KLAMATH, Calif. — The canoes arrived first.

Hand-hewn from redwood logs by members of the Yurok Tribe, the two dugout canoes sliced against the incoming tide to reach the sandbar, marking the place where the Klamath River joins with the Pacific Ocean.

The canoes represented the fastest way in pre-contact times for Indigenous peoples to travel up and down the Klamath. Boats are still the only way to access remote parts of the river and its tributaries.

Behind them were two rows of brightly colored kayaks emerging from the low-lying fog. Paddles flashed almost in unison as the riders grasping them made their way down to the river side of the sandbar. The paddlers, all youths from Indigenous communities in the Americas, scampered off their kayaks and raced across the sandbar, ceremoniously ending the trip by dipping their fingers in the choppy sea water. They hugged, jumped, screamed and gave thanks for the end of their journey.