Elements
A film series celebrates The Klamath Tribes’ leadership in environmental and cultural resilience through connection to the elements—fire, water, air.
For millennia, the Klamath River Basin in Southern Oregon and its rich wetlands, rivers and forests have been the homelands of The Klamath Tribes—comprised of the Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin-Paiute people.
The Klamath people’s connection to the lands and waters of the Basin is woven into their ways of life and cultural traditions. Through colonization, fire suppression and climate change, these ecosystems have been severely altered, connections frayed and cultural practices inhibited. Today, a generation of leaders are shaping a biocultural revival, healing the land and their relationship with it. The Elements video series is a glimpse into their work and a celebration of the cultural connections to their homelands, fire, water and air.
Learn more about The Klamath Tribes at klamathtribes.org.
Meet Anna, Charlie and Shuína, three Klamath Tribal members and the voices of Elements. Through their stories, explore the experiences of working to bring back beneficial fire, protect endangered fish populations and carry forward cultural traditions.
Behind the Scenes: A Growing Partnership
The Klamath Tribes and The Nature Conservancy share a vision for the future where people thrive as a part of the natural world, protected from the worst impacts of a changing climate. Through decades of collaboration, our partnership has focused on this common ground.
Our work together has provided a powerful reminder of the role restoration plays in helping the land weather a rapidly changing world. In 2021, the 414,000-acre Bootleg Fire burned across the Sycan Marsh Preserve and large swathes of the historic Klamath Tribes Reserved Treaty Rights Area. This catastrophic event destroyed most forestland within the fire’s footprint, including ecologically significant old-growth stands. In its wake only a patchwork of small, forested areas, sections that had been actively restored through coordinated management prior to the fire, remained alive and vibrant. This historic fire deepened our shared commitment to working across this landscape, from forest and wetland restoration to the renewal of cultural practices rooted in place.
Through shared experience, resurfacing Indigenous knowledge and cultural burning practices, The Klamath Tribes and TNC have developed a partnership rooted in the mutual understanding that a healthy environment depends on a culture of people caring for land and its resources.
Stay Up to Date on Stories Like This One
Sign up to receive monthly conservation news and updates from Oregon. Get a preview of Oregon's Nature News email.
Related Stories
Through the Fire
In summer of 2021, the Bootleg Fire became the third largest wildfire in Oregon history, burning through nearly 15,000 acres on The Nature Conservancy's Sycan Marsh Preserve.
Prescription: Fire
Controlled, or prescribed, burns restore balance to dry forests and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire.
Made of Salmon
Salmon are inextricably linked to our way of life, the health of our natural systems and communities across the West. Protecting them benefits much more than fish alone.