Return of the C'waam
This register backs the factual claims the game makes. Every claim the game shows a student is listed here with a short statement of the claim and the public source it is drawn from.
The lessons in the game are original, authored narration. The game does not reenact ceremony, invent an “elder voice,” or speak for the Klamath Tribes. Cultural statements are limited to what is already public — first food, ewksiknii, time immemorial. Real Klamath voices and language are a separate, community-sourced layer to be added with the Tribes, not generated.
Pinning every granular claim to a single page is an ongoing, human-reviewed task. Where a claim rests on the body of agency science generally, the agency's overview page is cited rather than a single study.
| ID | Key | Statement | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CWAAM-001 | cwaamTaxon | C'waam is the Lost River sucker (*Deltistes luxatus*); koptu is the shortnose sucker. | USFWS; Oregon Encyclopedia |
| CWAAM-002 | longLived | C'waam are long-lived (40+ years). | USGS; USFWS |
| CWAAM-003 | iteroparousAdult | Adults return to spawn over many years (iteroparous). | USGS |
| CWAAM-004 | springSpawning | C'waam spawn in spring. | USFWS; ODE SB13 |
| CWAAM-005 | gravelSpawn | Eggs are laid on clean gravel where cold water flows through. | USFWS; USGS |
| CWAAM-006 | shorelineSprings | Some c'waam spawn at shoreline springs of Upper Klamath Lake. | USGS |
| CWAAM-007 | modocRimSprings | Shoreline spawning occurs at springs along the lake rim. | USGS |
| CWAAM-008 | suckerSprings | Sucker/Barkley Springs (Hagelstein) are documented spawning springs. | USGS |
| CWAAM-009 | larvalDrift | Larvae drift from spawning sites down toward the lake. | USGS |
| CWAAM-010 | nurseryHabitat | Young fish rear in nearshore/marsh nursery habitat. | USGS |
| CWAAM-011 | shorelineVegetation | Shoreline/emergent vegetation shelters larvae and juveniles. | USGS |
| CWAAM-012 | recruitmentBottleneck | Decline is driven by a recruitment bottleneck (few young survive to adulthood). | USGS |
| CWAAM-013 | juvenileMortality | Juvenile mortality in the lake is the key population pressure. | USGS |
| CWAAM-014 | juvenileStressors | Juveniles are stressed by warm water, low oxygen, and poor water quality. | USGS; OPB |
| CWAAM-015 | bloomLowOxygen | Algae blooms that die and decompose strip dissolved oxygen. | USGS; OPB |
| CWAAM-016 | ecosystemChallenges | The basin faces compounding water-quality and habitat challenges. | OPB; USGS |
| CWAAM-017 | avianPredation | Birds (e.g. American white pelicans) prey on suckers. | USGS |
| CWAAM-018 | lowLakeHabitat | Low lake levels reduce usable habitat. | USGS; OPB |
| CWAAM-019 | upperKlamathGeography | The fish are endemic to the Klamath Basin (incl. Upper Klamath Lake and the Lost River system). | Oregon Encyclopedia; USFWS |
| CWAAM-020 | culturalImportance | C'waam & koptu are a Klamath first food, central to the people of the waters (ewksiknii). | Klamath Tribes (public materials) |
| CWAAM-021 | independentProject | This game is an independent project; it is not produced or endorsed by the Klamath Tribes or ODE. | Project statement |
| EDU-001 | odeTribalCurriculum | Klamath stages map onto Oregon's SB13 Tribal History / Shared History curriculum. | ODE SB13 |
| EDU-002 | odeGradeOneImportance | Grade 1: the importance of the c'waam to the Klamath people. | ODE SB13 (1st grade) |
| EDU-003 | odeGradeTwoHabitatStewardship | Grade 2: Klamath lake habitat and stewardship. | ODE SB13 (2nd grade) |
| EDU-004 | odeGradeThreeIncompleteLifeCycle | Grade 3: the (currently incomplete) c'waam life cycle. | ODE SB13 (3rd grade) |
| EDU-005 | odeStoryCeremonyContext | Story/ceremony context is presented only as public curriculum framing, not reenacted. | ODE SB13 |
| CTA-001 | campaignLinks | Restoration & advocacy context for the basin. | Klamath Tribes; NARF; Sierra Club; Earthjustice (public campaigns) |