Legacy Lives On.

Legacy Lives On.
Trinidad Express Newspapers | Oct 18, 2010 at 11:32 PM ECT

Cristo Adonis, shaman of the Arima Carib community in Trinidad.

...of the Spaniards against his people in St Joseph. Hyarima is considered by the Santa Rosa Carib Community as this country's first national hero.

The week of activities included educational school tours, a taste of Amerindian cuisine, lectures, a smoke ceremony and heritage fair. The fair featured interactive games, dances and a petting zoo.

For Cristo Adonis, shaman of the Arima Carib community in Trinidad, the spirit of the indigenous people is as vibrant today as it was centuries ago.

"We are strong," he said. "We have remained with the knowledge of medicinal plants, although (these plants) are being destroyed every day when the hills are cut down. But we remain strong."

Adonis wished to remind the public that there were still people of indigenous descent here in this country, that they were strong and can contribute a lot to this land which was originally theirs.

"We can do a lot education wise because a lot of the history that was written, we know for a fact that those things were written by the European people from their point of view. So we can teach our young people the proper history of indigenous people. We can also teach a lot about the environment because that is our legacy. That is what we know. We are part of nature. I think the powers that be could adopt some of the principles of the indigenous people."

Adonis says that before Christopher Columbus landed in Trinidad there were over 40,000 people living here but the descendants of these peoples have since dispersed across the region.

"Trinidad was always a melting pot," he said.

Some of the things which have survived, he added, were the spiritual smoke ceremony, foods, and certain implements. Unfortunately, he said it has been a challenge for these people to gain recognition in modern society.

"It has been an uphill climb. I think it all started when people started saying that the Caribs were cannibals. There were a lot of young people who did not want to be associated with that. Although we were here first but in a minority, people hardly placed focus on us. The proper documentation on our way of life need to be placed in a proper perspective."

He lamented that whilst many traditional crafts have been lost over the passage of time, he is satisfied that those which have endured are being kept alive.

"We have lost the language because our people were forced to learn Spanish then forced to learn English." He added: "But we have survived for over 500 years so our (traditions) will carry on."

Govt promises more land to Amerindians.

Govt promises more land to Amerindians.
By Miranda La Rose | Trinidad Express Newspapers | Oct 11, 2010 at 10:43 PM ECT

The Amerindian community in Arima is to get "an appropriate parcel of land on which we could faithfully recreate the living conditions, customs and traditions of the first people," Minister of Multiculturalism Winston Peters said.

Launching the week of activities to mark Amerindian heritage at the Arima Town Hall yesterday under the theme, "Survival of a People" Peters said he has directed that "a brief (on the issue) be brought forward at the shortest possible time for consideration".

He said, "I am not speaking about a meagre five acres that somebody else may have promised you some time ago."

Pledging "to work as hard as I can to ensure that you all get the lands that you deserve," he said that the People's Partnership Government takes the issues of indigenous people's seriously. To this end, he said that the Government ratified two United Nations Conventions to protect the heritage of indigenous peoples in July.

Through the Amerindian Project Committee and in collaboration with the Santa Rosa community, Peters said that the Government was working on several proposals for the long-term development of the indigenous community.

In his address, chief of the Santa Rosa community, Ricardo Bharath Hernandez, said that while the community was grateful for the five acres of land given by the previous People's National Movement government, it was not enough.

"We humbly submit at this point that this is not enough for a people to whom this entire nation belongs and in particular for a community that was granted 1.320 acres or the mission of Santa Rosa. That is how Arima started," he said.

He noted that the UN recently adopted the declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, which speaks of the protection of their cultural heritage and land rights issues, and that Trinidad and Tobago supported it.

"It is on this basis that we ask that this matter be reviewed by the present administration and that we be given a fair portion of land on which to establish a modern Amerindian village in a manner of our ancestors and that it be both a source of economic sustenance for our people and a tourist attraction for which Arima and the whole country could be proud," he said.

He said, too, that the past four administrations he has dealt, have all been sympathetic and have given some level of recognition and financial support for heritage activities.

"But we are seen as just another cultural group lining up for a subvention. That should not be so," he said.

From Rhonda LeValdo, Pres., NAJA

This from Native America Calling

News from the Native American Journalists Association

by Native America Calling on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 12:14pm

Rhonda LeValdo Statement

It is upsetting that in today's world a political leader like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg would tell the Governor of New York, David Paterson to resort to violence when dealing with the issue of untaxed cigarettes on Native American tribal land.

In a radio excerpt Mr. Bloomberg talked about those sales and stated on his radio show: "You know, get yourself a cowboy hat and a shotgun. If there's ever a great video, it's you standing in the middle of the New York State Thruway saying, you know, 'Read my lips - the law of the land is this, and we're going to enforce the law.'"

Going to archaic methods of pressuring ethnic minority groups is never an option.

I am asking that Mayor Bloomberg issue an apology to all tribal nations for his suggestion of violence against Native Americans.

Letter to Mayor Bloomberg

August 20, 2010

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

The use of the Cowboy and Indian theme when describing how to deal with the tribes in the state of New York demeans all Native American tribes as a people. By enforcing this stereotype you also perpetuate an image of the past that certainly does not pertain to the tribes that reside in your area.

It is apparent you need to open up lines of communication with the tribes to regain some sort of diplomacy. It would also be important to understand what tribal sovereignty is.

Tribes in the area of New York were there before the state was what is known now as New York. It is astonishing that you would take the cavalier attitude of showing them a shotgun to make tribes do what you or your state wants them to do.

Inflicting violence on any ethnic group is not prudent. Even your own faith of being Jewish, would know this course of action is wrong and certainly not humane.

I ask you issue an apology not only to your area tribes but to all tribal nations for suggesting violence against Native Americans.

Sincerely,

Rhonda LeValdo President, Native American Journalists Association

Guyana: Indigenous Peoples Fight Land Grabs

Guyana indigenous demand say over land
Sat Jul 3, 2010
By Neil Marks, Reuters

GEORGETOWN (Reuters) - Guyana's indigenous people are agitating for more land rights as the World Bank prepares to spend hundreds of millions to help nations benefit from a U.N. program to help slow deforestation.

The World Bank has granted Guyana $200,000 (131,587 pounds) to help refine its proposal to reduce emissions from deforestation. But Amerindian leaders insist the government's proposals do not address its international obligations to indigenous people.

"We have urged governments and international agencies to protect our traditional practices and help resolve outstanding land issues," Tony James, president of the Guyana's Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) said at a World Bank meeting.

Guyana, a former British colony perched next to Venezuela, is about 80 percent covered with forests and has one of the most varied biodiversities in the world. Amerindian communities make up about 10 percent of the population.

Indigenous leaders accuse the government of snatching their traditional lands through poor demarcation, saying in some areas, communities were demarcated without their knowledge.

The Amerindian Act of 2006 gives Amerindian villages legal powers to manage and conserve their lands.

"Some community lands are being sliced by half, some by quarter, some by three-quarters," said John Adries, the leader in the Parima community, inhabited by 600 Arekuna people.

Guyana's government is seeking international partnerships for incentives to keep alive 15 million hectares of untouched forest. Amerindian communities have been told they can opt into the initiative or choose not to be part of it.

Amerindian communities have in the past been sharoly critical Guyana's low carbon strategy, a forest saving deal with Norway that could give the country $250 million over the next five years.

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Guyana's indigenous people charge land abuses 

Friday, July 2, 2010
By Neil Marks

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (Reuters) -- Guyana's indigenous people are accusing the government of snatching their traditional land through poor demarcation as the authorities try to benefit from a UN program to preserve the country's rainforests.

The World Bank has given Guyana $3.6 million to help prepare a plan for the UNprogram to slow deforestation. But Amerindian leaders insist the government's proposals do not address its international obligations to indigenous groups.

"We have urged governments and international agencies to protect our traditional practices and help resolve outstanding land issues," Tony James, president of Guyana's Amerindian Peoples Association (APA), said at a World Bank meeting.

Amerindian communities make up about 10 percent of the population of Guyana, a former British colony next to Venezuela.

The country is mostly covered by forests and boasts one of the world's most varied biodiversities.

Indigenous leaders say the government is taking over traditional lands through poor demarcation, and that in some areas communities were demarcated without their knowledge.

The Amerindian Act of 2006 gives Amerindian villages legal powers to manage and conserve their lands.

"Some community lands are being sliced by half, some by quarter, some by three-quarters," said John Adries, the leader of the Parima community, which numbers 600 Arekuna people.

In an example of what they said was poor planning, they said a hospital that serves indigenous people in the mountain village of Kato was left out of land demarcated by government.

Guyana's government is seeking international partnerships and incentives to protect 15 million hectares (37 million acres) of forest.

Amerindian communities have been told they can opt into the initiative or choose not to be part of it.

Amerindian communities have in the past been sharply critical of Guyana's low carbon strategy, a forest-saving deal with Norway that could earn the country $250 million over the next five years.