A First Descent Generations in the Making: Watch Indigenous Kayakers Run Entire Klamath

The fight to remove dams from the Klamath River has been ongoing for decades. Conservationists and indigenous groups have been pushing to restore the river to a free-flowing state, but it’s been an uphill battle.

Finally, though, their efforts paid off, and in October 2024, the last dam was deconstructed. For the first time in over 100 years, the river flowed unimpeded and kayakers could run its entire length from source to sea.

So that’s exactly what one group of indigenous paddlers decided to do.

The group of 13- to 20-year-olds embarked in the summer of 2025 on a month-long, 300-mile journey. They followed the river from its headwaters in south-central Oregon to the Pacific Ocean. Many of these young kayakers’ families have been fighting to remove dams on the Klamath since 1908, when the very first dam was constructed.

Now they’re reaping the rewards of their ancestors’ struggle to restore this river. Watch as they shove off on this historic journey. It marks the end of an era, and the beginning of a new life for the Klamath.

Runtime: 28:43 minutes