A River's Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn

For thousands of years, the Elwha River flowed north through the Pacific Northwest, sharing its gifts with the animals, plants, and people along its banks. The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, who call themselves the Strong People, caught salmon from the river, taking only what they needed. River, forest, salmon, and Strong People nourished one another.

Everything changed when strangers arrived in the 1790s. They did not understand the river’s gifts, and they saw the land and the river as theirs to tame. These strangers built dams, and the environmental consequences were disastrous.

Yet this is not the story of a tragedy. Sibert honoree Patricia Newman and award-winning illustrator Natasha Donovan join forces to tell a tale of hope and renewal, showing how the Strong People, a national park, and others worked together to remove the dams and restore this precious ecosystem so that all could enjoy the river’s gifts once again.