On August 27, over 200 Tribal Members and Leaders, river advocates and politicians attended a day of celebration on the Trinity River below Lewiston Dam. It was a day that the Bureau of Reclamation designated as a “Multicultural Day,“ so the Hoopa Valley Tribe organized an event to demonstrate the impacts of water diversion on their culture and the river communities.

It was also a day for giving thanks and celebrating culture and tradition. Tribal Officials talked of a sense of relief for having water flowing in decent amounts down the Trinity River, providing cooler water for spawning salmon to make their epic journeys back to the places of their birth. Members of the Yurok, Hoopa Valley and Karuk tribes, as well as leaders of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, displayed signs and banners with slogans including “Fish Need Water,” “Let The River Flow,” "Give Us Our Water, " "Save The Salmon," "Tribal Rights Are Non Negotiable," "Release The Dam Water," "Undam the Klamath - Free the Trinity," "Central Valley agri-giants are killing salmon", "Fish Can't Swim In Money," and "Westlands Sucks The Trinity Dry."

The event began right before noon when the “Water Warriors,” those who have protested in defense of the Trinity in recent weeks, walked from the gate at the entrance into the hatchery where they convened at a stage. The “Water Warriors” wore t-shirts donated by Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries with “Free Our River” emblazoned on the front and carried an array of signs and colorful banners. Many of those “Water Warriors” had participated in a direct action protest at the Bureau of Reclamation Offices in Sacramento on August 19, organized by the Klamath Justice Coalition and Got Water?, that helped pressure Reclamation to increase releases into the Trinity River below the dam to avert a fish kill on the lower Klamath.

Read More with Photos | See Also: Tribal members rally in Sacramento to stop Klamath River fish kill