About this episode

The episode discusses the film 'First Descent: Kayaking the Klamath' and its focus on indigenous teens completing a river journey.

Amidst a flourish of media about Paddle Tribal Waters, a new film has published from Oregon Public Broadcasting & Jessie Sears, giving focus to the 2025 source to sea run completed by the indigenous teens of PTW. The film, “First Descent: Kayaking the Klamath”, is there to meet the paddlers at the Pacific Ocean when they complete their journey, is with them along the river and the film also engages with the families of the paddlers to hear their perceptions of their kid’s work and pursuits. And finally, the film’s producer, Jessie Sears, is a member of the Karuk Tribe from the Klamath River basin, and by creating this film, she is exploring her own connections with this river and these families.

People in this episode

Host: Sam Carter

Topics covered

• indigenous culture
• film production
• youth empowerment
• river conservation
• community engagement

Keywords

• Paddle Tribal Waters
• Jessie Sears
• Klamath River
• indigenous teens
• film
• kayaking
• community

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Oregon Public Broadcasting

Books & works: First Descent: Kayaking the Klamath

Places: Klamath River, Pacific Ocean, Klamath River basin

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• Live with The Returning Rapids Project, at the America Outdoors Conference · March 3, 2026 · 1h 21m
• National Paddling Film Festival 2026 · February 17, 2026 · 42 min
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