THE WATER REMEMBERS My Indigenous Family's Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life

Amy Bowers Cordalis, general counsel and member of the Yurok Nation, tells the complex story of her family's multigenerational part in the restoration of the Klamath River. From time immemorial, Bowers Cordalis' people have fished the Klamath, which covers 257 miles from southern Oregon to northern California. But when the U.S. government dammed the river, the water became warmer, dangerous algae bloomed, at least 33,000 fish died, and a way of life for Indigenous people that had lasted for thousands of years was destroyed. Bowers Cordalis' account of the scientific data and many court battles leading to the dam's reversal can be a bit dry. What lifts this production above the ordinary is the inclusion of Yurok songs and recorded oral histories. S.G. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2025]