‘We’re dwindling like the salmon’: the Indigenous nations fighting for water rights

Malissa Tayaba hovers on a sandbank formed along the Sacramento River, which has been hit hard by drought and overuse. Photograph: Gabrielle Canon/The Guardian

In the Bay-Delta, the watershed formed by the two mighty rivers at the heart of California’s water system – the Sacramento and the San Joaquin – signs of worsening climate conditions intensify year after year.

Once abundant species of plants and animals that call these spaces home are disappearing. Flourishing toxic algal blooms threaten the health of the rivers and the people who live near them. As temperatures surge, there’s even less water to go around.