• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
eco-jurisprudence monitor logo

Eco Jurisprudence Monitor

  • EJ Tracker
    • Report Initiative
    • Tracker FAQ
    • Codebook
    • Printable Charts
    • Data Ethics
    • Data Request
  • Resources
    • Eco Jurisprudence Tracker
    • Legal Toolkit
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Contact
  • English
    • Español

Navajo Nation Code Recognizing Rights of Nature

United States of America
Navajo Nation
Approved in 2002
Indigenous law
Indigenous Model, Rights Of Nature
"All creation"
All Nature
Honorable Edward T. Begay, the Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council, Mr. Henry Barber and Legislative Staff, and medicine people and elders
Indigenous

Summary

In 2002, the Navajo Nation adopted a Navajo Nation Code, which outlines the various rights and laws of the nation. The code included a provision recognizing that “All creation, from Mother Earth and Father Sky to the animals, those who live in water, those who fly and plant life have their own laws and have rights and freedoms to exist.” The document frames the protection and preservation of the natural world as the responsibility of the Diné, which means “the people” in the nation’s language.

To see the original legal document(s) for this initiative, click the links below:

Navajo Nation Code [PDF]

To see other supplementary information related to this initiative, click the links below:

Document explaining how the Navajo (Dine) amended their code in 2002 to recognize the fundamental laws of the Dine

When using our data, please follow the FAIR and CARE Principles for data governance outlined in our Ethics Statement. We are doing our best to be correct in the information we provide, but if you notice any omission or inaccuracy, please report this to us immediately at info@ecojurisprudence.org so we can correct it.

Eco Jurisprudence Tracker is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Footer

Contact

  • EJ Tracker
  • Resources
  • About
earth law center
UN Harmony with Nature
Ecological Law and Governance Association
GARN logo
Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund

Subscribe to our newsletter:

Privacy Policy

© 2023 Eco Jurisprudence Monitor – all rights reserved.

  • English
  • Español