Hope for Our Future

A Spotify original podcast called, “How to Save a Planet,” is hosted by journalist Alex Blumberg and scientist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. The purpose of their episodes are to ultimately figure out how to build the future we want by addressing the climate crisis. Their episode from February 4th, “The Tribe That’s Moving Earth (and Water) to Solve the Climate Crisis,” focuses on the Yurok Tribe and how they have combined their indigious land management practices and modern Western economics.

Frankie Myers is the Vice-Chairman of the Yurok Tribe. He received the Equator Prize, which was given out by the UN Development Program, recognizing sustainable development solutions. The tribe received this award in 2019 for their use of innovative solutions to tackle climate change and their work to undo some of the ecological damage that had been done to their land in the last two centuries. Myers was able to figure out how to use the tools of destruction for good.

The Yurok Tribe is the largest federally recognized tribe in California with a population of over 63,000 members. The land runs along the Klamath River, where it meets the Pacific Ocean. In the early 1800’s, the Yurok Tribe controlled half a million acres until the Gold Rush brought lots of settlers on their land. In 1986, when their tribe was federally recognized, the land shrunk from 500,000 to 5,000 acres. By the time Myers was growing up, the tribe was living on only a fraction of their territory. 

There were big chunks of land that were watersheds. A watershed is the area of land that all drains into the same bodies of water, similar to a valley. They are important because they contain something like an ecosystem and are able to protect the water quality in that area. In 2011, the Yurok bought the Pepone watershed and the Blue Creek watershed. These watersheds are so important to the tribe because the Pepone watershed is where they hold the world renewal ceremony, and the Blue Creek watershed is where the prayer for the world renewal ceremony comes from. They were purchased specifically because they hold an abundance of biodiversity and old growth.

 In order to purchase the land, the Yurok Tribe had to take out loans. They were able to pay back the loans they took out, and finance other tribal projects, through the Carbon Offset Program. The Carbon Offset Program gives you “carbon credits” if you can prove to the state of California that the act you are doing sequesters carbon. The Yurok Tribe learned they could get paid through this program by protecting their old growth forests, which are on the land they had just purchased. They then were getting paid to keep the trees, and only had to verify to the state that they were still there growing, absorbing carbon and helping fight climate change.

Myers shares that the salmon is so important to the Yurok people. Their connection with salmon and the river is their existence and has always been a part of their community, economy and social structure. Channelization, dams and global warming are the three reasons why salmon is disappearing from the Klamath River. These are all ways that the spawning habitats have been wiped out and led to a severe decline in the salmon population.

The Yurok government looks at land management as a fundamental philosophy that there is no inherent evil, but that things are either good or bad depending on what you use it for. They believe that the world itself was created out of a balance, and that the responsibility of humans is to bring back the balance. Myers is saying that we are not only a part of nature, but we should be actively playing a role in balancing nature.

The Yurok Tribe has been working aggressively to start bringing the beavers back because of the importance they play in the ecosystem. Myers shares that they “embody their Yurok philosophy on land management.” Beavers create large beaver ponds that create areas for a lot of other species to thrive in. They are even more important during the fire season because they create large swaths of green vegetation that allows the water to sit in place. 

Myers seemed to be very optimistic about the future. He shares a story from his tribe when there wasn’t enough food during the Great Starvation. Their ancestors had to make sacrifices so that the younger generations could survive and move forward. Myers adds, “we will make it, no matter how bad off we are.” He knows this to be true because they have done it before, so they will do it again.

It was extremely inspiring to hear Frankie Myers share his own history and how the Yurok Tribe is working intensely and passionately towards fighting climate change. Although we have a long way to go, Frankie shows that it is completely possible if we all play our roles in contributing to working with nature in order to preserve and grow.

Call to Action!

Klamath River Renewal Save California Salmon Native Land