Picture courtesy of npr.org

The Whanganui River in New Zealand has been granted the legal rights of a human as of Wednesday March 15, 2017. The Maori tribe, who call the river Te Awa Tupua, have been fighting for its protection since 1873. The case is one of New Zealand’s oldest in history with more than 140 years of legal struggles. The 90 mile Whanganui River will now be represented by two legal guardians, one from the Maori tribe and one from the government. According to NPR, the New Zealand government stated that they recognized the deep spiritual connection between the tribe and its ancestral river and their view of the river as an invisible and living whole. To read NPR’s full article and a video clip of the tribe’s reaction to the court’s decision, click here.