Rights of Nature did not arise out of nowhere. Many Indigenous nations have long held teachings, legal traditions, and governance systems grounded in relationship, reciprocity, responsibility, and accountability to land, water, and future generations.
This page offers a careful starting point for understanding those foundations in broad terms. It is not a substitute for learning directly from Indigenous nations, leaders, and Indigenous-led organizations.
Why this matters
Rights of Nature often resonates with Indigenous foundations because both can begin from a different premise than conventional environmental law: that the living world is not merely property or a collection of resources, but a network of relationships that carries obligations as well as benefits.
In many Indigenous traditions, land and water are not separate from community, identity, law, or responsibility. That does not mean every Indigenous nation uses the same concepts or legal forms. It means that many Indigenous teachings and legal orders offer deeper ways of understanding relationship, duty, place, and governance than modern extractive systems tend to recognize.
Core themes often seen across many traditions
- Relationship, not ownership. Land, waters, and other beings are often understood through kinship, belonging, care, and responsibility rather than dominion or simple possession.
- Reciprocity and responsibility. Human beings are not outside the natural world; they have duties within it.
- Place-based governance. Knowledge and responsibility are tied to particular lands, waters, species, and communities.
- Accountability to future generations. Decisions are often understood in light of their long-term effects on community and ecological continuity.
- Law carried through practice. Governance is not only written down. It may be carried through community responsibilities, ceremony, stewardship, oral tradition, and lived relationships.
What this page is — and is not
This page is a starting point for visitors trying to understand why Indigenous foundations matter to Rights of Nature.
It is not an attempt to summarize all Indigenous legal orders, teachings, or nations into one framework. The most respectful next step is always to learn from Indigenous nations directly, especially in relation to the lands and waters where you live and work.
Selected resources
Foundational frameworks
- United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
- Native Land Digital
- Native Governance Center
Indigenous-led environmental and governance resources
- Indigenous Environmental Network
- Rights of Mother Earth: Restoring Indigenous Life Ways of Responsibility and Respect
- Rights-Based Law for Systematic Change
- Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)
