Nga Mata Whanau Trust & Movement Rights

Country: New Zealand
Communities: Maori and Native American communities
Grants Awarded: 2016 (co-funded with Sacred Fire Foundation) & 2017

We support the Ko te awa ko au (“I am the River, and the River is me”) Delegation project, including an indigenous-led delegation and exchange of Native American leaders and Maori leaders in New Zealand to create a report and video of the historic (yet little known) 2015 Maori Whanganui River agreement recognizing the sacred water system in law. This agreement has the potential to change the way sacred sites and watersheds are protected around the world. This indigenous exchange helps Native leaders better understand the water rights process, the learnings and roadblocks encountered, and ways to strengthen indigenous communities and the entire Rights of Nature movement.