Tribe Grants River ‘Personhood Rights’ to Protect it

The Yurok Tribe, or “downriver people” of northwestern California where the Klamath River meets the Pacific Ocean, have declared that the river now has the “rights of personhood.”

“By granting the rights of personhood to the Klamath River, not only does it create laws and legal advocacy routes, but it’s also an expression of Yurok values,” said Geneva Thompson, associate general counsel for the tribe and citizen of the Cherokee Nation, who worked on the resolution. “The idea is that the laws of a nation are an expression of the nation’s values.”

“Legal personhood provides a different framework for dealing with problems like pollution, drought and climate change,” High Country News reported. “The crucial aspect to establishing these legal frameworks, Indigenous lawyers say, involves shifting relationships and codifying Indigenous knowledge — in other words, recognizing non-human entities not as resources, but as rights-holders.”