Miriama Cribb, from Whanganui, New Zealand, and working on a PhD project on the implementation of the Ta Awa Tupua legal personhood Act, is now affiliated with the Riverine Rights project.
Miriama Cribb is currently a PhD student at Massey University, New Zealand. Her topic is looking at understanding the critical factors needed to operationalise the new Te Awa Tupua framework in non-Māori organisations. The Te Awa Tupua Act was legislated in 2017, giving legal personhood to the Whanganui River. The legislation provides for the river’s long-term protection and restoration by making it a person in the eyes of the law.
The Te Awa Tupua Act also recognises the special relationship between the Whanganui River and Whanganui Iwi (tribes) by recognising a set of indigenous values at law that reflects this relationship. Miriama was born and bred in Whanganui and has a background in management, recently managing a Māori independent research institute, before enrolling full-time in her PhD.
Miriama was a former trustee on Ngā Tangata Tiaki, the governance entity responsible for the purposes of the Te Awa Tupua Act, and remains active at a local level through her involvement with hapū (sub-tribes) of Whanganui.