Members of the Ancestral Guard paddle redwood canoes onto the Klamath River, which provides eels, sturgeon and crab in addition to salmon. Yurok people also gather acorns, berries and other foods on the riverbanks.
KLAMATH, Calif.-A drought, a virus and a landslide-these concurrent crises have worsened the food insecurity of Northern California's Yurok Tribe and spurred some members to explore their own solutions.
Their reservation, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the redwoods of the Klamath Mountains, was declared a rural food desert by the USDA in 2017. The situation worsened when the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with severe drought and a crumbling highway, slammed the reservation and nearby Indigienous communities.
Sammy Gensaw, 26, grew up paddling redwood canoes on the Klamath River and driving...
