Indigenous leader inspires an Amazon city to grant personhood to an endangered river
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)
By FABIANO MAISONNAVE, TERESA DE MIGUEL AND ANDRÉ PENNER
GUAJARA-MIRIM, BRAZIL (AP) — On the banks of the Komi Memem River, the activity never ceases: women go down the embankment from Laje Velho village carrying basins to wash clothing, while men embark in small canoes on hunting and fishing expeditions. At day’s end, it’s the children’s turn to dive into its tea-colored waters...