Sierra Klemme grew up in Page, AZ and took her soccer endeavors to the University of Colorado which led her to working as an intern at Grand Canyon National Park. Outside of her internship, Sierra has been carving out her career as a river guide. Take a listen as she shares her journey from soccer athlete to river guide and we hope you enjoy!

[Sierra Klemme]

If something feels bigger than you, don't be afraid to really lean into it, to allow the intensity of those feelings to fully engulf you. You know, those feelings may be things you feel here at the Grand Canyon. I certainly do.

It is just something I wanted to say that being a part of something bigger than you is quite wonderful.

[Lakin]

Hello and welcome back to Grand Canyon Speaks. This is Lakin.

[Meranden]

And this is Meranden.

[Lakin]

In this episode, Meranden had a chance to interview Sierra Klemme who was an intern at Grand Canyon National Park and continues to pursue her career as a river guide.

As a member of the Navajo Nation, she grew up in Page, Arizona just up the road from the canyon.

[Meranden]

During her time at Page high school, she played with the girls’ soccer team, however she suffered an injury that caused her to miss out on her junior year of soccer.

[Lakin]

Despite this injury, Sierra wasn't ready to give up yet, so she continued to play soccer at the University of Colorado and Colorado Springs.

[Meranden]

Take a listen as Sierra tells us about going from a soccer athlete to a river guide. We hope you enjoy.

[Sierra Klemme]

My name is Sierra Klemme. I'm a Diné woman from the Navajo Nation, and currently I am an intern with Grand Canyon National Park Fisheries Department, as well as a part-time river guide through the canyon. So this summer, I've been splitting my time between Page, Flagstaff, and the Colorado River.

[Meranden]

Nice.

Dang, that's a lot. Well, first of all, have you been to the canyon before this internship?

[Sierra Klemme]

I have, yes. I grew up nearby, and so I spent a lot of my childhood visiting the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

[Meranden]

Nice. But yeah, it's cool that you've been here before. So you mentioned Flagstaff and Page. You did actually grow up in Page, right?

[Sierra Klemme]

Yes, I did. Yeah, I grew up in Page, which is about an hour north of here. It borders Utah and the Navajo Reservation.

Page was established originally because of the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam, which creates the reservoir behind it, known as Lake Powell, and has the Colorado River running below.

[Meranden]

Nice, yeah. I didn't know the meaning behind it.

Yeah, that's cool, because I'm from Tuba City, and we've been there. We go there sometimes, and then we also went there for sports too.

And then speaking of sports, which is what we're here for today, is to talk about the meaning of sports towards Native communities. So through this podcast, we've been able to talk to a lot of different athletes that are from the 11 tribes who call the canyon home, and we've been able to talk to people who did basketball running, some things with equestrian [sports] or horses and things like that, and now we have you doing soccer.

So, would you like to talk a little bit about how you got into soccer or the inspiration behind it?

[Sierra Klemme]

Yeah, there's not a specific moment that I can pinpoint as being inspired when I first started playing soccer.

I think I was like five or six years old, and my parents honestly just signed me up for city league soccer, but it turns out I was naturally pretty good at it and really enjoyed it. So, as the years went on, my love for the sport grew as well as my skill set, and I later found myself playing for the Page High School soccer team, and that is where I found some inspiration for my later soccer career years. There was this girl named Brittany Tso, she was also a Navajo girl, and nobody was playing soccer like her.

It was, yeah, super cool to see her scoring goals left and right, always bringing up team mentality, and yeah, she really set a new standard of sort of what it meant for me to be a soccer player, and I thought it was really cool that this other Native girl was playing soccer, where most people on the reservation in this area play basketball during that season, and so yeah, it was sweet to see her and share that experience.

[Meranden]

Nice, yeah, and in Page, is there a pretty big Diné population there?

[Sierra Klemme]

Yeah, so Page is a little border town, and so a lot of students of Page High School come in from the reservation and surrounding areas, and so yeah, the primary student body is Indigenous youth.

[Meranden]

Nice, that's cool.

I can kind of relate with the soccer, like growing up, they used to have like a little, I forgot what it's called, but when we were smaller, we used to play soccer too, and I remember when we were really small, like when you play, like not a lot of kids know how to play super well, and they just like kick your shin guards like really hard.

I remember that, like getting kicked like really hard, and then I also got like, one time a ball hit me in the stomach really hard, and it's like, that really knocks the wind out of you.

[Sierra Klemme]

Right, yeah, I've had it all, kicked shins, black eyes.

[Meranden]

Really?

[Sierra Klemme]

Worth it, but yeah.

[Meranden]

Yeah, so like when you did play in high school, what were some of the teams that you played? Was it like usually on the reservation, or was it like out of, in the Valley or anything like that? Like who did you play against?

[Sierra Klemme]

It was mainly schools down in Flagstaff and the Phoenix area that were sort of on our same size level. There was not really any schools on the reservation that had girls’ soccer teams, specifically girls’ soccer teams, and so yeah, there was a lot of traveling to play this sport.

[Meranden]

Nice, yeah, and then like when you played soccer in high school, did you have any plans to play after high school?

[Sierra Klemme]

When I first started, I didn't know that I would want to play later on, but unfortunately in high school, I suffered a pretty serious knee injury, and so I only got to play three out of the four years of high school, and I kind of felt like I wasn't ready to be done yet, and so yeah, I did decide to pursue soccer after high school at a collegiate level.

However, school was more important to me, and so I chose school first and then decided to figure out how I could still play soccer, and I tried out for a team, didn't make it, and then I wound up playing for a club team at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, and so I played for about two years for them, and we would travel within Colorado playing other schools.

[Meranden]

Nice.

Is there anybody in your family who also played soccer?

[Sierra Klemme]

Not in my like immediate family, but I did have a cousin who played in high school as a defender, and you know, got a lot of accolades and everything, and also kind of inspired me and made me want to do that as well, and luckily I was a forward, a striker, and so we got to shine in our different areas.

[Meranden]

Nice.

[Sierra Klemme]

But yeah, it was pretty good.

[Meranden]

As someone that doesn't really understand soccer like positions, what does a forward do? Is it much like like basketball who like shoots, or like what's the, what does a forward do?

[Sierra Klemme]

Exactly, yeah, pretty much that. The forward is up at the top of the field trying to be available to score goals and everything.

[Meranden]

Nice, cool.

Much like how a forward is important to the soccer, the game of soccer, athletics plays a really important role to a lot of our Native communities. They've been able to help us shine and show that we are here and we can do just as much as anyone else could. What do athletics or sports mean to your Native community, like your own Page community, also your Diné community as well?

[Sierra Klemme]

So growing up in Page, there wasn't always a lot going on, and honestly sometimes sporting events were the highlights of the week, and so it was a unique opportunity to bring the community together, whether that was a basketball game, a football game, sometimes soccer games, not always, but yeah, it was a great way to be able to celebrate the athlete's individuality, but also support each other in coming together as a team and a community to sort of celebrate the joy, the happiness of motion, and so yeah, I think it really created a lot of deep relationships amongst people living their day-to-day lives together in a really bonded community way.

[Meranden]

Nice, yeah, I think it does bring a sense of community, allows you to meet a lot of different people, and also gives you the opportunity to try something new and pass it on to your next destination, like you brought it on to college, allowed you to meet more people I bet through playing club, so that's really cool to see how it is a highlight in your Page community.

Speaking of the importance of the sports and how it brings community, we've been able to highlight Indigenous athletes in sports, but also in a different way that you've been able to shine. You know, you said Page is near Lake Powell, which then is also connected to the Colorado River itself.

You have experience as a river guide, so you mentioned that you were or have been a river guide with the Wilderness River Adventures. Would you kind of like to speak more on what this experience has been like?

[Sierra Klemme]

Absolutely, yes, I have been a Grand Canyon river guide for about the past six years now. Yeah, but seven years ago, I actually got to go down the river for the very first time with two of my best friends from my childhood from Page, and from the minute that we set off on the trip, I knew it was somewhere that I really wanted to be, and so yeah, through guiding down in the Grand [Canyon], I've gotten to learn a better sense of myself through this wonderful experience getting to know the Grand Canyon.

[Meranden]

Nice, yeah. Are there many Indigenous river guides that you've met through this past seven, six years you've been doing this?

[Sierra Klemme]

What a great question. I'm so glad that you brought this up.

Well, yes, I'm a part of this really big guiding community down within the Grand Canyon. I'm a part of only a handful of other Native [American] river guides down within the canyon. There's not a super large representation of Indigenous perspectives down there.

[Meranden]

Yeah, I think there is a lot of Indigenous people who do go down on the river, like I know the other intern I work with, Lakin, he had the opportunity to go on the river.

There's also Grand Canyon Trust who has like youth river trips with Indigenous people, but they don't really have the [Native American] river guides there, so it's really cool that you're one of the few who are doing that, but I hope this number continues to grow.

However, by being one of the few, what does it mean to represent your tribe by being one of the few Native river guides?

[Sierra Klemme]

Yeah, first I want to acknowledge that you're totally right.

There is an ever-growing population of Indigenous people coming down the river, but those getting to work down there is still quite small, and I think what it means to me to be an Indigenous representative down there is that I get to create these narratives.

When I first started, I didn't realize how big of an impact it was of me just being down there was, and so now that years have gone on and I've learned more about it, I understand the importance of being down there, and oftentimes when we go to these ancestral sites or talk about ancient people, it's always referred to in the past, and so being able to be down there, I get to bring it back to the point that there are still 11 tribes that call this place home and hold this place so sacred and high up in their spirits, and that we are still here today and still experiencing the canyon in our own way.

Yeah, we've been able to, personally, I've been able to learn a lot about things that are sacred and also like things you can share, and then also just being able to emphasize to visitors how important it is, not just the river itself but the canyon as well, just like to take care of it like your own home.

[Meranden]

So you being able to do your work as an Indigenous river guide means a lot, and we're really grateful that we have you down there because you're able to share that knowledge to those people who might not know it, and like they'll be able to share it with whoever they encounter who may be going down to the river as well.

I know there's also seminars that these different river companies do to make sure that whoever's on the river also acknowledge that this is really sacred to us and there's places they shouldn't go to, so that's really important for them to share, and I'm sure you do that as well, which once again is really, really good that you do that for us.

Is there any like really good highlights from being on the river that you would like to share, like any silly moments or any sites you've been to or yeah, just anything down in the river that you like to highlight that you want to share about the river?

[Sierra Klemme]

Gosh, where do I begin? There's so many things down there that have brought so many good memories, tough memories too, but all in all creating such great experiences.

Earlier this year through my internship, it's a different sort of trip than I've become accustomed to with the day-to-day guiding and everything.

We got to spend some time, we get to stop and spend time in areas for a few days, and so I got to spend a couple hours at Shinumo Creek and enjoy the pool at the bottom of this beautiful little waterfall created by a chalk stone in the wall, and yeah, it was so wonderful just to watch the different shades of the sun as it went over and where the light was and how the temperature of the pool changed. It was quite special to be able to watch the canyon change in those small ways.

[Meranden]

Yeah, that's cool. This isn't podcast related, but I have an evening program similar to this, and I do a segment about the river, and it talks about the Humpback Chub, and it's just talking about like their different tributaries, and I remember hearing Shinumo Creek, but yeah, that's really cool.

I unfortunately can't go in the river because as a Hopi lady you're not allowed to go down there, so it's really cool that you are fortunate to be able to go down there.

Same with Kelli. She is going tomorrow, and then she'll be on the river for a couple days, so it's really nice that you guys are able to do that and then share your knowledge, but anyways, back to this. Yeah, it's really cool, and you mentioned your internship.

That's something that you're doing right now, and you work as an intern at the Grand Canyon. What does your work entail?

[Sierra Klemme]

So this summer I am interning for the fisheries department at the Grand Canyon National Park, and the internship came up so seamlessly. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up, and so I, yeah, like I said, I'm working with the fisheries department with several different project leads who each have slightly different objectives, but their overarching goal is to restore native fish back into the ecosystem, into the river ecosystem.

You mentioned before, yeah, the native fish, the Humpback Chub, and that is one specific species that is really at the top of the priority list for these restoration efforts, and over the past couple years with these efforts, the Humpback Chub has actually been declassified from endangered to just threatened, and so yeah, as my degree was in hydrology and ecological restoration, and so I was really excited to come be a part of restoration efforts that were truly making a positive difference down within the Grand Canyon.

[Meranden]

Nice. What have been some of your favorite projects so far with this internship?

[Sierra Klemme]

So far I've been really excited to be a part of the Rapid Response Initiative, which was a project created after they found smallmouth bass within the river corridor.

Yeah, smallmouth bass is an extremely aggressive, invasive fish, and the reservoir levels were so low a few years ago that the water, the temperature of the river really warmed up quite significantly that these fish were able to come through the dam and live and just create all sorts of havoc on these native fish populations, and so there was a response to monitor and, you know, kind of eliminate these smallmouth bass, and so the project's working primarily in the first 10 miles.

The Grand Canyon [National] Park is working the first 10 miles, and then Glen Canyon National, or Glen Canyon is working from Lees Ferry up to the dam, and so yeah, we use different fishing methods to capture these fish. So that has been something I've been pretty stoked about, and I have a few other things, but yeah. It looks like you have something to say.

[Meranden]

Yeah, well this is, you can continue with the favorite projects, another one, but it's really cool because my program, we do talk about the smallmouth bass and like how bad it is. I just wanted to interrupt because of that, because I know like a lot of what you're saying, it's cool because you're like the, you're like the expert on it, and it's cool to hear like the research I'm doing on it and like telling the public is true, like you're saying everything that I'm saying, so that's really cool.

But yeah, the humpback chub, I like to highlight it and talk about it, and I also talked about like the water levels and then the smallmouth bass coming in, but yeah, it's just cool because I'm like, I'm saying all the right stuff.

[Sierra Klemme]

Spread the word. Reservoir levels are low. The water's getting warmer.

[Meranden]

Yeah, but besides that, is there any other favorite projects that you would like to highlight about your internship?

[Sierra Klemme]

This fall, there was supposed to be a project, the Bright Angel Creek invasive trout removal efforts, and so that's where a team goes into Bright Angel Creek from the North Rim and, you know, finds all these invasive trouts to remove, but unfortunately due to the fire on the North Rim and the unforeseen effects of it, that program has to go on pause for safety effects.

So yeah, I was looking forward to that, getting to spend time within the corridor, but overall, it's been really fun getting to go on these larger native fish monitoring trips down the whole river because, like I mentioned before, getting to spend time, spend more time in these different areas that I don't usually get to has been a personal favorite of mine.

[Meranden]

Yeah, it's really cool because you're one of the very tiny, tiny population who has been inside the river, so it's cool that you've been doing that, and how long is your internship for?

[Sierra Klemme]

This internship, I started in May [2025] and I will be going into December [2025].

Yeah, I've gotten to work in a few of my commercial river trips as well over the summer, which has allowed me to still progress in that career path as well, so it's been a, it's been a nice balance being able to advance in my scientific career as well as my boating career. [Meranden]

Yeah, as you mentioned, like, it's been able to help you dive into those kind of different places. This kind of takes me into the next question of how has this internship, you know, provided pathways to learn more about your culture or the 11 tribes that call the canyon home?

[Sierra Klemme]

Surprisingly, it has taught me a bit more about how the different tribes connect to specifically the fish within the ecosystem, and so they, the fisheries department communicates with the different tribes about beneficial uses of all of the invasive species that they're able to harvest.

And so once, like, specifically for the rainbow and brown trout are harvested, they send them to surrounding tribal communities, and they can be used for feasting or for ceremonial practices, and so, yeah, that was really interesting, or I should say a good experience to know that they are working with these tribes to further understand that the fish and the canyon and the people are all connected, that they're not, that they're not independent systems.

[Meranden]

Yeah, that's good to hear the way that things are being used, helping the canyon, the tribes, and the Park Service, like, they're all working together, which is really good.

[Sierra Klemme]

It is, it is really good, and also being a part of this internship, I've gotten to learn about the Tribal Affairs office, who have hosted several really cool events, like one earlier this week was a little ceremony to honor the loss of the North Rim, but also give some positive hope into moving forward, and then it's also connected me with you, Meranden, and what you're doing out here at Desert View and the different events and things that you are all hosting here, so it's been a great way to connect to the tribes and my culture in these ways.

[Meranden]

Yeah, I think the same too, like, being able to meet the Indigenous interns, because I felt like it's just been me and Lakin for quite a while, and having you on, and Derrick?

[Sierra Klemme]

Yes, my counterpart, Derrick.

[Meranden]

Yes, having both of you there, getting to talk with you guys and know where you're from, you're like, oh, that's over there, like, ask your clans and stuff like that, it's really cool to connect in that way, and, like, there's always older people who say, like, “We're so glad we have you, your youth there to be able to talk, and the work you're doing is really good, I just wish that more, there was more who came here,” so, like, I'm really happy to have met you and Derrick and seeing, like, the work you guys are doing, and we're not the only young ones here, so.

Yeah. It's nice that, yeah, we can, we can bond and stuff like that, and we have a few more things coming up, especially, like, this week later on, getting to visit the other national monuments in the area, so that'd be really cool.

But yeah, so that's awesome to hear about your internship, usually with this interview, we like to ask a fun question, so, as we're close to dinner time, well, I guess it is, like, dinner time, if you could have any indigenous food right now, what would it be?

[Sierra Klemme]

Girl. How long do we have? I'm just kidding. Being away from Page, I always miss a mutton sandwich. And yeah, on Saturdays, there's a little flea market, and the one stand we always go to makes these, like, blue corn tortillas, and oh my gosh, it is so good, so yeah, that is the main one I go for.

[Meranden]

Nice. Oh yeah, that's a really good one.

[Sierra Klemme]

Yeah, usually I'm traveling back into Page on Saturdays, and so I always have my dad get it.

[Meranden]

Yeah, nice. Yeah, I love that question, because we always get a lot of different ones, and it's really cool. So yeah, that's our fun question, and as we begin to sort of wrap up this interview now, and for our audience in person, and then those online listening in, what would you like to leave the audience with today?

[Sierra Klemme]

Gosh, you really kept the big questions till the end.

Well, I just want to say thank you, this has been a really great experience, and I guess I would like to share that if something feels bigger than you, don't be afraid to really lean into it, to allow the intensity of those feelings to fully engulf you, and you know, those feelings may be things you feel here at the Grand Canyon, I certainly do, but it is just something I wanted to say, that being a part of something bigger than you is quite wonderful.

[Meranden]

Nice, those are some great words. So we would like to see if there's any questions from the audience right now.

[audience member]

So you mentioned that you went down the river for the first time seven years ago, and it seems like the next year after you became a guide, so I'm curious what that experience was for you the first time you went down the river, and how your relationship with the canyon and the river have changed over time as you continue spending time with it?

[Sierra Klemme]

That's a really great question, because actually the experience has changed quite a bit. My first working trip was actually the summer of 2020, and yeah, exactly, and so the Grand Canyon National Park was actually closed for the majority of that summer, and so when it reopened I was lucky enough to secure two trips with my company, and you know, squeeze them in right before I went back to college, and so yeah, those first few trips were quite special, and you know, quite different than what it is now.

There was a lot of rules in play that aren't quite there anymore, but it was it was still so magical.

My first trip as a passenger, we at my company, we have a fiesta, like Mexican food night, and the lead guide on that trip, she had a whole costume bag, and so yeah, everybody dressed up, it was so fun, and so you know, I come back the next year on my first working trip, and I dress up for Mexican night, and I look at the trip lead, who's a person then, and I was like, oh, where, like, where's the costumes, like, you know, and he was like, I have no idea what you're talking about, and so since then I've always kind of, you know, tried to incorporate, reminding people, especially adults that come down, that it's a space to have fun, that it is, you know, and an experience to remember that we're still children at heart, and to laugh, and to be silly, and to not think so hard about what others are thinking of you, or what you're thinking of yourself, and I think that's just the magic of it all down there.

[Meranden]

That's a good one. I have one, but it's a little more vague, a little vague, but important.

As we have family here in the audience, I'm just curious of, like, do you have any role models or supporters who have helped you get to, get through, you know, your soccer, your river guiding, your internship now, who have been there for some of it or all of it?

Is there anyone that you, like, really would like to acknowledge that have helped you get to where you are today?

[Sierra Klemme]

So many people, and, you know, for each area that you mentioned, I have different people. I think, I think with my river guiding, my parents were somewhat of an inspiration in that they were entrepreneurs, and so, you know, it was a little bit out of the norm of other career paths, and so they were really encouraging to try this, something different, and to enjoy, because, yeah, it's not something I was super exposed to coming from such a small town, you know, you're really taught about, like, the main, or the main career paths of, like, doctor, teacher, that sort of thing, and nobody really talked about natural resources or working in the outdoor industry.

And so, yeah, they've supported me through a lot of these, you know, wild ambitions that I have, and with this internship of all of the Indigenous voices that I've met along the way, I would say I've been an inspiration. I go to this fall event, this fall conference called Women in Water, held by Planet Women, and, yeah, meeting women in the western water industry, hydrology specifically.

They have been really inspiring to just get involved, and to, you know, take up these spaces, and to bring perspective of Indigenous ways, but also to, you know, understand that I belong there as well.

[audience member]

With your experience as an Indigenous woman and a river guide, do you think it's possible to recreate in the canyon, and show it to people from around the world, and still honor the Indigenous tribes that have been here, and do you think there's anything that the park, and the people, and the river companies should be doing differently to make sure that people know and acknowledge all of the people who have been here, and come here before?

[Sierra Klemme]

As an Indigenous woman down in the canyon, and learning more and more about each of the different tribes, and how they are connected to the Grand Canyon, I have sort of navigated ways of sharing respectfully what I can, and what I feel is right about these different tribes, because there's some stories down there that are not mine to tell.

They are, you know, sacred to the tribes, such as Zuni and Hopi, with the Little Colorado, and Havasu [Creek & Falls], with the Havasupai people, but I still try to highlight their resilience living, and being around the Grand Canyon.

I think it's really important to, like I said, circle the conversation back to the modern-day Indigenous people down within the canyon, and in surrounding areas, that they're not just something of the past, and for more people to, you know, understand that their word choices matter, and so using respectful language when they are talking about these people that have called the canyon home for so long is an important way to shift personally.

As far as river companies as a whole in the Grand Canyon National Park System, I think always just creating spaces for them to be present in bigger opportunities is where things really have to start, and allowing them to bring these perspectives for all to understand, and really being open-minded and open-hearted about how we are connected to this place, and we need to treat it as so, and not act as it working, as it, as the Grand Canyon being something that works for us, that we need to live in better harmony with the canyon.

[Meranden]

Alright yeah, I'd like to thank Sierra for being here, for being our guest today.

We appreciate you for sharing your athletic journey, your river guiding, and also your internship. They're all very important and play really important roles to your life and all the people around you, so thank you so much for being here.

[Sierra Klemme]

Yeah, thank you so much, Meranden, and I think the rain has cleared up.

Let's go find some rainbows.

[Ranger Jonah]

Grand Canyon Speaks is a program hosted by Grand Canyon National Park and the Grand Canyon Conservancy. A special thanks to Aaron White for the theme music.

This recording reflects the personal lived experiences of tribal members and do not encompass the views of their tribal nation or that of the National Park. To learn more about Grand Canyon First Voices, visit www.nps.gov/grca.

Here at Grand Canyon National Park, we are on the ancestral homelands of the 11 associated tribes of the Grand Canyon, these being the Havasupai Tribe, the Hualapai Tribe, the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, the Pueblo of Zuni, the Yavapai Apache Nation, the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, the Moapa Band of Paiutes, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, and the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe.