New Zealand on Thursday passed a landmark law granting Mount Taranaki the status of a legal person, in a move that recognizes its cultural significance to Māori iwi (people) as a sacred ancestor.

A mountain in New Zealand is now legally recognized as a person after being granted all the rights and responsibilities of a human by the government. The new law provides additional protection for ...

The volcano “is released from the shackles — the shackles of injustice, of ignorance, of hate,” an official said Lu Huaiqian/Xinhua via Getty Mount Taranaki ... of the New Zealand government ...

Mount Taranaki is officially a person. The volcano — known by its Māori name Taranaki Maunga — is no longer under the ownership of the New Zealand government as of Jan. 30, NBC News reported. It was ...

A 8,200ft mountain has now been recognised as a person in a bizarre move by New Zealand. The country's government recognised Mount Taranaki - now known by its Maori name, Taranaki Maunga - after ...

Mount Taranaki — now known as Taranaki Maunga, its Māori name — is the latest natural feature to be granted personhood in New Zealand, which has ruled that a river and a stretch of sacred ...

A man takes a picture of his wife with Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont, in the background in New Plymouth, New Zealand, September 26, 2011. File Photo/AP A mountain in New Zealand will have ...

Mount Taranaki -- now known as Taranaki Maunga, its Maori name -- is the latest natural feature to be granted personhood in New Zealand, which has ruled that a river and a stretch of sacred land ...

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 ...

Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Taranaki, is the latest natural feature in New Zealand to be granted legal personhood, following the Whanganui River (Te Awa Tupua) and Te Urewera National ...