An Indigenous leader has inspired an Amazon city to grant personhood to an endangered river
Associated Press
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An Indigenous Wari' boy swims in the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps, in Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Thursday, July 13, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the river "as a living entity and subject to rights." (AP Photo/Andre Penner)An Indigenous Wari' girl holds a little bird in Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Thursday, July 13, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps "as a living entity and subject to rights."(AP Photo/Andre Penner)Wari' Indigenous grill an armadillo in Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Friday, July 14, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps "as a living entity and subject to rights." (AP Photo/Andre Penner)An Indigenous Wari' girl smashes corn to prepare food in Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Thursday, July 13, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps "as a living entity and subject to rights."(AP Photo/Andre Penner)Indigenous Wari' children throw out water from a boat in the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps, in Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Friday, July 14, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the river "as a living entity and subject to rights." (AP Photo/Andre Penner)Indigenous people play soccer at the Wari' community in Guajara Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Thursday, July 13, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps, "as a living entity and subject to rights." (AP Photo/Andre Penner)An Indigenous Wari' boy looks to the camera after swimming in the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps, in Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Thursday, July 13, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the river "as a living entity and subject to rights." (AP Photo/Andre Penner)Indigenous leader and councilman Francisco Oro Waram plays with children in the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps, at his Wari' community in Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Friday, July 14, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the river "as a living entity and subject to rights." (AP Photo/Andre Penner)An Indigenous Wari' boy swims in the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps, at Wari' community in Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Thursday, July 13, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the river "as a living entity and subject to rights." (AP Photo/Andre Penner)Wari' Indigenous leader and councilman Francisco Oro Waram stands at his Wari' community in Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Thursday, July 13, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps, "as a living entity and subject to rights." "We can't fight with arrows; we have to use the laws," said Oro Waram, the law's proponent. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)Indigenous ride a boat on the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps, at the Wari' Indigenous community in Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Thursday, July 13, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the Laje River "as a living entity and subject to rights."(AP Photo/Andre Penner)This combination of images provided by Planet Labs PBC, shows two protected territories that belong to the Wari' Indigenous people in July 2003, top, and the same area with signs of deforestation in June 2023. Despite being a protected area, it has been extensively invaded and deforested by land-robbers in the past few years. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)Indigenous leader and councilman Francisco Oro Waram plays with a girl in the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps, at his Wari' community in Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Friday, July 14, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the river "as a living entity and subject to rights." (AP Photo/Andre Penner)An Indigenous Wari' girl carries her brother after swimming in the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps, in Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Friday, July 14, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the river "as a living entity and subject to rights." (AP Photo/Andre Penner)Members of an Indigenous Wari' family sit in their house in the community of Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Thursday, July 13, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps, "as a living entity and subject to rights." (AP Photo/Andre Penner)The Linha 26 Indigenous Wari' community, lies next to a deforested area in Nova Mamore, Rondonia state, Brazil, Friday, July 14, 2023. On June 6, about 60 armed men invaded the village, expelling its inhabitants. They only returned after the Federal Police went to the locale and retook it, according to the Wari umbrella organization. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)Wari' Indigenous women prepare a typical spice named Urucum in Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Friday, July 14, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps "as a living entity and subject to rights." (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
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An Indigenous Wari' boy swims in the Komi Memem River, named Laje in non-Indigenous maps, in Guajara-Mirim, Rondonia state, Brazil, Thursday, July 13, 2023. The Amazon city of Guajara-Mirim recently approved a law that designates the river "as a living entity and subject to rights." (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
