Indigenous Peoples, the International Trend Toward Legal Personhood for Nature, and the United States
Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: rooted in their spiritual beliefs regarding the sacred nature of the land.11 Many Native Americans believe that some places are sacred because they possess certain power and spirits and should therefore be protected.12 It is because of a similar spiritual connection to nature that a New Zealand group, the Iwi, reached an agreement with the government regarding lands and a river that were traditionally sacred to them.13 New Zealand recognized the Whanganui River and Te Urewera National Park as a "legal person" with accompanying rights and obligations.14 The Ecuadorian constitution also granted rights to nature due in part to beliefs held by indigenous peoples regarding the way that human beings should interact with nature.15 Although seemingly radical at first, this Comment will show how granting rights to nature has been successful in New Zealand, Ecuador, Bolivia, and some United States municipalities.Generally, as discussed throughout this Comment, these rights are successfully recognized when they relate to indigenous peoples, the environment, or a combination of the two.Allowing a natural body to be a "person" under the law eliminates the need for one group or another to have full and complete control or ownership over it.Instead, this allows all parties to bring claims for protection and preservation of lands and natural resources-whether for environmental or spiritual reasons, or for no reason at all.Unsurprisingly, the United States seemed to scoff when a similar solution to the depletion of a major natural resource was proposed through the filing of a lawsuit on behalf of the Colorado River.16 This Comment will explore granting personhood rights to nature-the unique, yet growing, solution nations are implementing to solve environmental issues and long-existing tensions between native and non-native groups.This Comment will discuss whether the United States could consider this a valid way to mend ties with Native Americans and preserve our increasingly scarce resources.11.
Author: Hannah J. White
Language: English
Topic: Environmental law and policy
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2978330755