Winnemem Wintu – Middle Water People

The Winnemem Wintu are a traditional tribe who inhabit our ancestral territory from Buliyum Puyuuk (Mt. Shasta) down the Winnemem Waywaket (McCloud River) watershed. When the Shasta Dam was constructed during World War II, it flooded our home and blocked the salmon runs.

The Nur, or salmon, are an integral part of our lifeway and of a healthy Winnemem Waywaket watershed. We believe that when the last salmon is gone, humans will be gone too. Our fight to return the Nur to the Winnemem Waywaket is no less than a fight to save the Winnemem Wintu Tribe.

As salmon people and middle water people, we advocate for all aspects of clean water and the restoration of salmon to their natural spawning grounds.

Sawal Mem, Sawal Suhana (Sacred Water, Sacred Life)