Water Rights

We hold the rights to fish, hunt, trap, and gather from the lands and waters in the Klamath Basin and along the Klamath River as we have done since time immemorial. These rights have not always been honored. Agreements reached in 2010 were intended to reverse the damage caused by dams, irrigation, and runoff from farms. During the drought in 2013, we called for ranchers and farmers to shut down irrigation to restore flows to the Klamath River. Now we have agreements to reduce consumption of water and guarantee inflows into Upper Klamath Lake. We have agreements to remove the dams. We are working to restore the land and waters for all people. * People depend on water; if you deny them water, then you are committing murder. Salmon depend on rivers and streams; if you dam the rivers and poison the water, then you are killing them. People depend on salmon; if you kill the salmon, wouldn’t you call this genocide? * What are the First Nations? This is the identity of peoples; this is the identity of their fathers and mothers back before time began; this is the identity of their children to the seventh generation and to the seventieth generation.