Native scholar, activist and now author Brook M. Thompson has written a new nonfiction children’s book, “I Love Salmon and Lampreys: A Native Story of Resilience.”

Thompson, who is a member of the Yurok and Karuk tribes, wrote the story based on her experiences growing up along the Klamath River in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The book — illustrated by Anastasia Khmelevska from Lviv, Ukraine — also addresses the catastrophic 2002 fish kill in the area, which prompted tribal elders and younger generations to accelerate efforts to have the Klamath River dams removed, as well as the ultimate removal of the dams last year.

“I aspire to be able to tell the inspiring history of how the largest dam removal in the U.S. came to be, in large part due to tribal involvement,” Thompson said.

She added, “I want to share the story of dam removal because it has been such a huge part of my life and a huge accomplishment not only for local tribes, but an inspirational story for anyone interested in conservation and restoration. There are kids being born now who will never have to know the devastation of the 2002 fish kill or how difficult dam removal was. Thankfully, they will experience the Klamath never knowing the four dams on it. … I (also) want to be able to tell the story of the fish kill and how the dams were taken down so they can be inspired to know they can make changes and differences themselves.

“The kids now will inherit the future of the Klamath River,” Thompson said, “and I want to make sure they know the history of it so they can continue to protect the river, and thus the salmon and lamprey who also share it with us.”

While Thompson says she thinks most everyone knows what a salmon is, they may not know about the lamprey, so her book also talks a little bit about this eel-shaped fish.

“Lamprey are under-appreciated despite also being an important fish for the ecosystem and my tribes. … Lamprey are such interesting — and tasty — fish. For example, they have a ‘third-eye’ above their head that senses changes in light like a reptile. I think because they look scary with their rows of blood-sucking teeth, they are not appreciated as they should be.”

Thompson says she grew up splitting time between the Yurok reservation on the Klamath River where her father lived and Portland, Oregon, where her mother’s family resides.

“Growing up in Klamath,” she said, “the time that was not spent fishing, preparing to fish or cooking fish was spent collecting the stunning diversity of rocks at the shoreline or hanging out with my grandfather Awwoka’ Archie Thompson, who was the last Native speaker for Yurok — the last living elder who spoke Yurok as his first language.“My grandfather is represented in the book in a picture where he is handing me a salmon in a traditional redwood canoe,” Thompson added. “I would spend time with my grandfather watching ‘Gunsmoke,’ ‘The Andy Griffin Show’ and ‘Walker, Texas Ranger,’ and then we would go on walks around Crescent City, where he would describe our walk in Yurok to me. My childhood was filled with salmon blood on my sweatshirt, sand in my boots and being surrounded by my family on the Klamath River yelling ‘Fish on!’ when we saw a salmon hit the net.”

Because of these childhood experiences and her love of the river, Thompson — who now lives in Eureka — has pursued a career in science.

“Growing up in the late ’90s and early 2000s, I did not have many Native role models who went to school, especially not scientists or engineers who are women. Schools did not have many stories about Native American girls that were not set in the past as in colonial times. I wanted to create a book where Native students could have a role model and representation that I wish I had more access to as a child. For non-Native kids, I hope I can re-contextualize their idea of what an engineer or scientist looks like,” said Thompson, who earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering with a minor in political science from Portland State University and a master’s degree from Stanford University in environmental engineering with an emphasis in water resources and hydrology.

She is now pursuing a doctorate in environmental studies with a minor in coastal science and policy at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

“I research differences between spring and fall salmon in the Klamath River, water policy and how restoration organizations in California can work more effectively with tribes,” Thompson said. “I decided to get my doctorate because I saw a need for more research on Klamath salmon and restoration of streams that I hope will inform better state policy in the future to benefit all Californians, including those who live in the water.”

“I Love Salmon and Lampreys” — which will be released Tuesday — is Thompson’s first book.

“I started working on it at 18 years old and I am now 29,” she said. “I would love to write more. I have an idea for a book about our local ring-tailed cats and how they are confused for lemurs all the time. I also have ideas for more advanced levels of nonfiction writing about Native American identity politics, dam removal and decolonizing engineering.”

On another note, the text in “I Love Salmon and Lampreys” is written in a font called OpenDyslexic. The bottom of the letters are weighted, she said, which makes reading easier for people with dyslexia.

“Growing up with dyslexia,” Thompson said, “I struggled with reading, even now as a Ph.D. student. Reading seemed like an un-fun task and I did not enjoy it. … If this book can make reading even the slightest bit easier for a kid with a learning disability like my own, I will be thrilled.”

The 32-page hardcover “I Love Salmon and Lampreys: A Native Story of Resilience” (Heyday Books, March 2025) should be available soon at several local bookstores. It can also be purchased via Amazon or other online sources.