Indian Cultural Organization

This is the fourth year the Winnemem Wintu has co-led the reintroduction of endangered salmon into the river, and they continue to advocate for the creation of a fish passage around Shasta to restore wild salmon runs.

 

July 25th, 2025, Mount Shasta, California

The Winnemem Wintu Tribe, along with partners NOAA and CDFW, welcomes 80,000 salmon eggs to the Winnemem Waywaket (McCloud River) this summer as part of a groundbreaking mission to reintroduce salmon to the watershed. This is the fourth year of the project. The first batch of eggs was delivered on July 12th, with the remainder coming on July 26th, August 16th, and August 23rd, where the Tribe and partners will greet them with ceremony and prayer.

The eggs, which originate from the Livingston Stone National Fish Hatchery, will be raised in a “Nur Nature Base,” a remote egg incubation system located on the McCloud River that provides a more wild-like rearing setting than conventional hatchery operations. The alevins and fry will have a chance to imprint to the natural rocks and plants of the river, practice swimming in a variety of currents and temperatures, and choose when to leave into the river, where they will either stay in the upper tributaries of the McCloud to feed and grow, or start making their journey downstream toward the ocean. Traps will be placed in the lower McCloud River to catch salmon and move them around Shasta and Keswick Dams to be released into the Sacramento River, near Redding.

In 2023, the Winnemem Wintu Tribe signed historic agreements as equal partners with CDFW and NOAA to restore salmon to the McCloud River. The Winnemem Wintu are the Indigenous people of the McCloud River and have a spiritual, cultural and subsistence relationship with the salmon that spans thousands of years of living together in the watershed. Salmon have been blocked from returning to the river since federal agencies built the Shasta Dam and decided against creating fish passage around the 602 foot structure. The rearing of winter-run hatchery origin salmon is only the first step in the larger goals of the Tribe: 1) to bring back the descendants of the original salmon from the McCloud, who were exported to New Zealand between 1873-1907 and must be rematriated back home, and 2) to build a passage around Shasta and Keswick Dams so the salmon can complete their life cycle from mountain to ocean and back without any human interference. The Tribe aims to restore the genetic descendants of the original salmon that are currently in New Zealand, as they have maintained wild traits such as the ability to swim up mountainous rivers.

The Tribe and partners have recently spotted adult salmon in the McCloud River who were likely reared since the project began in 2022. The Winnemem Wintu Tribe’s Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) indicates that when given the opportunity to be wild, juvenile salmon will stay in the upper tributaries feeding and growing before making their way to the ocean and back. The Tribe advocates for volitional fish passage around the dams so the salmon can complete this sacred and essential journey. Salmon must complete a full life cycle to bring nutrients from the mountain to the ocean, and from the ocean to the mountain.

Quotations:

Chief Caleen Sisk, Chief and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe: “Salmon will not survive unless we restore wild salmon runs and get them off the central valley floor (the Sacramento River below Shasta and Keswick Dams). All over California, salmon have been blocked from their cold water mountain spawning grounds by dams. We are only delaying extinction unless we build volitional passages around these dams. Salmon must complete a full life cycle to bring nutrients from the mountain to the ocean, and from the ocean to the mountain. There are no shortcuts. We cannot go against nature.”

Cathy Marcinkevage, Assistant Regional Administrator, NOAA Fisheries: “We’re proud to see juvenile winter-run salmon again swimming in their historic habitat of the McCloud River for the fourth year in a row. Their return to the river reflects the hard work, care, and support of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We look forward to seeing these vital salmon returning for many years to come.”

Anne Todgham, Professor and Chair, Department of Animal Science, UC Davis, and Nann Fangue, Professor and Chair, Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, UC Davis: “The Nur Nature Base that Chief Sisk envisioned creates a unique rearing environment focused on preparing nur for their epic journey from the river to the ocean and back to the McCloud River. The successful journey of salmon/nur from their natal rivers to the ocean and then back to the rivers to spawn requires a lot of the salmon. The Nur Nature Base promotes ‘wildness’ by providing the nur with essential exposures during critical stages of early development to help make their journey to the ocean as successful as possible.”

For more information, contact:
Bekah Olstad, Project Manager, Winnemem Wintu Salmon Restoration, rebekah@winnemem.org

The Winnemem Wintu Tribe has had a busy year in 2023 reintroducing Winter Run Chinook to the Winnemem Waywaket (McCloud River). In May 2023, the Winnemem Wintu signed historic agreements with both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to become equal decision making partners in efforts to reintroduce winter run Chinook above Shasta Dam.

These actions are a part of our Tribe’s overall goal to return the Nur (salmon) to the Winnemem Waywaket. The pilot project with NOAA and CDFW includes reintroducing salmon eggs from hatcheries to the river, and our overall goal is to bring back our ancestral Nur who currently live in New Zealand.

We are grateful for the support of everyone who has prayed with us and stood with us over the years to bring the Nur back home. Here are some highlights of our year we would love to share with you, next steps in this monumental work, and ways to stay involved. Continue reading “2023 Wrap Up: Great Steps Forward to Bring the Nur Home” →

Through our partnership with California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this summer we had 3 separate deliveries of salmon eggs by helicopter to Wayelporhormas. Even more exciting is that this year, the Winnemem Wintu have our own innovative incubation system set up along the banks of the Winnemem Waywaket (McCloud River) in addition to the hatchery setup used last year. Our system was developed in partnership with UC Davis and imitates a natural spawning bed that allows for salmon alevin to swim upright and go out into the waters of our river when they are ready. Currently, we have salmon in various stages of life in each of the tanks, as well as a school of salmon enjoying a shaded pool on the side of the Winnemem Waywaket, waiting for the right time to head downstream.

The Winnemem Wintu signed an historic agreement with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to co-steward McCloud River Salmon Restoration Projects, which include bringing eyed eggs from wild New Zealand salmon to the Winnemem Waywaket (McCloud River), designing a volitional passage for the salmon up to our river, and beginning restoration projects along the watershed.

Salmon urgently need defenders, but clashes between traditional and scientific approaches make for uneasy coalitions. In 2022, Winnemem Wintu Tribe members worked with personnel from NOAA Fisheries, the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, and Dept. of Water Resources to create a way forward.

On an October site visit to a research site on Shasta Reservoir, where surface water temperatures had reached 84 degrees, Chief Caleen Sisk described how Chinook salmon changed after the dams went in: “They started getting sick, they started getting soft—and we stopped fishing.”

On July 11, 2022, salmon eggs were returned to the cold waters of the Winnemem Waywacket (McCloud River) for the first time since dam construction blocked their way in the 1940s. Winnemem Wintu children placed the eyed eggs into an incubator. In a few weeks, if all goes well, fry will swim out into the river.

Watch the 3-minute video, "Salmon Eggs Above Shasta Dam" produced by Will Doolittle to learn more!

Run4Salmon, named a UNESCO Green Citizen Project this year, will cover 300 miles over three weeks in July. Winnemem Wintu Chief Caleen Sisk will lead the seventh annual prayer journey from Mt. Shasta to the Pacific. Runners, walkers, and participants in boats, on bikes and on
horseback follow the path of migrating young salmon. The Run is a closed ceremony, but the public is invited to join online. For more information, visit run4salmon.org

After the late October storms, Chinook salmon returned to Dry Creek for the first time in years, just down the road from Tuiimyali village. One day—when our planned swimway comes into being—salmon will once again swim all the way to the cold waters of the high country, no longer blocked by dams.

Seeing the miracle fish swim and spawn was so poignant. Just a month before, wildfire had raced across the drought-parched terrain and burned to the doorsteps of the village. People and animals were evacuated as firefighters settled the flames down on Winnemem Wintu land, preventing it from burning neighboring homes.

Thank you to all who have given generously to the Indian Cultural Organization during a tough time!

Since the fire, ICO has received new funding for cultural burning and fire resilience, enabling Winnemem Wintu to train for and put traditional skills to use protecting forests from megafires. The rains filled the dry pond, and created opportunities for practicing water skills for next year’s Run4Salmon.

On Sept. 25, 2021, the Fawn Fire north of Redding burned to our doorsteps. The land of Tuimyalii village was scorched but the homes and structures were saved, and the oaks are still standing. Chief Caleen Sisk thanks all who fought the fire, helped evacuate people and animals, and put down prayers. Many Winnemem Wintu residents were put up by Redding Rancheria at their hotel. People and animals all are OK and looking forward to returning home. Thank you all.

It was a very close call. Other properties in the fire area were devastated and our thoughts are with those neighbors who lost their homes. On Sept. 27, two days later, a light gentle rain has arrived.