Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ

The Getches-Wilkinson Center and American Indian Law Program will co-host the 17th Annual Schultz Lecture in Energy on September 17, 2026 with special guest, Amy Bowers Cordalis.

Thursday, September 17, 2026
6:00-7:30 p.m. (Mountain Time)
Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom

A reception will be held immediately following the lecture for all in person registrants.Ìý

CLE credits pending for Colorado attorneys.

Free and open to the public. Registration is required to attend.Ìý

Pre-order a copy of The Water Remembers by Amy Bowers Cordalis and pick it up at the event!Ìý

Amy Bowers Cordalis

AmyÌýBowers Cordalis is a mother, fisherwoman, attorney, andÌýmember andÌýformer General Counsel of the Yurok Nation—the largest Indigenous Nation in California. She is currently the cofounder andÌýexecutive director of theÌýRidges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group, a nonprofit advancing Indigenous sovereignty through the protection of cultural andÌýnatural resources, including the undamming of the Klamath River. She is the recipient of the UN’s highest environmental honor, Champions of the World Laureate, andÌýhas been named to the second annualÌýTIME100 Climate List (2024), featuring the one hundred most influential leaders driving business to real climate action. She is the author of The Water RemembersÌý(Hachette, 2025).

The Water Remembers by Amy Bowers Cordalis

A moving multigenerational memoir of Indigenous resistance, environmental justice, and a Yurok family's fight to protect their legacy and the Klamath River.Ìý

For the members of a Northern California tribe, salmon are the lifeblood of the people—a vital source of food, income, and cultural identity. When a catastrophic fish kill devastates the river, Amy Bowers Cordalis is propelled into action, reigniting her family's 170-year battle against the U.S. government.Ìý
Ìý
In a moving and engrossing blend of memoir and history, Cordalis propels readers through generations of her family’s struggle, where she learns that the fight for survival is not only about fishing—it’s about protecting a way of life and the right of a species and river to exist. Her great-uncle's landmark Supreme Court case reaffirming her Nation’s rights to land, water, fish, and sovereignty, her great-grandmother’s defiant resistance during the Salmon Wars, and her family's ongoing battles against government overreach shape the deep commitment to justice that drives Cordalis forward.
Ìý
When the source of the fish kill is revealed, Cordalis steps up as General Counsel for the Yurok Tribe to hold powerful corporate interests accountable, and to spearhead the largest river restoration project in history. The Water Remembers is a testament to the enduring power of Indigenous knowledge, family legacy, and the determination to ensure that future generations remember what it means to live in balance with the earth.

The Schultz Lectureship in Energy

In 2007, the Schultz Lecture in Energy was launched to support an annual lecture by renowned scholars in energy or natural resources law. This series was made possible by the generosity of John H. and Cynthia H. Schultz and allows the Getches-Wilkinson Center (GWC) to bring in thought leaders from across the country. Our speakers address emerging issues and challenges in the oil and gas, energy, and natural resources fields, providing valuable information to policymakers, practitioners, business executives, students, and the academic community.

John Schultz (Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØEcon, Political. Science ‘51) (Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØLaw ‘53) was an oil and gas attorney whose impactful career in Colorado and the Western U.S. spanned the second half of the 20th century. John Schultz passed away on April 5, 2020, surrounded by family in the comfort of his own home in Lafayette, Colorado. Cynthia Schultz was a University of Colorado administrative staff member who served the University in many ways. She was a member of the Graduate School Advisory Council, the Graduate School Resource Committee, and on the Ad Hoc Task Force on Graduate Education. Cynthia passed away on December 20, 2011. Both John’s and Cynthia’s generosity of time with our students was exceptional.

Their legacies continue, in part, through their substantial gifts to the University of Colorado, Colorado Law, and to the GWC where we are so appreciative of the Schultz family’s generosity. The family’s continued commitment means that this lecture can be free and open to the public. The format (normally) includes a public reception following the talk, providing the opportunity to continue a lively discussion, as well as a dinner with the speaker, the extended Schultz family, the Dean, GWC faculty, and several law students.