Editor’s Note, Nov. 24, 2024: Article was updated to correct inaccuracies.
Kyra and Ethan Oh were taught from a young age that the natural world is composed not of resources but of relatives. Raised by Indigenous relatives, the siblings learned to appreciate the connection between themselves and the earth. In this spirit, they partnered with Cast Hope and local Indigenous tribes to form the first fly-fishing club at North Tahoe High School in 2022.
No matter the season, fly-fishers are often spotted in the Tahoe/Truckee area at any one of the local bodies of water. The sport combines intricacy and patience, and many young people are growing interested in learning the art of fly-fishing.
Kyra and Ethan were adopted into the Navajo Red Running into Water People Clan and Tlingit Raven moiety, Copper River Clan, Owl House. They recall their Tlingit grandmother, Elaine Abraham, saying, “This is a good time for our young people to champion change. If we don’t take care of our land, the next generation will not have what we have now. It’s time for each one of us to make a difference.” Similarly, their Navajo grandmother, Ursula Knoki-Wilson, enlightened them that everything has a spirit and needs to be respected.
Kyra wanted to make the difference her grandmothers encouraged. At the start of her high school career, she joined the Envirolution Club and soon became president. She regularly worked with the Truckee River Watershed Council. She mailed out monthly water samples and was stationed at local hotspots during the summer, informing residents and visitors about the importance of leaving no trace, recreating responsibly, and modeling good stewardship. While Kyra developed her connections with the watershed, she soon learned that the Truckee River watershed is unusual — although it begins at Lake Tahoe, it drains into the Truckee River and then terminates at Kooyooe Pa’a Panunadu (Pyramid Lake), unlike most watersheds, which drain entirely into the ocean.
Pyramid Lake, a world-class fishing hotspot, is home to the Paiute Tribe Reservation. For its economy to function, this tribe primarily depends on boat and fishing licenses, camping fees, and tax revenue from other residents and visitors. Yet poverty rates remain high.
Kyra and Ethan first approached the only two offshore Paiute fly-fishing guides in the area, Autumn Harry (Numu and Diné) and Marvin Racine (Numu). Kyra and Ethan shared success stories of equipping indigenous youth with fly fishing gear like Medicine Fish in Wisconsin and Bristol Bay Fly Fishing and Guide Academy in Alaska, where the Ohs grew up. They partnered with Cast Hope, a nonprofit that already provided outdoor experiences to at-risk youth through fly-fishing in California and Western Nevada.
“We use our business and fly-fishing as a tool to expose kids to topics such as wilderness appreciation for the environment,” said Cast Hope regional director Matt Heron, who was eager to meet with young activists Kyra and Ethan. “In a perfect world, these kids I meet are going to grow up as prevailing fans of conservation and outdoor education. It’s really icing on the cake if they are lifelong fly-fishers too.”
Not long ago, Cast Hope gave away fly fishing rods to indigenous youth, but never heard back from any of the recipients. Heron asked Kyra to see if she could improve retention. As a Title I school, meaning it holds a high population of low-income students, North Tahoe is a primary target for Cast Hope, so Kyra jumped on the offer. They soon joined forces. Heron became the project advisor for the two and assisted them in founding the North Tahoe Fly Fishing Club. The project also tied into Kyra’s Girl Scouts Gold Award, the highest achievement earned by only 5.4% of Girl Scouts which requires “developing and carrying out lasting solutions to issues in their neighborhoods and beyond. Kyra devoted 145 hours towards earning this award.
The Ohs wanted their peers to understand how their fishing impacts the lives of those downstream and continued to recruit members, including longtime social studies teacher Jennifer Jurosky, to be the club advisor. Jurosky later told the two that after their acts of kindness, she knows this club will continue for years after they both graduate. Their advisor’s classroom helps prepare for these events, as the members meet in her room to hold speaker series, fly-tying workshops, and do whatever they can to learn and show their true love for others and the heart of the sport.
Since it began two years ago, the club and Cast Hope have together given away 105 rods to Indigenous youth at Pyramid Lake. This past March, North Tahoe Fly-Fishing Club and Cast Hope handed out 35 rods. Racine, Cast Hope, the North Tahoe club, and several Paiute-owned businesses provided the youth and other attendees with breakfast and lunch and a raffle. Youths who attended also received gear to take home to help them carry on with the sport. Heron further explained how special it is when the kids follow up with Cast Hope.
“Don’t get me wrong, catching fish is awesome, but my true, lifelong friends are the ones I met through the fly-fishing industry and days like these,” he said. “All day we teach them how to use [the rods], and in a perfect world, they follow up for long-term teachings instead of just a one-and-done day at the lake. Those connections really shine.”
Dakota Lawrence was one of the lucky teens to receive a rod and follow through with the sport. “The day we got the rods it felt really good, I liked it a lot,” he said. Lawrence further explained that an outdoor expedition academy, which introduced him to the sport, has continued to support his enjoyment of fly-fishing, although they haven’t gone out in a while.
Nearly 200 people attended that day, including members of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony’s Language Culture Program, which set up a booth at the event to teach three Indigenous languages: Washoe, Paiute, and Shoshone. A few of the elders offered blessings to those attending and running the event and spoke with tears in their eyes, saying they hadn’t seen their community gather like this for many years.
Kyra reflected on her own childhood, explaining that when she caught her first salmon, her parents taught her to celebrate by giving her first catch to an elder. In their culture, this practice respects the animals and ensures future catches. She is truly passionate about her adopted heritage, and it’s highly important to her not to be seen as a Western/scientist nonprofit “that just shows up for a day or two, collects data, and never gives the tribe anything in return.”
Ethan shares his sister’s sentiment about the fly-fishing community and their past.
“Beyond the rivers and lakes, the relationships and memories that develop from sharing a moment like releasing a rainbow trout back into the Truckee River are what really make this sport,” he said.
Ethan reflected on a time last fall when he was fishing with an Indigenous friend, Terrance Sarabia (Numu). Coordinating a day of fishing was not easy, but they made it happen and helped each other achieve the great moment of catching a rainbow trout. Neither of them was catching much at first, but they kept encouraging each other; it was an unforgettable memory for both of them.
“With the reclamation of land and water and revitalization of language and culture that we saw in Alaska, Wisconsin, and Nevada at Pyramid Lake, we now understand what Grandma Ursula and Elaine meant by how everything is connected,” declared Kyra Oh, on behalf of herself and her brother Ethan.
~ Sixteen-year-old Lola Barta has lived in Truckee her whole life. She dedicates much of her time to being an editor of the Truckee High yearbook, The Peak. She enjoys all aspects of journalism, and in her free time she values hanging out with friends and family, working out, or just watching a rom-com.
