'It Takes Our Purpose': With No Salmon, Yurok Tribe Struggles With Identity
The tribe has fished in the Pacific Northwest's Klamath River for centuries, but the Chinook have been devastated by drought, disease, dams, and a long history of habitat destruction.
The Yurok tribe has fished for salmon in the Klamath River for centuries. Salmon is essential to Yurok ceremonies, for food, and for income. But this fall, the number of Chinook swimming up the Klamath, in the Pacific Northwest, was the lowest on record, threatening the tribe's entire culture and way of life.
Erika Chavez and Jerome Nick Jr., cousins who work for the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department, are patrolling the Klamath River in the far northwest corner of California. Nick perches in the front of the boat, with Chavez at the helm as they head to the mouth of the river. "Just checking to see if there's any tribal members fishing," Chavez says. "Then we're gonna head up to the bridge to see if anyone's there."
Today, the cousins are
