Taranaki Mounga, New Zealand’s second-highest mountain, has been granted legal personhood, a landmark decision that recognizes the cultural and spiritual significance of the mountain to the Taranaki Māori iwi. This law, passed by the New Zealand parliament, confers the same legal rights as a person to Taranaki Mounga and its surrounding peaks, making it the country’s third natural feature to receive such status. The mountain, formerly known as Mount Egmont, is now officially recognized by its Māori name, marking the end of its colonial designation. The change is part of a larger settlement from 2016, which addressed historical wrongs related to land confiscations and breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. Taranaki Māori had been deprived of access to the mountain and other ancestral lands during the 19th-century Taranaki wars. The move to grant legal personhood to the mountain follows similar actions for the Whanganui River and Te Urewera, symbolizing a shift in how New Zealand’s legal system incorporates Māori Indigenous concepts into Western law. While the law does not return the land to Indigenous ownership, it represents a powerful acknowledgment of the mountain's ancestral importance and a step toward healing historical wounds.
Image via The Guardian
Read other stories from the 2/17/25 newsletter:
Reviving the Dodo Bird
Kabaddi Club Changing Lives
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