Rivers are People Too

While the world is rightfully enthralled with the astounding work of Greta Thunberg’s environmental activism, another young woman is also coming to the fore.  She is another one to watch. Autumn Peltier, 13, has been nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize.

She is a member of the Anishinabe tribe of the Wikwemlkong First Nation. She has been advocating for clean water since she was eight years old. Her advocacy grows out of her native heritage where water is not only life sustaining, it is considered sacred.     

Many tribes around the world are advocating for the protection of waterways, rivers and streams. “Mini wichoni” means “Water is life” in Lakota.  It was chanted by 5,000 marchers at the Native Nations March in Washington, D.C. on March 10, and during hundreds of protests across the nation last year.  It was the rallying cry of an almost year long struggle to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline.

A growing movement around the world is declaring personhood to rivers.  A Native American tribe has granted personhood to a river in northern California.  It gives the river the same rights as a human, at least under tribal law. The Klamath River has long been a source for salmon for the Yurok Tribe.  In recent years development, pollution and increased use of water from the river have diminished the salmon harvest, threatening their way of life.

In Toledo, Ohio, voters approved a referendum to grant personhood for Lake Erie. Although it is being challenged, it reflects the concern and commitment people have to protecting that vast body of water.

In New Zealand, the government granted rights to the Whanganui River, a status that is in keeping with the views of the Maori Tribe, who have fished the river for over 700 years. The Maori have a saying, “I am the river, and the river is me.” The sacredness of water to First Nation People around the world cannot be overstated. The legislation has not been codified into domestic law, but it refers to the river as an “indivisible, living whole,” conferring it “all the rights, powers, duties and liabilities” of an individual.

Colombia, Chile and India are also working on similar legislation to grant personhood to rivers. In Bangladesh, all the rivers have the same legal status as humans. Ecuador has included the rights of nature in its constitution. Bolivia followed suit not long after.

It is a bold move to hold corporations accountable for how they treat the waterways of the world. It is an acknowledgement that the Western model of development threatens the world wide water supply through pollution, development and over use of water.

Environmental personhood was first highlighted in essays by University of Southern California law professor Christopher D. Stone. In his 1974 book, Should Trees Have Standing? Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects, Stone argued that if an environmental entity is given legal personality, it cannot be owned and has the right to appear in court. Who appears on behalf of the waterway varies greatly from country to country, but the role of protecting or restoring the river is the same.

These actions are consistent with the Judeo Christian tradition where humans are charged to “till the earth and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15) The intent is that humans are to be stewards of the resources of earth, overseers of its gifts and graces.  However, the creation story that is best known is from Genesis 1, where humans are told to have “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26) A few verses later, the first humans are given the command to “fill the earth and subdue, and have dominion.…” (Genesis 1: 28) Having dominion over all the earth is repeated in similar fashion in the later verses of the chapter.

The intent of the two creation stories is the same; humans have the responsibility to be keepers of the earth.  Unfortunately, “dominion” has been interpreted as domination. The first creation narrative is interpreted as permission to pillage and plunder. We see the results of that theological interpretation every day.

However, there is a more accurate translation of this passage from the Hebrew. According to Ellen Davis, Distinguished Professor of Bible and Practical Theology at Duke University Divinity School,

“A more satisfactory translation of that crucial verse might be, “let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness, so they may exercise skilled mastery among (or with respect to) the fish of the sea and among the birds of the air.”

Given humanity’s penchant for translating and interpreting the bible in ways that fit our own agenda, this translation stands in stark contrast. It calls for a sustainable, respectful and consistent approach to caring for the earth and its water supply.

Spread the word, we have been translating the verse wrong for years.  It’s time to step up with a passion for the world, its people and its resources. We are stewards of the earth’s bounty.

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