The Colorado River Indian Tribes have formally accorded personhood status to the Colorado River, creating a powerful new mechanism to protect the eponymous river that makes life possible in their arid homelands. The resolution was approved by the CRIT Tribal Council on Nov. 6 in Parker. … Granting personhood to natural resources, such as rivers, allows people or parties to take legal action to protect them. For example, forum participants said a person could sue a company or entity that pollutes a river because the river has the right to be pollution-free.