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To’nehwan Jayden Dauz from the Hoopa Valley Tribe, 15, braces himself in a rapid on the Klamath River near where the Copco 1 and 2 dams once stood, June 22, 2025. Dauz is a participant in Paddle Tribal Waters, a program that trained Indigenous youth for several years to be the first group of people to paddle the free-flowing Klamath from source to sea.
To’nehwan Jayden Dauz from the Hoopa Valley Tribe, 15, braces himself in a rapid on the Klamath River near where the Copco 1 and 2 dams once stood, June 22, 2025. Dauz is a participant in Paddle Tribal Waters, a program that trained Indigenous youth for several years to be the first group of people to paddle the free-flowing Klamath from source to sea.(Anna Lueck / OPB )

Jessie Sears and Coley Miller join the Exchange. Jessie is a native filmmaker from the Karuk tribe who documented a group of indigenous youth who became the first people to navigate the Klamath River from its source to the sea following the largest dam removal project in history. Coley is a Klamath Tribe member who participated in the river journey.

Jessie Sears, an enrolled member of the Karuk tribe, is a documentary film producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting focused on the experiences and voices of Indigenous Communities.
Jessie Sears, an enrolled member of the Karuk tribe, is a documentary film producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting focused on the experiences and voices of Indigenous Communities.(Luz Gallardo/ITVS)

The new film, titled "First Descent," is featured by Oregon Public Broadcasting.

ABOUT THE FILM
“First Descent” captures the transformation underway not just to the Klamath River itself – where sections of river are now flowing freely for the first time in more than a century – but among the Indigenous communities that have lived in the Klamath Basin since time immemorial. In the 30-minute documentary, director Jessie Sears, a member of the Karuk tribe, and cinematographer Brandon Swanson share the hardship, comradery, and deep connection the 28 Indigenous youth experience over the course of the 300-mile, 30-day river expedition, as they become the first people to paddle the entire Klamath River from source to sea since four major dams were removed.

WATCH FILM ON YOUTUBE

At far left, ‘A:de’ts-Nikya:w Rogers of the Hoopa Valley Tribe pauses at the beginning of a rapid on the Klamath River while other paddlers wait behind him, June 22, 2025. Rogers and the other kayakers are participants in Paddle Tribal Waters, a program that trained Indigenous youth for several years to be the first group of people to paddle the free-flowing Klamath from source to sea.
At far left, ‘A:de’ts-Nikya:w Rogers of the Hoopa Valley Tribe pauses at the beginning of a rapid on the Klamath River while other paddlers wait behind him, June 22, 2025. Rogers and the other kayakers are participants in Paddle Tribal Waters, a program that trained Indigenous youth for several years to be the first group of people to paddle the free-flowing Klamath from source to sea.(Anna Lueck / OPB )
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112 episodes