The River Is Me

For many years, the ownership of the Whanganui River in New Zealand was under dispute between the Kiwi government and the Maori people, who consider the river sacred. Now, however, it owns itself. In what’s believed to be a first, the river has been granted legal personhood, with the same rights and responsibilities as you and me. But determining where a river ends and the rest of nature begins —well, that may be up for some debate.