170 - Amy Bowers Cordalis, The Yurok People, California History, and The Art of Dam Removal

In this episode of The History of California Podcast, host Jordan Mattox sits down with attorney, author, and Yurok Tribe member Amy Bowers Cordalis for an intimate conversation about her new book The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life. Amy shares the story of her family's deep roots along the Klamath River, the Yurok creation narrative that shapes their worldview, and the tribe’s intergenerational struggle to protect salmon and restore ecological balance. Together, Jordan and Amy explore the 2002 Klamath fish kill, the complex legal fight for dam removal, the importance of myth and cultural continuity, and the profound moment the river flowed freely once again. Throughout the episode, they examine Indigenous stewardship, the legacy of genocide, the nature of environmental restoration, and how the story of the Klamath fits into the larger arc of California’s history.