Paddle Tribal Waters, Non-Profit of the Year – 2025 Paddlers Awards Winners
We are delighted to announce that the 2025 Paddlers Award winner in the Non-Profit Category goes to Ríos to Rivers with the Paddle Tribal Waters program.
Ríos to Rivers works to connect Indigenous youth and communities around the world through river-based cultural exchange, leadership development, and advocacy. Since 2012, the team has engaged more than 1,000 underserved and Indigenous students from 20 endangered river basins across seven countries, including youth from 21 Indigenous Nations. Their Paddle Tribal Waters program empowers Tribal youth to become strong river stewards by pairing whitewater kayaking with cultural revitalization, environmental education, and advocacy for dam removal. Each year, regional cohorts train together on ancestral rivers, building leadership and intertribal ties. In partnership with World Class Academy, Paddle Tribal Waters also offers a semester-long accredited high school program that combines academics with skill development, paddling, and cultural exchange. In the summer of 2025, Ríos to Rivers led the historic Klamath River Source to Sea First Descent, a three-hundred-ten-mile journey down the newly undammed river from source to ocean. The trip marked a milestone for youth leadership and intertribal collaboration and shone a bright light on the global movement for free-flowing rivers. This award is a small acknowledgment of their immense contributions and the global impact of their work.
Jury: Clay Wright (USA), Savannah Westeinde (Canada), Dave Fusilli (USA), Lucien Schreiber (France), John Haines (Wales), Agata Sobieraj (Poland), Kalob Grady (Canada), Quim Fontané Maso (Catalonia), Philippe Doux (France), Sandra De Ugarte (Peru), Bartosz Czauderna (Poland), Ben Campbell (UK), Huw Butterworth (Wales), Anna Bruno (USA), Casey Bryant Jones (Canada), Tara Blair (USA), Beatrice Alducci (Italy), Shannon Finch (USA), Aaron Pruzan (USA), Benny Marr (Canada).
Check out the 2025 Paddlers Awards finalists here.
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