Our Sacred Obligation

From the Elwha River to the Klamath, this powerful moment in history is only possible because of Indigenous leadership to restore life-sustaining salmon to abundance.

The featured film, Our Sacred Obligation, recounts the historic and now-threatened relationship between the Yurok Tribe and Klamath River salmon, as well as their leadership to protect it, recently leading to the decision to remove four dams on the Klamath River. This is the first of a documentary film series, The Salmon People Project, to amplify Indigenous voices as they work to reverse the devastating impact of salmon loss and heal Mother Earth.

About the Production

Our Sacred Obligation by Children of the Setting Sun Productions recounts the history of the Yurok Tribe’s struggle against the colonization of the Klamath River, which has sustained them since time immemorial. A land reclamation project and a series of dams have brought the Klamath River salmon populations to the brink of extinction. But the Yurok are fighting back. Propped up by their ancestors, and the recent success of the Klallam Tribe on the Elwha River, the Yurok are using their sovereignty to fulfill their sacred obligation to bring the dams down and restore the river.