Kalinago (Carib) Territory, Dominica: A Video Introduction

This is a fairly elementary but well synthesized historical overview of the indigenous people of Dominica, narrated by Dominican historian Lennox Honychurch. It was produced by the Government of Dominica, and specifically by the Ministry of Tourism, so don't expect any radical indigenist critique of the post-colonial nation-state here. Nonetheless, it is an interesting visual record with good introductory historical and ethnographic detail. And, it is shared freely, and in its entirety, unlike some of the videos we recently posted.

Dominica: More on the Dissolution of the Carib Council

According to an item posted by the Dominica Broadcasting Service on Dominica's news website at http://www.news-dominica.com/flashnews/datelistqry.cfm, dated 12 April 2006, the Government of Dominica has also announced the cancellation of elections for the Carib Council:

"Govt. have announced that there will be no new elections for the Carib Council. This after previously saying there would be elections after Carnival. There has been a long-standing dispute within the Council. Source: DBS Radio."

While the legality, not to mention the necessity, in making such a decision is open to question, we are at least able to address a question posed in an earlier post concerning the legality of the Government's dissolution of the Carib Council (ref: http://cacreview.blogspot.com/2006/04/dominica-government-overthrows-carib.html).

The following extract from the Carib Reserve Act of 1978 was provided by Arthur Einhorn:

SECTION VII, Item 91

(1) If the Council in the judgement of the Minister, persistently makes default in the performance of the duties by law imposed upon it, or exceed or abuse powers, it shall be lawful for the Minister, by an order published in the Gazette, to dissolve such Council.

(2) In the case of such dissolution, the following consequences shall ensue----

(a) all members of the Council shall, from the date of such order, vacate their offices as such members;

(b) all the powers and duties of the Council shall, until the constitution of a new Council under this Act, be exercised and performed by such person or persons as the Minister may appoint in that behalf, and any payment made to such person or persons for his or their services shall be a charge upon the Reserve fund;

(c) all property vested in the Council shall, during the period aforesaid, vest in the person or persons aforesaid until the constitution of a new Council, whereupon all such property shall again become vested in the Council.

(3) No order for dissolution as aforesaid shall be valid unless in such order provision is made for the constitution under this Act of a new Council in lieu of the Council so dissolved within a period not exceeding four weeks from the date of such order.

Item 92

In the case of the dissolution of the Council under the last preceeding section the Minister may appoint a collector of rates (local taxes), who shall have all the powers and dutie conferred and imposed by this Act upon the Council or the Clerk.

Another site, http://da-academy.org/caribhist.html#legal, has posted a summary of the main points of the Carib Reserve Act, amongst these are the following:

• The Carib chief holds office for approximately 5 years unless he or she resigns of his or her own accord or is removed from office.
• The Chief may be removed from office before his or her term comes to an end, if (a) he or she steals property which comes under his or her control because of the office of Chief, (b) he or she is convicted of so doing, (c) the Carib Council has passed a vote of “No confidence” in him or her, (d) he or she becomes a bankrupt, or (e) approximately 5 years have passed since he or she was elected to office.
• An Acting Chief may be appointed by the Prime Minister based on the advice of the Chief to perform the duties of Chief, when the Office of Chief is vacant or the Chief is out of State or the Chief is unable for one reason or the other to carry out his or her functions.

Of course, without more detailed information concerning the events leading to the dissolution of the Council, it is very difficult to ascertain whether the law was respected, or applied prematurely and heavy-handedly.

The cancellation of elections, as stated in the item above, may prove far more serious.

In either case, it seems clearer that the Carib Council possesses only minimal if not symbolic autonomy.

Dominica Government Overthrows Carib Chief

The following story was reported on Friday, March 17, 2006, in Trinidad's Newsday newspaper. It was headlined," Dominica Fires Carib Chief," the report itself follows below:

ROSEAU:

"A rift between the Carib Indian chief and the group's six-member council forced Dominica's government to dissolve the leadership body for the largest indigenous population in the Caribbean, an official said.

"The government's move came after months of infighting between Carib chief Charles Williams and the council following Williams' dismissal of two councillors, said John Fountain, the government commissioner who oversees the island's northeast where the Caribs live. Kent Auguiste, who was on the disbanded council, said that Williams acted as a "dictator" and made decisions contrary to their rulings. Williams said the council never wanted him to be chief and that his removal by the government one week ago was "illegal."

"The Dominican Government has appointed Garnette Joseph, who Williams beat during the 2004 election, to act as chief until a vote can be held to elect a new leader and council. About 3,000 Caribs live in Dominica, the only Caribbean nation to have a remaining Carib community [CAC editor: note to our readers, this statement is clearly erroneous, and like the statement above about the largest indigenous population to be found in the Caribbean being in Dominica, there is no incontrovertible evidence to back that assertion.]

"Caribs live and have collective property rights in rural communities in the island's northeast."

Questions:

1. What is the legal authority for the Dominica Government's overthrow of the Chief?
2. What role did Carib Councillors play in seeking the intervention of the state?
3. Why could this division not be resolved by Caribs themselves?
4. What will the councillors do if the Carib electorate re-elects Charles Williams?
5. Does this have anything to do with the fallout from the filiming in Dominica of "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" which alllegedly features scenes of Carib cannibalism, which Williams opposed and which some of the councillors supported?
6. What precedents are set here in terms of (further) loss of Carib autonomy?
7. What is the proper division of authority as set out by the constitution of the Carib Council?

More on Dominica's Carib Cultural Village...

More news coverage is available at:
http://caymannetnews.com/2006/02/1039/carib/culture.shtml