Carquinez Strait, CA — Desirae Harp (Mishewal OnastaTis Nation) holds up a wooden salmon figurine as the Run4Salmon crosses over the Benicia-Martinez Bridge. September 17, 2018. Tom Levy/The Spiritual EdgeVallejo, CA — Winnemem Wintu Michael Preston dances before the sacred fire as part of the Run4Salmon opening ceremony at Sogorea Te', a former indigenous village site. September 9, 2017. Tom Levy/The Spiritual EdgeVallejo, CA — Helene Sisk, Winnemem Wintu song leader, (center, eyes closed) and other Winnemem Wintu women sing as part of the Run4Salmon opening ceremony at Sogorea Te’, a former indigenous village site. September 9, 2017. Tom Levy/The Spiritual EdgeMt. Shasta, CA — The Winnemem Wintu gather once a year at a sacred spring on Mt. Shasta where they believe the world began. Chief Caleen Sisk, in red, gestures as she prays. July 9, 2021. Tom Levy/The Spiritual EdgeMiddle McCloud River Falls, CA — “You tend to think about the purpose and why we’re here, [the] salmon coming up,” said Dr. Dennie Schulteis after his ceremonial swim at the middle falls of the McCloud River. — July 10, 2019Lower McCloud River Falls, CA — Nick Wilson smudges a young member of the Winnemem Wintu tribe before the “Salmon Challenge” begins. — July 10, 2019McCloud, CA — The Winnemem Wintu and friends gather for a sunrise ceremony near the base of Mt. Shasta. That morning, on the mountain’s slopes, they saw an image of a bear with a salmon. — Aug. 11, 2019McCloud, CA — A Winnemem Wintu dancer during an annual ceremony held near the foot of Mt. Shasta. — Aug. 11, 2019Shasta-Trinity National Forest, CA — The granddaughter of Chief Caleen Sisk holds a cup of salmon eggs she will pour into a salmon "incubator" (the blue barrel). After hatching, the juvenile salmon will swim out into the McCloud River to begin their life cycle journey. — July 11, 2022McCloud, CA — A Winnemem Wintu friend celebrates after completing preparation of a dance arbor near the base of Mt. Shasta. — Aug. 11, 2019

PROJECT

Ten photographs from five years of reporting on the Winnemem Wintu, a Native tribe in Shasta County, California. The Winnemem Wintu struggle to maintain their spiritual practices amid ongoing conflicts with governmental authorities over water, land, salmon and Shasta Dam.

A Prayer For Salmon is an 11-chapter podcast series originally broadcast in 2023 on KALW public radio.

Much gratitude to the Winnemem Wintu, their chief, Caleen Sisk, and their friends for allowing me and my colleague, Judy Silber, Spiritual Edge executive editor, to spend time with them from 2017 through 2022. To learn more, visit the Winnemem Wintu website.

CLIENT

The Spiritual Edge, a religion journalism project of KALW public radio in San Francisco.

Category: Projects