. Kinney describes the bittersweet moment of triumph, knowing many elders who championed river restoration did not live to see the day their decades-long efforts bore fruit. “There’s so much love in this fight—love for the land, love for the salmon, love for the people. That’s what coming together does, it brings our salmon home.”
The removal has already begun to heal the river. Kinney envisions a future where “the salmon return in abundance, freezers are filled with fish,” and the Yurok people regain the physical and cultural health that colonial interventions sought to erode. “Making the land healthy makes our people healthy,” she says. “It’s a reciprocal relationship.”
Lessons in Native Land Stewardship
For Kinney, the Klamath dam removal is more than a story of ecological restoration; it’s a testament to the power of Indigenous knowledge systems and community resilience. She contrasts Yurok approaches to land stewardship with Western capitalist ideologies that often prioritize extraction over sustainability. “It’s not about control,” she explains. “It’s about responsibility. Taking care of the things that take care of us has always been our way. That’s what worked for millennia before colonization, and it’s what will work again.”
Kinney also emphasizes the need for greater Indigenous representation in environmental decision-making spaces, particularly in California. She finds it troubling that Indigenous voices remain largely absent from state and federal environmental management boards, despite Native people’s unparalleled understanding of their ancestral lands. “People are starting to look to us for our knowledge now, but it’s not enough to just listen. They need to pass the torch,” she says.
A Model for the Future
The Klamath River dam removal stands as a model for other tribes and communities advocating for environmental justice. “When you’re told no, fight for yes,” Kinney advises “This is a story to tell our future generations—about resilience, advocacy, and taking care of what takes care of you.” She envisions a future where Yurok knowledge systems continue to guide not only her community but others in California seeking sustainable solutions to environmental challenges.
At its heart, the story of the Klamath River is a story of relationality. As Kinney puts it, “Everything is connected. The river flows into the ocean. The salmon feed the people. The people care for the land. It’s all intertwined.” And in that intertwining lies a blueprint for how we might all move forward—with reciprocity, care, and respect for the knowledge that has sustained the Earth since time immemorial.
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