White Earth Nation (USA) Tribal Resolution: Rights of Manoomin
In 2018, the White Earth Band established the rights of Manoomin (wild rice) on the White Earth Reservation and throughout 1855 ceded territory.Read More →
Indigenous Model
This page identifies initiatives that are Indigenous-led and/or co-developed and applies Indigenous ways of knowing and positioning such as relationality and responsibilities to an entity of nature, recognizing it as living and possessing spirit. An initiative is considered Indigenous-led and/or co-developed when one or more of the groups involved in the initiative self-identifies as Indigenous.
Ho-Chunk Nation (USA) Constitutional Amendment: Rights of Nature
In 2018, the Ho-Chunk Nation became the first to amend its tribal constitution to include rights of nature.Read More →
Uganda National Environmental Act of 2019
In 2019, Uganda enacted the National Environmental Act of 2019, recognizing rights of nature and invoking ecological jurisprudence values.Read More →
Yurok Tribal Resolution: rights of the Klamath River 2019
In 2019, the Yurok Tribe made a resolution recognizing rights of the Klamath River and gave it legal personhood.Read More →
New Zealand Law: Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017
In March 2017, the New Zealand government passed the Te Awa Tupua Act, declaring the Whanganui River a legal entity with rights.Read More →
Australia Yarra River Protection Act of 2017
In 2017, Australia passed the Yarra River Protection Act giving the Yarra River status as a legal entity and including Wurundjeri people in managing the river.Read More →
New Zealand Law: Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress
In 2017, a record of understanding between iwi of Taranaki and the New Zealand government declared Mount Taranaki to have a legal personality.Read More →
New Zealand Law: Te Urewera Act 2014
The Te Urewera Act 2014 established the Te Urewera forest region in New Zealand is no longer a national park and instead a legal entity with its own rights.Read More →