When a river becomes a ‘Person’ – In March 2017, the Whanganui River in Aotearoa New Zealand was the first river to officially receive the status of a legal person. This legal personhood is based on the ontological understanding of the river as an indivisible and living whole and as the spiritual ancestor of the Whanganui Iwi (a Māori tribe) Namely the ‘Te Awa Tupua Act ‘ 2017 (The Wanganui Iwi Deed of Settlement)

The document assigns to the river the ‘rights, powers, duties, and liabilities of a legal person’ and declares two guardians responsible for maintaining the river’s ‘health and well-being’ (New Zealand Ministry of Justice Citation2017, 15 and 88). One of those guardians is a representative of the New Zealand Government, while the other is a representative of the Whanganui Iwi, which, by virtue of its genealogical origins, exercises the customary rights and responsibilities in relation to the Whanganui River (New Zealand Ministry of Justice Citation2017

BUT, WAIT A BIT… AN UNBORN CHILD IS LEGALLY DEEMED NOT TO HAVE LEGAL PERSONHOOD… YET A RIVER IS?????