Deh-cho Personhood
Currently, in Northern Alberta, the Alberta Government plans to make policy changes in 2023 to allow the Oil and Gas Industry to release toxic tailings ponds into the Athabasca River, a tributary of the Deh-cho (Mackenzie) River Basin. Many Indigenous communities live downstream from the oilsands and everything that goes into the Athabasca River flows into the Slave River and to the Deh-cho River, and ultimately into the Arctic Ocean. Pursuing legal personhood for the Deh-cho River Basin could be a key factor in protecting the people, the river, and a land base from over-exploitation by humans. Keepers of the Water is a guardian that protects rivers and waters. This paper explains personhood through case studies and provides recommendations to Keepers of the Water to understand and support the global movement.