A landmark decision for Indigenous rights, Mount Taranaki in New Zealand has been given the status of legal personhood, also known as Taranaki Maunga in Māori. This new law grants all the rights, responsibilities, and duties of a human being to the mountain. It is the latest natural entity in New Zealand to be recognized as a person, following the legal recognition of the Whanganui River and the Te Urewera forest.
About Taranaki Maunga
Taranaki Maunga is a dormant volcano standing 2,518 meters tall on the North Island, holding deep cultural, spiritual, and ancestral significance for the Māori people. The law acknowledges the mountain’s history, specifically the wrongful confiscation of the land and the mountain itself by colonizers. It is an acknowledgment of the need for redress after several hundred years of injustices toward the Māori, specifically when the land was taken during the mid-1800s when the rights to the mountain of the Māori were usurped by the Crown.
The new law establishes an entity called ‘Te Kāhui Tupua’ to represent the mountain, including Taranaki and surrounding peaks and land, with both physical and metaphysical elements. This four member team will be chosen to represent local Māori tribes, while four will be appointed by New Zealand’s Conservation Minister.
This judgment shows that the mountain has been a historical ancestral source of food for the Māori over so long. “The mountain has long been an honored ancestor, a source of physical, cultural and spiritual sustenance and a final resting place,” lawmaker Paul Goldsmith, who is responsible for Māori settlements, told Parliament.
The recognition aims to address the colonial history that led to the appropriation of the mountain and marginalized Māori voices within its management. Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, a Māori descendant stated, “Today, Taranaki, our maunga, our maunga tupuna, is released from the shackles, the shackles of injustice, of ignorance, of hate.” This legal shift ensures the protection of the mountain’s protection, maintains its traditional uses, and ensures the conservation efforts for its welfare, while public access remains.
Bill Proposed Unanimously
The bill recognizing the personhood of Mount Taranaki was passed unanimously in Parliament, and its recommendation was applauded by the Māori attendees as they sang a waiata, or traditional Māori song, in the public gallery. However, it remains to be seen how New Zealand deals with tensions over race relations as regards proposed changes to the Treaty of Waitangi. However, the unanimous vote for Mount Taranaki is viewed as a healing moment in the country’s continued journey toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
Similar Incidents
New Zealand has already led by example in granting rights of personhood to natural features. Its first legislation was passed in 2014, including the forest of Te Urewera. Then, in 2017, New Zealand granted its status of rights to the Whanganui River. These legal recognitions have enabled the tribes to work as guardians of these features, thereby preserving them for posterity.