The Nomos of the Water: Indigenous Narrative Identity Claims to Justify Granting Legal Personhood to a River

What is it about?

This article, anchored in Indigenous narratives, identifies the core arguments for granting legal personhood to rivers and appointing Indigenous citizens as their legal guardians. The core arguments are as follows: for Indigenous peoples, dwelling on riverbanks is a matter of identity. This identity manifests itself through various interpersonal practices, including language – thus, narratives – and caring. The analysis of sampled narratives has uncovered valid rationales for granting legal personhood to rivers due to identities common for rivers and their dwellers, rivers’ specific capabilities, and their actantial features (rivers can act).

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Why is it important?

Because rivers and other water bodies are not only threatened by the usual environmental crisis; but also by ecocide. The mining of rare earth metals, for example, from riverbeds and river basins (the Niger and the Amazon are just the first examples; entire lakes are being technologically destroyed, such as the Aral Sea) are endangered and require constant monitoring and attention – and indigenous and local people are very attached to their riverside habitats.

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