The ecology is the economy.
The salmon, the sacred pools, the springs, the oak trees, the manzanita. Not externalities. The foundation.
Sawalmem means sacred water
Long before there was a market, there was a river.
Sawalmem is Winnemem Wintu-led restoration: land returned to its people, salmon returned to their waters, ceremony at the center.
Since 2023, 1,259 acres of ancestral land have returned to Winnemem Wintu stewardship. Springs and creeks are tended again. An eco-village is rising where ceremony leads and Winnemem lifeways return.
The McCloud River. Photo: Phil Reedy.
The people
A Village Returning
Winnemem Wintu people living on ancestral land, practicing ceremony, restoring the watershed, sustained by the work itself. The Eco Village makes this real.
Lindada Nur Collection
Bollibokka
Become a Guardian of the Water.
Seven miles of the McCloud River, our spiritual center. Access to the river for salmon restoration is secured. The work continues. The salmon do not wait for paperwork.
Monthly giving
The River Runs on Relationship.
Become a monthly supporter of Sawalmem and the Winnemem Wintu people's work to bring the salmon home.