Greg Archuleta talks about the removal of the Sandy River Dam and the return of wapato and salmon.

Bio: Greg Archuleta is Clackamas Chinook, Santiam Kalapuya, and Shasta, and a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. As an artist and educator, he teaches about the culture and history of the Tribes of Western Oregon, including ethnobotany, carving, cedar hat-making, Native art design, and basketry.

Transcript: So like there’s some examples here along the Sandy River, like when they removed the dam up river. And the salmon within the year, you know, returning up above that dam. And then here on the lower part of the river where they took out the dam and let the slough, the river flow more naturally. And then you have the Wapato coming back. And it’s just like I’ve seen instances too where there’s been like landscaping and it’s gets accidentally burned and then all these native plants just spring up right there. It’s just like they’re waiting for the opportunity to return to some of these places.