{"id":1107,"date":"2021-12-03T15:04:16","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T20:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca\/extraocadsmhr\/?post_type=chapter&p=1107"},"modified":"2022-02-14T18:55:58","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T23:55:58","slug":"rights-for-nature-how-granting-a-river-personhood-could-help-protect-it-2","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/extraocadsmhr\/chapter\/rights-for-nature-how-granting-a-river-personhood-could-help-protect-it-2\/","title":{"raw":"1c. \"Rights for nature: How granting a river \u2018personhood\u2019 could help protect it\" (Short news article)","rendered":"1c. “Rights for nature: How granting a river \u2018personhood\u2019 could help protect it” (Short news article)"},"content":{"raw":"

Introduction to the article \"Rights for nature: How granting a river \u2018personhood\u2019 could help protect it<\/a><\/span>\"<\/h1>\r\nWomen were granted legal personhood after a long, arduous struggle.\r\n\r\nCorporations have similarly gained legal personhood.\r\n\r\nWhy would we also want to give nature<\/em> this same type of legal status and protection? <\/span>\r\n\r\nIn \"Rights for nature: How granting a river \u2018personhood\u2019 could help protect it,\" authors Justine Townsend, Alexis Bunten, Catherine Iorns, and Lindsay Borrows explore the use of legal personhood as a relatively new way to protect nature.\r\n\r\nPerhaps this example could inspire those in the advocacy space to use existing laws in innovative ways to achieve other positive ends.\r\n\r\n
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Rights for nature: How granting a river \u2018personhood\u2019 could help protect it<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\r\nJustine Townsend, Alexis Bunten, Catherine Iorns, and Lindsay Borrows, <\/span>The Conversation<\/em>, June 3, 2021 1.07pm EDT\r\n\r\nThe Muteshekau Shipu (Magpie River) runs nearly 300 kilometres in Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s C\u00f4te-Nord region. The river is culturally significant for the Innu and it is popular with white water paddlers and rafters.<\/span>\r\n\r\nDespite efforts to protect the river, Muteshekau Shipu continues to be threatened by potential new<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>hydroelectric dam development<\/a><\/span>. But, in February, the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit and the Minganie Regional County Municipality declared the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Muteshekau Shipu (Magpie River)<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>legal person<\/a><\/span>, a move that may provide greater certainty for this majestic river\u2019s future.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhile a first in Canada, granting legal personhood to natural entities is part of a<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>global movement<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to recognize the rights of nature in law. Indigenous communities around the world are leading the way in upholding the rights of sacred and ancestral rivers, forests and mountains. Recognizing the rights of nature is an opportunity to elevate the power of Indigenous Peoples\u2019 laws and worldviews to benefit all peoples.<\/span>\r\n\r\nExtractive values \u2014 the belief that natural entities are resources that can be used for human benefit with little regard for their well-being and longevity \u2014 are deeply embedded in Canada\u2019s legal and economic systems.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThese values influence the ideologies at the root of our biodiversity and climate crises. These ideologies justify the transformation of rivers, forests and the atmosphere into commodities and private property at our own peril. Recognizing natural entities as legal persons and enshrining their rights in law is a promising legal innovation.<\/span>\r\n
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Rights of nature<\/h2>\r\nOn\u00a0<\/span>Feb. 23<\/a><\/span>, the Alliance for the Protection of the Magpie River\/Muteshekau Shipu recognized\u00a0<\/span>nine rights<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>of the river. These include the rights to evolve naturally and be protected, to be free of pollution and to sue.\r\n\r\nThe members of the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit, part of the alliance, will now be the river\u2019s guardians. This means that those with long-standing relationships to Muteshekau Shipu will be formally entrusted with the river\u2019s care for future generations.\r\n\r\n\u201cDesignating the river as a legal person was the clearest message we could send,\u201d Chief Jean-Charles Pi\u00e9tacho of the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit told us in an interview. \u201cThere will never be dams in this river. The river protects herself, we protect the river, we\u2019re all protected. I think the message is very clear.\u201d\r\n
<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\nGalvanized by widespread environmental degradation and rising Indigenous rights movements, Indigenous communities around the world are leading the way in upholding the rights of sacred and ancestral rivers. This includes M\u0101ori tribal relationships with the\u00a0<\/span>Whanganui River<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in Aotearoa New Zealand, the role of Indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities in the\u00a0<\/span>Atrato River<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in Colombia, and the Yurok Tribal Council\u2019s granting legal rights of personhood to the\u00a0<\/span>Klamath River<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>through an ordinance in the United States.\r\n\r\nThe idea that nature is a sentient being isn\u2019t new to Indigenous and other traditional peoples. \u201cThe vision of the Innu is that Nature is living. Everything is alive,\u201d said Chief Pi\u00e9tacho.\r\n

Indigenous laws: Relationships and responsibilities<\/h2>\r\nRecognizing the rights of nature are modern expressions of long-practised Indigenous laws. Indigenous laws are as diverse as Indigenous cultures yet share an understanding that humans are an integral part of the natural world. These laws emphasize respect for all beings and responsibilities to care for lands and waters. Trees, mountains and plants are relatives, not commodities that can be privately owned and exploited.\r\n\r\nThe rights-of-nature movement may seem radical to some people. It challenges Eurocentric values such as human dominance over the natural world, which is considered largely inanimate. The conservation movement itself is founded on a worldview that sees\u00a0<\/span>\u201cwilderness\u201d as something separate<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to be protected from humans. The \u201cfortress\u201d conservation movement is ideologically non-commensurate with Indigenous ways of thinking about being a part of nature. This belief was used to justify the forced\u00a0<\/span>relocation of many Indigenous Peoples<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>from their territories to establish parks and protected areas.\r\n\r\nRights understood through a western, liberal and individualistic lens overlook collective responsibilities to the natural world. \u201cI sincerely think Qu\u00e9bec and Canada missed their responsibility; they aren\u2019t protecting the river from development,\u201d said Chief Pi\u00e9tacho.\r\n\r\nBridging western and Indigenous legal systems through a rights-of-nature approach is one tool for encouraging a\u00a0<\/span>kincentric view<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>of the world, which sees humans as \u201cpart of an extended ecological family that shares ancestry and origins.\u201d\r\n\r\nIndigenous laws mirror and reinforce relational worldviews that view living entities as relatives, not resources. This in turn shapes social conduct that emphasizes respect and responsibility to the natural world. Innovative governance arrangements are one means through which distinct worldviews and associated laws can be woven together.\r\n

Innovative governance models<\/h2>\r\nRivers speak but since western laws and institutions are not designed to listen, people must act as intermediaries voicing perspectives on their behalf. Indigenous laws are well positioned to conceptualize the decision-making structures needed to breathe life into legal personhood.\r\n\r\nIn 2014, T\u016bhoe iwi (M\u0101ori) and the New Zealand government granted legal personhood to\u00a0<\/span>Te Urewera<\/a><\/span>, an ancestral forest and former national park. They created a board responsible for making decisions in the best interests of Te Urewera. T\u016bhoe, as children of Tu Urewera, give expression to her through the board.\r\n\r\nIn Northern Canada, \u0141uts\u00ebl K\u2019\u00e9 Dene First Nation established Thaidene N\u00ebn\u00e9 as an Indigenous Protected Area under Dene law. It is also protected as a park and conservation area under Canadian and territorial (Northwest Territories) legislation. The management board,\u00a0<\/span>Thaidene N\u00ebn\u00e9 Xa\u0301 Da\u0301 Ya\u0301\u0142t\u0131<\/a><\/span>, is composed of members of \u0141uts\u00ebl K\u2019\u00e9 Dene First Nation, the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories. Once appointed, members no longer represent their organizations, they speak for Thaidene N\u00ebn\u00e9.\r\n

Indigenous-led initiatives<\/h2>\r\nExamples like Thaidene N\u00ebn\u00e9 are the exception and not the norm in Canada, although this may be changing.\u00a0<\/span>There is a national mandate<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to support Indigenous-led conservation initiatives and advance reconciliation. This support combined with Indigenous leadership and accompanying legal innovations present new opportunities for caring for the land and waters.\r\n\r\nMany similar Indigenous-led initiatives are currently underway, supported by programs including the\u00a0<\/span>Bioneers Indigeneity Program<\/a><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>RIVER<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(Revitalizing Indigenous Values for Earth\u2019s Regeneration), the\u00a0<\/span>Conservation through Reconciliation<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>partnership,\u00a0<\/span>RELAW<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(Revitalizing Indigenous Law for Land, Air and Water) and the\u00a0<\/span>Global Network for the Rights of Nature<\/a><\/span>.\r\n\r\nThe Muteshekau Shipu river declaration \u2014 and the legal guardianship role for Innu \u2014 is an example governments can learn from. \u201cIf the government wants to effectively protect Nature, they should consider this option so protected areas would be protected along with our rights,\u201d said Chief Pi\u00e9tacho.\r\n\r\nTo create just and liveable futures for all our relatives (human and otherwise), Canadian laws and policies need further innovation. Vesting legal personhood in natural entities is a promising intervention when Indigenous Peoples represent these entities. It elevates the standing of nature for all peoples and respects the laws of Indigenous Peoples.\r\n\r\nGeorgia Lloyd-Smith, a lawyer with West Coast Environmental Law, co-authored this article. The authors are grateful to Chief Jean-Charles Pi\u00e9tacho for the interview.<\/em>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n
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Quiz<\/h2>\r\nQuiz on \"Rights for nature: How granting a river \u2018personhood\u2019 could help protect it<\/span><\/a>\"<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[h5p id=\"60\"]\r\n\r\n[h5p id=\"61\"]\r\n\r\n[h5p id=\"62\"]\r\n\r\n[h5p id=\"63\"]\r\n\r\n
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