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Forests and Indigenous Leadership Director
Ryan Reed, Karuk, Hupa, and Yurok, is the co-founder and program director of the FireGeneration Collaborative. For his deep commitment to restore fire as a practice of Indigenous land stewardship, advance policy that supports tribal fire practices, and inspire new generations of leaders, Ryan is honored with the 2025 Indigenous Leadership Award.
At the center of Ryan Reed’s leadership and identity is his connection to place, community, and tending the relationship between salmon and fire. His work has shaped national policy conversations and deeply impacted his Karuk, Hupa, and Yurok homelands in northern California, where his family has carried medicine, ceremony, and activism across generations.
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—Ryan Reed, Karuk, Hupa, and Yurok
Ryan, Karuk, Hupa, and Yurok, grew up dip-netting with his family for the community at Ishi Pishi falls on the Klamath River, in the Karuk Tribe’s ancestral territory. During this time, Ryan drew strength from witnessing and experiencing Indigenous leadership in action. In addition to early mornings fishing on the river, Ryan would travel with his dad and other tribal leaders to attend meetings at the California state capital in Sacramento, where they argued for the removal of the Klamath River dams and the return of salmon to their river. And, after decades of activism, the Klamath dams were removed this past year, allowing the river to flow freely and welcome salmon returning home.
“Late in the fall run this last year, I took my aunt up there [to the Klamath river], and we saw salmon spawning in the iron gate. I looked at my aunt and saw the brightness of her smile and significance for [her]…We are salmon people, and this is our lifeline, [we try] to manage for our salmon and everything else that comes with it.”
For Ryan, dam removal, salmon, fire, and the lifeways of his community are all intricately connected. There is no one without the other. Once he realized the interconnectivity of fire to salmon, and hunting, gathering, and other cultural practices, he began to listen more deeply to his tribe’s cultural teachings about fire.
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As a young adult, Ryan’s personal experiences with fire in both Indigenous and western contexts intertwined. When Ryan was 18, he was asked to make medicine for the spring salmon ceremony, Ináamva. Being asked to step into this ceremonial role grounded Ryan in his spiritual and cultural identities, leading him to recognize that fire is a vital tool and spirit that plays an integral role in Karuk and many other Indigenous worldviews.
Not long after, Ryan experienced the 2020 Slater Fire, which destroyed nearly 200 homes and damaged critical ecosystems, including those of salmon, in Karuk ancestral territory. His experiences during this time sparked Ryan’s commitment to grow as a fire leader and transform the narrative around fire suppression by elevating Indigenous experiences and perspectives of fire stewardship. In a period of rapid personal, spiritual, and professional growth, Ryan became a wildland firefighter, co-founded FireGeneration Collaborative, and became the youngest member of the Northwest Forest Plan Federal Advisory Committee (NWFP FAC).
During his time serving for NWFP FAC, Ryan elevated youth perspectives on fire and Indigenous sovereignty with senior policymakers, including meetings with former U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore. As co-chair for tribal inclusion for NWFP FAC, Ryan co-produced 113 new policy recommendations that advanced tribal sovereignty and inclusion of Indigenous perspectives, values, and visions in the Northwest Forest Plan process. These policy recommendations were endorsed unanimously by the NWFP FAC.
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I’m most proud of the work that I do with FireGen [because it] is rooted in Indigenous ideology and working for the future generations.
Fire Generation Collaborative (FireGen) is a youth-led organization that seeks to “reimagine and transform fire culture, community governance access, and equitable solutions by centering Indigenous leadership and diverse young generations.” Being a spokesperson and leader for FireGen and more broadly is important to Ryan because he sees now as an important time to step up and push forward Indigenous leadership.
“We are getting the recognition and attention that we haven’t gotten before. There’s a huge intersection of issues that have festered for a long time, and it’s an opportunity for people to reinsert themselves in this leadership role, whether that be climate change, fire…it’s an opportunity to establish our cultural worldviews.”
Ryan has carried the teachings, leadership, and activism of his community into his work, grounded in the understanding that his identity is inseparable from place: he can’t practice or be who he is anywhere else. This understanding and his cultural worldviews, including that of a world renewal system, drive his commitment to not only preserve but also enhance what he and the Karuk people have. Ryan believes revitalizing Karuk culture and practices can heal the harms of colonialism and forced assimilation for this and future generations, which is a key aspect of his work through FireGeneration Collaborative: Youth, and their voices, are critical to this healing process.
With FireGen, Ryan is already thinking about continuation of leadership for fire stewardship in the coming years. “I’m most proud of the work that I do with FireGen [because it] is rooted in Indigenous ideology and working for the future generations, I’m already thinking about succession and who am I going to give certain roles, practices, and teachings to. I’m always thinking ahead… [how to] help feed their spirit and rejuvenate themselves over time.”
Ryan Reed speaking at the 2025 Indigenous Leadership Awards.
Website
The FireGeneration Collaborative aims to reimagine and transform fire culture, community governance access, and equitable solutions by centering Indigenous leadership and diverse young generations.
Project Page
A celebration of the determination, wisdom, and continuum of Indigenous leadership across the region.
Press Release
Six leaders and one group will be honored at a ceremony on October 15
PORTLAND, ORE. – July 22, 2025 – Ecotrust is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Indigenous Leadership Awards. …
