Just northwest of Ignacio, at the Santa Rita Whitewater Park, the Animas River flows throughout the Southern Ute Reservation and into northern New Mexico. The river has long been a prime destination for recreational water sports, locals and tourists enjoy rafting, tubing, fishing, and kayaking. To increase diversity on the water, Four Corners River Sports offered programming specific to Ute youth, supported by grant funding, to teach them how to kayak. Led by Native kayaking guide, Sage Nicolai, the youth spent a week on the river gaining an immersive kayaking experience.
Southern Ute tribal members – Matthew Carrillo and Leandro Litz Jr. spent time with Nicolai and other guides out on the Animas River, Monday, July 28 through Friday, Aug. 1, learning the ins and outs of the sport. The Animas River is one of the best rafting and kayaking locations in Colorado and brings in nearly 10% of Colorado’s rafting revenue. Located in Durango, Colo., the Santa Rita Whitewater Park is an artificially designed area of rapids in the Animas River. The park also features viewing areas, public open space, and more.
“In collaboration with Kristean Velasquez and Ashleigh Tucker, who helped secure our grant funding, we were able to identify ‘Tuk’ [Matthew Carrillo] and ‘Jr.’ [Leandro Litz Jr.] as two Southern Ute kids that would really benefit from this experience,” Nicolai said. “Just watching them evolve over those five days, from taking a stroke and having a spinout to kayaking down a class three wave on the Smelter, was incredible.”
Nicolai is a kayaking guide with Four Corners River Sports in Durango, hailing from the Flathead Indian Reservation he has been active in water sports since age 16. Nicolai got started rafting through his father, then later got into kayaking, this year he completed his certification to become a kayak guide through Four Corners River Sports. In his time on the river, Nicolai noticed a lack in diversity amongst the classes he was leading – being Indigenous himself, it became a goal to introduce this water sport to other Indigenous youth.
“I didn’t really notice that big of a diversity within the classes, and myself being Native, I had the idea that maybe I can help get some neighboring Ute kids out here to come and kayak and have fun,” Nicolai said. “Kayaking is such a fun sport for me, I really enjoy it, and I wanted to be able to spread that wealth a bit – so after talking to my bosses about the idea we discussed getting the kids sponsored through the Animas River Days nonprofit, empowering youth through whitewater paddling scholarships.”
Matthew Carrillo and Leandro Litz Jr. kicked off the week out at Lake Nighthorse learning to wear their safety gear and becoming familiar with the different parts of the kayak. As the week progressed, they moved to the Oxbow Park at the north end of Durango, to discuss important river safety, mapping out their paths and learning the river – days three and four consisted of learning different paddles strokes down the river from 29th street at Memorial Park to 9th street at Schneider Park. On the final day, the youth ventured to the Santa Rita Whitewater Park where they navigated the waterslide features of the river in their kayaks. The youth used that day to focus on having fun, while putting their new skills to the test.
“I haven’t had a class all year that has done Smelter one time, these kids had progressed so fast compared to my other classes, they are quick learners,” Nicolai said. “Some of the kids were scared at first but just seeing them slowly go further down the river and persevere that made me really proud – these things can apply in life too, not just in kayaking.”
In the future Nicolai and Four Corners River Sports hope to continue to bring more Ute relatives and other Natives out on the river. This opportunity also allowed for the students to challenge themselves, explore their ancestral Ute lands, create friendships, and get outdoors.