As we head into the Humboldt holidays, there is plenty to give thanks for. For one, we seem to have more Brett McFarland music videos than we know what to do with! Our cup truly runneth over. 

Speaking of runneth, that is something the Klamath River is doing again after the completion this year of the removal of several dams that have long impeded its flow. To mark these historic events, the latest high-budget McFarland clip — for the song “Klamath” — celebrates the tireless efforts of local tribes to remove the dams in the hopes that salmon runs would return to their historic levels. 

Watch the video above, and read more about the inspiration for the song in the release from McFarland’s camp below: 

Northern California Tribes have collaborated with local farmer, Brett McFarland, to release a new music video celebrating the historic undamming of the Klamath river. The video, Klamath, tells the powerful story of the river’s demise and the multi-tribe led effort to un-dam and restore what was once the third largest salmon producing river in the continental US.

This video comes just months after the last of the four dams were removed on the Klamath to reopen more than 400 miles of fish habitat. For the first time in over a century, salmon are returning to Oregon to spawn. The sheer numbers of fish have exceeded fisheries biologists’ expectations. For the Yurok, Karuk, Hoopa, Klamath and Shasta tribes the homecoming represents the culmination of a decades long battle. “We’ve been fighting for dam removal for over twenty years and the day has finally come,” says Annelia Hillman, Yurok Tribal member, community organizer and river advocate.

The undamming of the Klamath marks the largest dam removal in world history and was made possible by people working together across cultural, state, and party lines to do what was right for the planet. The music video for Klamath celebrates this historic achievement and aims to inspire others.

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