June 19, 2013 A recent landmark decision granting the Whanganui
River, the third largest river in New Zealand, the status of
legal ‘personhood’ poses deep problems for individuals
/companies who think of the earth and its resources in terms of
ownership. The decision follows a long court struggle for the
river’s personhood initiated by the Whanganui River iwi, an
indigenous community with strong cultural ties to the water.
Addressing a river in terms of personhood reflects the
spirituality of indigenous peoples. Indigenous spirituality in
aptly summed up in the words of Chief Seattle. When the US
government requested him to sell them the lands which his people
had ‘walked gently on’ for generations he replied: The President
in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how
can you buy and sell the sky, the land? The idea is strange to
us. If we do not own the freshness of the air or the sparkle of
the water, how can you buy them from us? The earth does not
belong to us, we belong to the earth.