WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A mountain in New Zealand considered an ancestor by Indigenous people was recognized as a legal person on Thursday after a new law granted it all the rights and responsibilities of a human being. Mount Taranaki — now known as Taranaki Maunga, its Māori name — is the latest natural feature to be granted personhood in New Zealand, which has previously designated a river and a stretch of sacred land as legal entities. This pristine, snow-capped dormant volcano, standing at 2,518 meters (8,261 feet), is also a prominent site for tourism, hiking, and winter sports.
The newly established legal recognition serves to acknowledge the historical theft of the mountain from the Māori of the Taranaki region during New Zealand's colonization. This law fulfills part of the agreements and redress sought by the Indigenous people for the injustices and harms perpetrated against their land.
But what does granting legal personhood to Taranaki Maunga actually mean? The landmark law passed on January 31, 2025, assigns Taranaki Maunga all of the rights, powers, duties, responsibilities, and liabilities of a person. Its legal personality is officially named Te Kāhui Tupua, conceptualized as “a living and indivisible whole.” This encompasses not just the mountain itself, but also its surrounding peaks and land, integrating all their physical and metaphysical elements. The legislation stipulates the formation of a newly created entity, which will serve as “the face and voice” of Taranaki Maunga, represented by four members from local Māori iwi (tribes) and four members appointed by New Zealand’s Conservation Minister.
The significance of Taranaki Maunga extends beyond legislation; it is seen as “an honored ancestor, a source of physical, cultural and [spiritual] sustenance and a final resting place.” This statement, delivered by Paul Goldsmith, the lawmaker who oversaw the settlements between the government and Māori tribes, captures the mountain's revered status among Indigenous peoples.
The history of Taranaki is fraught with colonial strife, beginning with British explorer Captain James Cook, who sighted the peak from his ship and named it Mount Egmont back in 1770. The Treaty of Waitangi, signed by Māori tribes and representatives of the Crown in 1840, was supposed to guarantee Māori rights to their land and resources, yet disagreements between the Māori and English translations of the treaty led to immediate breaches by the Crown.
Significantly, after the rebellion of the Māori against the Crown, vast swathes of Taranaki land — including the mountain — were confiscated by colonial powers starting in 1865. Over the next century, management decisions involving the mountain favored hunting and sports groups, effectively sidelining Māori interests. “Traditional Māori practices associated with the mountain were banned, and tourism was promoted,” Goldsmith noted.
Yet, the 1970s and 1980s saw the rise of Māori protest movements, emphasizing the significance of the Māori language and culture which has been increasingly recognized within New Zealand law. This movement, combined with redress efforts, led to agreements amounting to billions of dollars for various Māori tribes, including the recent settlement involving Taranaki’s eight tribes, signed just earlier this month.
How will Taranaki Maunga utilize these new rights? “Today, Taranaki, our maunga, our maunga tupuna, is released from the shackles, the shackles of injustice, of ignorance, of hate,” stated Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, co-leader of the political party Te Pāti Māori and descendant of the Taranaki tribes. She laid emphasis on the enduring connection between the people and the mountain: “We grew up knowing there was nothing anyone could do to make us any less connected.” The rights granted are aimed at maintaining the health and wellbeing of Taranaki Maunga, enabling efforts to prevent forced sales, restore traditional uses, and carry out conservation work to protect the island's native wildlife.
Despite the uniqueness of this legislation, New Zealand had previously made similar groundbreaking decisions. It became the first country to grant personhood to natural features when it recognized Te Urewera, a vast native forest on the North Island, back in 2014. Government ownership of Te Urewera ceased as the Tūhoe tribe became its guardian. Following this, the Whanganui River was granted personhood status as part of negotiations with local iwi.
The passage of the recent law recognizing Mount Taranaki's personhood received unanimous backing from all 123 lawmakers present, marking it as a unifying moment amid often fraught race relations within New Zealand. The vote was celebrated with songs of waiata from public supporters who traveled from Taranaki to Wellington.
This momentous recognition may serve both as restitution for historical wrongs and as part of the larger conversation around Indigenous rights and representation within New Zealand, signifying hope for the future of cultural and environmental stewardship.