Last Stand for the First People

First published as an Editorial in The Guardian

02 May 2011

The loss of Carib Queen Valentina Assing Medina which was memorialised on Friday marks a key milestone in the continuing efforts of the local Carib community to carve out a distinct space for themselves in the landscape of modern Trinidad and Tobago. At the funeral on Saturday, a surprisingly emotional Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism Winston Peters, made an impassioned plea for the community to hang together or risk falling apart.

“You are your worst enemy,” Minister Winston Peters warned the congregation in a tone that seemed to convey a mix of frustration and loss. The need to present the Carib community as unified and coordinated isn’t simply a matter of getting things together for a common cause. As filmmaker and journalist Tracy Assing noted in an essay, The Long Walk Home, published in Caribbean Beat, “I stopped participating in the [Santa Rosa] festival when I was eight. Even at that age I realised that the story of its origin might have been only as real as the tales that captured my imagination in the books of Enid Blyton.”

Assing created a tangible corrective to the contradictory stories she grew up with in a film, The Amerindians, first screened in 2010. Raised as a Carib descendant, Assing’s struggles to reconcile the history her family shared with her with the official histories of Trinidad and Tobago provided the foundation for the documentary’s narrative. The young filmmaker, who grew up calling Valentina Assing Medina “Aunty Mavis,” created an important document in the narrative of the First People of Trinidad and Tobago, whose history lives on largely in the stories passed on from generation to generation, undocumented by the many conquerors who came to this island.

Under the previous government, the Carib community was given five acres of land at Blanchisseuse Old Road in Arima and Minister Peters seems keen to amplify that gift with input from his government’s resources. At this point in the history of the Carib community, with participation by the youngest descendants of the original inhabitants of this country dwindling, the most critical space that champions of this community can occupy is in the minds of the larger population.

Rebuilding the narrative of the First People in the consciousness and conversations of the larger population and stoking pride and interest among the scattered generations of descendants will do as much for the Carib community’s cause as the construction of the proposed museum, craft centres and recreations of historical village life.

Losing Valentina Medina was, ultimately, the loss of a remarkable resource of knowledge and memory of the experiences of the oldest truly native culture that this country can claim as its own. The formation of the Carib Santa Rosa Community in 1974 has been an effort at not just staking a claim on that kind of memory, but an attempt at knitting the stories of the region into a larger history and cultural archive as that organisation has reached out to surviving Amerindian tribes in the region.

Gathering these stories and rebuilding the rich, natural narrative of the lifestyles and history of the first inhabitants of Trinidad and Tobago is the only way to provide a real alternative to the readily consumed temptations available in the attractively packaged fictions of foreign entertainment. These are not simple matters, and time is against the elders of the Carib community. Encouraging and supporting efforts of local documentarians to preserve the history and traditions of the oldest elements of our history in modern media should be the first point of intervention by the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism in advancing the future of the local Carib community.

Carib Queen Could Not Witness Land Hand Over

First published in The Guardian

By Michelle Loubon

01 May 2011

Senator Pennelope Beckles
presented the eulogy at the
late Santa Rosa Carib queen
Valentina Medina’s funeral.

President of the Carib Community Ricardo Bharath regrets that the late Carib queen Valentina Medina was not in a position to attend the handing-over ceremony of the land promised to the Carib community at Blanchisseuse Old Road, Arima. He also lamented that the community has not made more strides in the country because of a community leadership crisis since they were viewed as a minority group. Medina served the Santa Rosa Carib community in her capacity as queen for 11 years until her death from cancer recently. Bharath made the comment during a celebration of thanksgiving for her life at Santa Rosa RC Church, Arima, on Friday last. Among those in attendance at the church service were acting Prime Minister Winston Dookeran, Arima MP Rodger Samuel, Arima Mayor Ghassan Youseph and Senator Pennelope Beckles who offered the eulogy. Msgr Christian Pereira was chief celebrant.

Bharath said: “There is some disappointment she was never able to see the actual handover of the land. We are not asking for a gift.” Interviewed on Wednesday, Bharath said: “If only she could have seen the model village, that would have contributed to the sustenance of the community. “I am saddened by her passing and disappointed she never had that opportunity.” Bharath indicated the site would offer craft, a museum with indigenous forms of agriculture and offer information on cassava (manioc) processing. “It would be a living village. Many students would be able to get a hands-on experience,” he said. Bharath added: “I feel the government needs to step up but somehow things are moving too slow. Something should be done for the last remnant of the first peoples.” Quizzed on the elevation of a new queen, Bharath said: “After the burial (last Friday) a meeting would be called and her successor named.”

Challenges

Bharath said before the community came under the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, they were represented by a chief. “But being placed in a Catholic Mission, they came under the control of the priest.” He lamented culture and traditions have begun to die. Meanwhile, women are emerging with leadership qualities. “Santa Rosa Festival was named for the first Carib queen.” Medina was the fifth Carib queen, from 1785, in what was known as the Santa Rosa Mission. Making reference to the community being viewed as a minority, Bharath added: “We are seen as incapable of making decisions. The change is gradual.” He called for mutual respect so they could move forward.

Funeral Ceremony for Trinidad Carib Queen Valentina Medina

Carib queen gets ceremonial send off

Published in The Guardian on Mon, 2011-05-16

Michelle Loubon

The late Carib queen, Valentina Assing Medina, had three wishes. They were granted. Paying tribute to Medina, her daughter Loretta Medina-Grant said, “She wanted a pink rose in her hair. She also asked to see several people including Senator (Penny) Beckles (who read her eulogy), and Councillor Metevier. She especially asked for Msgr Christian Perreira to do her service.” The celebration and thanksgiving for the life of Medina, fondly known as Mavis, took place at the Santa Rosa RC Church, Arima, on April 29. Among those present were acting Prime Minister Winston Dookeran, Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism Winston Peters, and president of the Santa Rosa Carib Community Ricardo Bharath.

Lopinot/Bon Air West MP Dr Lincoln Douglas and chair of the Amerindian Project Committee Vel Lewis were also present. As a lagniappe, she was sent to the Great Spirit via a traditional Amerindian ceremony at the nearby Santa Rosa cemetery. Leading the cortege, was flagsman Peter Diaz. The strains of Pedro Lezama’s saxophone were replaced by the infectious sounds of traditional parang which permeated the landmark kirk. From vantage points at the Santa Rosa park, mourners, including filmmaker and journalist Tracy Assing, watched the celebration unfold. Delicate poui blossoms formed a purple carpet closer to the boys’ school. The cortege was en route to God’s acre to bid their final rites to Medina. Another famous Arimian, calypsonian Aldwyn Roberts, fondly known as Lord Kitchener, was buried there.

Clutching palm fronds, members of the Carib clan decked in traditional vestments followed reverently. Their pretty faces were wreathed in smiles. Retired Spanish teacher at Arima Government Secondary School, Beryl Almarales, was spotted. She was joined by Jennifer Cassar, Antonia and Catherine Calderon, Maria Hernandez and Mary Noreiga. Elders, including Ramona Lopez and Metrina Medina, paid their final respects.

Even the menfolk such as Partners for the First Peoples, Roger Belix, donned waistcoats etched with bird figurines. As they wended their way, traditional Arima families like the Martinez clan watched the procession from their home—which was a blend of modernity and colonial architecture.

Amerindian ceremony send off

In the cool of the evening, Bharath and medicine man or shaman, Cristo Adonis, officiated at the smoke ceremony. They were assisted by her grandson Zachary Medina. Among those present were Arima Mayor Ghassan Youseph, and Arima MP Rodger Samuel. The aroma of forest incense wafted. Mourners coughed, and some retreated as the fire blazed. Under the boughs of a mango tree, neighbours espied the religious spectacle. Quizzed on the ceremony, Bharath said, “It is a smoke ritual. But it has different components to it. It is done in begging for a request from the Great Spirit. It is done in thanksgiving and at the death of someone. Depending on the ceremony, you will use different ingredients. In the case of death, we used tobacco, incense and some medicinal herbs.”

During the ceremony, Bharath said, “We prayed to the Great Spirit (Tamushi) to allow the guardians of the four directions to guide the soul of the departed to find rest and peace. It was simpler in the send off.” As custodians of the environment, Bharath said he prepared the incense from trees growing in the forest. “We use what is indigenous to the area. We get if from the gum trees in the forest.” Earlier on, in his tribute, Bharath had lamented that several traditions had died. “In the earlier days, they would have placed tools or what the person used in life. “If it was a medicinal man, they would have put herbs. If it was a hunter, they would have put his bow and arrow. They might have even put some food. But some of those traditions we don’t practice. The heavy traditions have died,” he said. After the religious formalities, traditional paranderos shook their chac chacs and strummed their guitars as they celebrated the life of a proud Arimian, who was “humble, dedicated, caring and loving.”

Santa Rosa Festival

Throughout her reign, she remained devoted to Santa Rosa. Accompanied by Father Perreira, Medina led the procession through Arima. The statue of Santa Rosa, was decked with rows of beautiful roses and a bouquet of red roses, perfected by whites, pinks and yellows. The celebrants sang hymns and chanted the Our Father. The Carib community and other participants clutched tropical blooms like anthuriums, ginger lilies and roses.

Carib strides

During her tenure, the government declared October 14 as the official day of recognition. In 2006, T&T was given the chairmanship of the Regional Council of Indigenous Peoples. She expressed gratitude to Works Minister Jack Warner, George Hadeed and Mayor Youseph for their assistance. Bharath said he regretted her passing without witnessing the land handover. In a previous interview, (August 11, 2002) Medina said: “If we get the land we will plant cassava, corn, too. “We want a place for agouti and deer to run. It will boost our heritage and culture. “We do not eat people—only wild meat like agouti, deer and tattoo,” she had joked.

About Valentina Medina

Valentina Medina lived at Wattley Street, Mt Pleasant, Arima. In 2002, she was one of many indigenous peoples celebrated by the United Nations on International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. She was born to Clemencia Hale Assing and Thompson Hale Assing at Rapsey Street in Caura. She was the wife of the late John Medina. She was the mother of Loretta, Camilus, Octave, Herbert and Bernadette. Medina grew up in Paria, a very pristine neck of the woods, in Arima. She lived and worked there. She was Carib queen for 11 years. She felt it was a “special experience to be queen of the Carib community.” She was elected based on her knowledge and history and traditions of the Carib community. She was the fifth Carib queen in the history of the Santa Rosa Carib Community.

Ricardo Bharath on the Carib Queen, Land, Survival

Carib Queen could not witness land hand over

Published: Sun, 2011-05-01 in The Guardian

Michelle Loubon

[Senator Pennelope Beckles presented the eulogy at the late Santa Rosa Carib queen Valentina Medina’s funeral.]

President of the Carib Community Ricardo Bharath regrets that the late Carib queen Valentina Medina was not in a position to attend the handing-over ceremony of the land promised to the Carib community at Blanchisseuse Old Road, Arima. He also lamented that the community has not made more strides in the country because of a community leadership crisis since they were viewed as a minority group. Medina served the Santa Rosa Carib community in her capacity as queen for 11 years until her death from cancer recently. Bharath made the comment during a celebration of thanksgiving for her life at Santa Rosa RC Church, Arima, on Friday last. Among those in attendance at the church service were acting Prime Minister Winston Dookeran, Arima MP Rodger Samuel, Arima Mayor Ghassan Youseph and Senator Pennelope Beckles who offered the eulogy. Msgr Christian Pereira was chief celebrant.

Bharath said: “There is some disappointment she was never able to see the actual handover of the land. We are not asking for a gift.” Interviewed on Wednesday, Bharath said: “If only she could have seen the model village, that would have contributed to the sustenance of the community. “I am saddened by her passing and disappointed she never had that opportunity.” Bharath indicated the site would offer craft, a museum with indigenous forms of agriculture and offer information on cassava (manioc) processing. “It would be a living village. Many students would be able to get a hands-on experience,” he said. Bharath added: “I feel the government needs to step up but somehow things are moving too slow. Something should be done for the last remnant of the first peoples.” Quizzed on the elevation of a new queen, Bharath said: “After the burial (last Friday) a meeting would be called and her successor named.”

Challenges

Bharath said before the community came under the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, they were represented by a chief. “But being placed in a Catholic Mission, they came under the control of the priest.” He lamented culture and traditions have begun to die. Meanwhile, women are emerging with leadership qualities. “Santa Rosa Festival was named for the first Carib queen.” Medina was the fifth Carib queen, from 1785, in what was known as the Santa Rosa Mission. Making reference to the community being viewed as a minority, Bharath added: “We are seen as incapable of making decisions. The change is gradual.” He called for mutual respect so they could move forward.

Trinidad Caribs Looking for New Queen

Caribs look for new queen
Published: Thu, 2011-04-28 in The Guardian
Brent Zephyrine

The process of selecting a new queen of the indigenous Carib community “will be a challenge” if adequate financial provisions are not allocated to the successor of the late Valentina Medina. So said president of the Carib community, Ricardo Hernandez Bharath, in an interview yesterday. Medina, 77, who had been ailing with cancer for three years, succumbed last Saturday, having served ten years as queen of the Carib community in Santa Rosa. Bharath said the queen, whose office was for life, acted as the official representative for the Carib community and made appearances at various events, fulfilled the duty of community consultant and functions as the chief public relations liaison for both visitors and students.

He said at present, the post did not come with a stipend and believed that something ought to be done to provide some relief in that regard. “If you want to give of that office a kind of respect and dignity, I believe that some sort of assistance from some government department must be afforded to that person,” Bharath said. He added that “it would be a challenge to appoint” a successor if stipends were not provided since it was necessary to assist the queen “in her day-to-day engagements, in preparation to attend functions and receive visitors” among other particulars. “We assist her with a little when we get our annual subventions,” he said.

“Apart from that, we depend on contributions from visitors, school children, the sale of art and craft and the little indigenous foods we do but it is not consistent, nor is it enough.” Asked to outline the procedure for the election of a new queen, Bharath said where the “queen did not name a successor,” the community would meet and nominate candidates who they felt were best suited to carry out her functions. “If there is just one nomination (which is unopposed) and it is accepted, that person will be made queen and where there is more than one nomination, then an election will take place and the majority will stand,” he said. Bharath said the requirements for the new queen “will need to be a bit more advanced” when compared to the past and more emphasis would need to be placed on “the qualities of the person.”

“In the past, you just had to look for someone knowledgeable of the Carib traditions, devoted to the Santa Rosa festival and committed to living a good life but today, it will require someone who can interact with the public,” he said. Medina’s funeral service will take place tomorrow from 2 pm at the Santa Rosa Roman Catholic Church, Woodford Street, Arima. Her body will lie in state at the Arima Town Hall from noon to 1.15 pm, after which there will be a procession through the streets of Arima. Medina will be laid to rest at the Santa Rosa Cemetery where Bharath will perform a special burial ceremony. Monsignor Christian Perreira of the Catholic Church will preside over the funeral service.

Carib Queen Valentina Medina Passes On

By Leiselle Maraj Monday, April 25 2011
Published in Newsday

Carib Queen Valentina Medina passed away at her home on Saturday after battling cancer for the past three years. She was 77 years old.

She has been the Carib Queen of the community in Santa Rosa for the past ten years. May 6 this year would have been her 78th birthday and marked her 11th year as Queen.

Medina’s daughter, Lauretta Grant told Newsday yesterday the Queen passed away at her home at Mt Pleasant, Arima, at about 3.20pm on Saturday surrounded by her children and close family who lived nearby.

She said her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago and although she removed the cancerous growth, the disease spread to the rest of her body. A few days ago, Grant said, her mother visited the doctor who informed her that the cancer spread to her bones.

The queen was unable to attend several functions within the past year due to her illness. Grant said her mother was ashamed to be seen looking so frail after she lost so much weight due to illness.

Her last appearance was at a function for the feast of Santa Rosa last August.

“She was in a lot of pain then. My mother suffered a lot with her illness but she died peacefully and we were all with her,” she said.

The family is currently making funeral arrangements but Grant said there may not be a service before Thursday.

“She was very close with Senator Pennelope Beckles and my mother asked her to read her eulogy but she would not be in the country until Wednesday,” Grant explained.

The community now has to choose a new Queen. Grant said while she was not sure of the exact process, the community will have to hold a meeting and choose three women who meet the requirements to be Queen. The community then votes and the person with the most votes is declared the new Queen.

Medina leaves to mourn Grant and her three sons, grandchildren and great grandchildren. According to a media release from the office of Arima Mayor, Ghassan Youseph, she was the mother of five children, one daughter and four sons.

“On behalf of all Arimians, as well as the executive and staff of the Arima Borough Corporation, the Mayor and Council extend heartfelt sympathies to the Carib community on their loss,” the release stated.

Also sending condolences is the political party, the Congress of the People. In a separate media release, COP noted Medina’s passing is a great loss to the members of the Carib community and the wider citizenry.

“Queen Medina, queen for the past 11 years, represented the purity and soul of our First People. She worked assiduously to promote the philosophy and history of the great Carib community. Even though she was soft spoken she always made her passionate views heard. She epitomised the concept of religious and cultural diversity in Trinidad and Tobago, a feature for which she was well known,” the release stated.

COP called on Government to work with the new Carib leadership and honour her so she will be known by future generations.

President of the Santa Rosa community, Ricardo Bharath Hernandez could not be reached for comment.

Condolences to Carib Queen Valentina Medina and her family

John "Bertie" Medina, husband of Valentina Medina the Queen of the Arima Caribs, and great uncle to CAC Editor Tracy Assing, passed away today (Wednesday, 02 April, 2008). According to Cristo Adonis, in a phone call this evening, the tentative plans are for a funeral on Monday, 07 April, 2008.

I also knew Mr. Medina from the two previous times I lived in Arima (1997-1999, 2001-2003) and he was always a warm, gentle, humorous person. The photograph shown here was taken in August of 1997 at the Santa Rosa Carib Community Centre, where he was helping to clean rods used for the flags of the Santa Rosa Festival.

Roll Call for the Ancestors

It is very sad that in my limited time I have seen the passing of so many elders and key people in the Carib Community, including:

• Justa Werges, the former Carib Queen
• Alexander Calderon
• Julie Calderon
• Nemencia Calderon
• Elma Reyes
• Lawrence Augustus
• and now Bertie Medina

Our condolences to the family, relatives, and friends.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Good Company

Thank you for the warm welcome and the invitation to join the CAC Review. I am grateful for your work. I thank all our ancestors for guiding us to each other.

I almost am not sure where to begin. But I guess as good a place to start as any is in my own back yard. I live on the island known as The Land of the Hummingbird. And there are many hummingbirds indeed. My island is beautiful but unfortunately much of its beauty remains undiscovered by many of the people who live here. For some the forest remains a place of mystery and danger, while it has been a place of reawakening for others.

Discovery. Now there’s a word that has caused trouble for us all. But perhaps the bigger problem lies in the question of who discovered what. And when.

On this Land of the Hummingbird, while the frogs and crickets sing a warm welcome to the rain and praises to the full moon, we are re-finding, redefining and refining our space. My people of the Santa Rosa Carib community who grew together as one tribe, have just about lost their young. Our grandmothers and great grandmothers, a few grandfathers, are the only ones bothered to come to gatherings.

My own great aunt is the Carib Queen. I decided against writing "reigning" there. I could not write it because it feels like she has no power at all. Her people sometimes don’t bother turning up. Sometimes her people have other appointments. Sometimes her people are surviving.

More in the days to come on survival.

The CAC Welcomes a New Editor!

On behalf of the editorial board of the Caribbean Amerindian Centrelink, I wish to an extend an especially warm welcome to our newest editorial member, Tracy Assing from Arima, Trinidad. All of the current editors were unanimous in supporting her joining us. I am also very happy to have corresponded and met with Tracy in Trinidad and I look forward to hearing/reading more from her. What follows is a personal introduction written by Tracy.


I was raised in the Carib Santa Rosa community of Arima. All four of my grandparents come from various First Nations people and much of their knowledge has been passed on to us. I am especially concerned about the historical inaccuracies still being taught in our country's schools, about the trespass of our ancestral hunting and fishing grounds and significant archaeological sites, about the cosmetic recognition we receive from political parties, about the level of control exercised by the Catholic church over our elders.

I have questions about what has been accepted and propagated in the past. My great aunt (sister of my father's father) is the current "Carib Queen" Valentina Medina.

The community raised under the "Carib Santa Rosa" umbrella is waking to itself.

I am an Assistant Editor at Caribbean Beat magazine and have a multi-media work history with stints in radio, television, magazine/journal and newspaper publishing over the last 12 years.