Water Stewardship & Indigenous Knowledge

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What does it mean to truly care for water – not merely to manage it, but to recognize it as a living part of our shared world?

This guiding question shaped the panel discussion on Indigenous Knowledge and Water Stewardship.

The session featured a preview of the powerful documentary Undamming Klamath (Swiftwater Films), which chronicles the historic 2024 removal of the hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River, the largest dam removal project in U.S. history. Following the screening, a panel of experts from the United States, Switzerland, and the Yurok, Sauk-Suiattle, and Yakama Nations engaged in a rich dialogue on water stewardship:

Kara Briggs (Sauk-Suiattle/Yakama) is a former journalist who spent two decades covering the American West before writing a widely read column on cancer in tribal communities during her own experience with the disease. She has worked with tribes from Arizona to Alaska and currently serves as Vice President of Tribal Lands and Waters Stewardship at Ecotrust. Her poetry collection Rivers in My Veins was recently published by Saint Julian Press.

Romain Maendly is a Senior Water Resources Engineer with the California Department of Water Resources, bringing a technical and policy perspective on how large-scale water systems are managed, restored, and planned for in a changing climate.

Felicia Marcus is the Landreth Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Water in the West Program after a career in the private, non-profit, and governmental sectors working on a range of environmental and other issues. Felicia has been Chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board, Administrator of the U.S. EPA Region IX, head of the City of LA’s Public Works Department, and other NGO and private sector roles. She is currently working on climate adaptation, water, and energy issues as a researcher, Board Member, and as a consultant.

Annelia Norris (pue-leek-la) is a climate activist and artist whose work centers on water, land, and Indigenous ecological relationships. Featured in the documentary Guardians of the River, her site-specific installation Rubble with a Cause (2024), composed of installation debris from Copco #2, Iron Gate dams, and protest artwork, was on view in the exhibition Hidden Currencies: Water Justice in the Age of AI.

Moderated by:

Mary Miller is a science communicator, digital media producer, and educator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work focuses on the intersection of water, energy, and the environment in the American West, including reporting on major river restoration projects such as dam removals on the Klamath, Eel, and Russian Rivers. Her experience ranges from polar research in Antarctica and Greenland to flying aboard NOAA hurricane missions and exploring deep-sea volcanoes on oceanographic vessels.

The conversation was further deepened by Tiah Marie Ross Butner’s drawing, Where We come From – Klamath River, which served as both a visual anchor and an emotional center of gravity, making visible what words alone could not express.