All peoples around the world have stories that honour the waters that surround coastlines, flow over lands and pool in valleys. Indigenous peoples do too.  This Māori prayer above inspires a call for governments to ‘rise up’ to legislate for the values, rights and interests of Indigenous peoples to once again enable caring for waters.  Indigenous peoples throughout the world know that health and wellbeing intimately mirror people and environment.  There is no separation viewed between saltwater, freshwater and land, for all is one entity, often regarded as Earth Mother, upon which people rely on for sustenance and owe duties of care.  New innovative law and policy offer some hope for future Indigenous generations to regain some governance oversight of the environment.