Return of the First Nations.

Return of the First Nations.
By Angelo Bissessarsingh
Trinidad Guardian | Sunday, August 18, 2013

A Warao homestead in 1900

"In parts of Trinidad, there are places with the names Indian Trail or Indian Walk. These have nothing to do with Indo-Trinidadians but with the first peoples of the nation. Many roads that wind sinuously atop ridges also follow old footpaths beaten out through centuries of traversing. In the 17th century, encomiendas or estates were formed by the Spanish colonists where the native Amerindians were herded to become de facto slaves. Only slightly better were the missions established by Capuchin monks from 1687-90 and 1758-86. By 1770, the Amerindians had been decimated by disease and ill usage. Those belonging to the old missions in the north were marshalled in 1786 to a new allotment around the church of Santa Rosa in Arima and the arrangement was described thus in 1857 by Louis A DeVerteuil: “The village of Arima was, for a long time, an Indian mission. Soon after the settlement of the colony, these Indians had been formed into two missions, at Tacarigua and Arima. But as the formation of ingenios, or sugar estates, was proceeding eastward, they were removed to the quarter of Arima, where a village was formed, and houses built by them, on about one thousand acres which had been granted for the formation of a mission, along the right bank of the river, and as the full and unalienable property of the inhabitants. The mission of Arima was settled and governed on the same plan as all such establishments in the Spanish colonies. The Indians had their own municipal government, the first and second alcalde being chosen from among themselves, but under the control of the missionary priest.”

"In the same year, those settled in the south at the foot of Mt Naparima were sent to the Mission of Savanna Grande (Princes Town) in order to make way for the new town of San Fernando. While the people of Arima prospered and mixed into other populations, those at Savanna Grande were seized by apathy due to abuse from those appointed to oversee their welfare. By the time the mission was scrapped in 1840, the Amerindians had fled to South America to live among the Warao of the Orinoco Delta or else had retreated to the high woods. By 1850, there remained almost no evidence that Savanna Grande was once home to the second largest indigenous population in Trinidad. Nevertheless, a strange return occurred every year which saw first peoples coming out of the mangrove swamps of the mainland to visit Trinidad hinted at by EB Underhill in 1862: “The village retains the name of “The Mission,” and has still its Catholic church; but the Indians have long abandoned it, a few only once a year coming over from the continent of South America to pay a brief visit to the graves of their ancestors, and to gather the fruits of the forest in which they formerly lived. They bring with them a few rude baskets and mats for sale.”

"With the passing of the years, those who left Trinidad died but this did not stem the flow of communication between the first peoples and the land from which they were driven. San Fernando Hill (Annaparima) is a sacred place to the Warao and regular pilgrimages were made to this place. The landings would take place on beaches of the south coast such as Erin and Quinam with the silent men and women scantily clad, as was their custom, making their way along long-forgotten pathways to visit their ancestral places and also to trade. San Fernando was a major destination and their arrival never ceased to cause a stir as the ladies of the town sometimes cast clothing on the women to cover their nakedness. Baskets, hammocks and parrots were the trade goods and sometimes gold nuggets from the El Callao mines. Into the well-stocked mercantiles of High Street they went and bartered for shirts, cloth and sometimes fancy items like alarm clocks. Once, an intolerant inspector of the constabulary had a hapless band of these people arrested for indecency owing to their nakedness. These visits were common well into the 1930s but seemed to wane with the advent of World War II and the heavy military presence in the waters around Trinidad. All the same, there are sources who tell that as late as the 1960s canoes were beached at Puerto Grande near Erin and these ancient peoples wended their way across paths known only to them, returning before sunset and departing over the horizon."

First Peoples Lament Scarcity of Timite Palm.

First Peoples lament scarcity of Timite palm.
By Heather-Dawn Herrera
Trinidad and Tobago Express | Aug 7, 2013 at 10:42 PM ECT

"Many of us only see the Timite palm when its leaves cover the roof of the Benab of the First Peoples. To locate growing Timite you have to travel to such areas as Tapana and Matura where there is soil that is poorly drained and swampy. This is the true habitat of the Timite manicaria saccifera

The leaves of the Timite are harvested by our First Peoples to thatch their Benab, a large conical hut or shelter used as a meeting place.

"Cristo Adonis, Pyai of the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community, formerly known as the Santa Rosa Carib Community, has been harvesting Timite leaves since younger days.

“Sankarali Trace in Tapana was always the place where Timite grew profusely. The wet soil conditions supported an abundance of this palm. Some people wonder why we use the Timite and not carat as other groups do.

"The Timite leaf is one of the largest in the palm species. This means that it covers a wider area and you use less leaves as a result. It is also preferred because of its durability, coolness and water proofing.

"This is an example of how the First Peoples practise sustainable use of their natural environment. When we harvest the Timite, we collect the larger leaves on the outside, then a few of the younger leaves closer on the inside. The younger leaves are used for the top of the Benab and the larger for the sides. We do not harvest all the small leaves because you need to leave them for the palm to continue healthy growth. We clear away the vines that might be threatening to fester the palm. Again, this is our way of living sustainably.”

"What Adonis and the other men of the community now find when they go to harvest the Timite is that there is an alarming scarcity.

DESTROYED: Quarrying has destroyed much of the natural vegetation of Tapana. 

—Photo: Heather-Dawn Herrera

“We now have to search further for the Timite because most of the areas where this palm used to flourish are now being quarried on a large scale. We also find that not only quarrying is causing the destruction of these habitats but an influx of ad hoc gardens. People have entered the area and cut down large tracts of native vegetation. Permits are issued to us by the Forestry Division to harvest the Timite but I doubt that these gardeners get permission to use the land in like manner.

"What these people don’t know is that when they clear these areas, this leads to the drying out of these habitats. The resident vegetation cannot survive in drained soil. They need swampy conditions for successful growth. We now see a scarcity of the Timite. We see one Cocorite palm here and there fighting to survive but of the Timite, there has been significant loss.

"Timite grows by the seed and if there are no bearing trees to disperse seed into the water for new plants to grow then this is the beginning of the end for this palm that is so important to us First Peoples. It takes three years for the Timite to be mature enough for harvesting and six years for us to get those really large leaves

"Twenty five acres of land have been returned to the First Peoples by the State. This land is in an area where the eco-systems are vastly different from that that supports growth of the Timite. We therefore cannot transfer the Timite to this area because it would disturb the balance of the hilly natural environment.

"What might be possible and more feasible is for the State to grant us at least five acres of land at Tapana where we can maintain a thriving Timite plantation. We see this as saving that part of our landscape from certain desertification, preventing the total disappearance of the Timite palm, and ensuring the continuity of our intangible heritage.”

“Some people don’t care about maintaining a clean environment. They are making the Tapana area the alternative dump to that of Guanapo. It is shameful to meet all types of garbage dumped along the roadway into the area. We need to preserve this part of Trinidad and not destroy it.

"When these habitats have been destroyed and the Timite has been lost forever, then the First Peoples way of life will be seriously impacted. The art of sewing the Timite for thatching is not generally known outside the community and we are in the process of passing this information on to those who are interested. This is all part of our intangible heritage and we fear that this might soon be lost if the present rate of destruction of landscapes continues.”

First People’s integral part of TT.

First People’s integral part of TT.
By Corey Connelly
T&T's Newsday | Sunday, July 21 2013

Ricardo Bharath-Hernandez was not even a teenager when he first experienced the healing power of the First People’s.

Bharath-Hernandez, 58, Chief of the Santa Rosa First People’s Community, recalled that as a young boy, growing up in Calvary Hill, Arima, he had seen his late maternal great grandfather, Jacinto Hernandez, an elderly descendant of the tribe, perform a ritual on his sister, Diane Rudolfo, which he said, left him dumbfounded.

“My sister had bitten off a small part of a rubber slipper and pushed it into her nose and this affected her ability to breathe,” he told Sunday Newsday in an interview at the Carib Centre, Paul Mitchell Street, Arima.

Bharath-Hernandez recalled that his frightened mother, Elsie Rita Hernandez, had attempted to use a clip to extract the piece of rubber but instead of removing it, pushed the rubber further into his sister’s nostril.

“My sister ended up at the Arima Hospital and was told by the doctors that surgery may have had to be performed,” he said.

“But they were skeptical because they would have had to get permission from her father who was at work, so it was my grandmother who suggested to my mother that they take her to see our great grandfather.”

Bharath-Hernandez recalled that his great grandfather quickly performed an ancient prayer ritual on his sister, which, he claimed, saved her life.

“He (great grandfather) put his hands on her head and said prayers of the religious tradition,” he said. “While saying the prayers, he said she would sneeze three times before the piece of rubber came out. And the third time she sneezed, it really came out.”

Bharath-Hernandez, who was possibly about ten at the time, said the experience stuck with him, so much so that he had resolved, even at that tender age, to devote his life to preserving the heritage of the country’s indigenous peoples.

The Santa Rosa Chief recalled fond memories of his life on Calvary Hill, traditionally believed to be the home of the indigenous peoples.

Apart from experiencing the abilities of his great grandfather, whom he learnt, also healed persons with various complaints, ranging from snake bites to ailments about the body, Bharath-Hernandez recalled seeing his grandparents and other relatives preparing busily for the Santa Rosa Carib Festival. The event now forms part of the annual Arima Fest celebrations in August.

“As a child these things attract you because it meant time away from home and the children in the area were all part of the activity,” said Bharath-Hernandez.

“We would all go to the church (nearby Santa Rosa RC Church at the foot of Calvary Hill) to help them and we would be scolded if we did something wrong. It had an enduring effect on me and I continued where others did not have the drive to do so.”

But, decades later, the desire to effect change for his people has, for the most part, been an uphill battle, he says.

“Sometimes, it appears as though it is a lesson in futility but then something comes and re-inspires you to keep on,” Bharath-Hernandez said. “I would have left a long time ago but then something comes to encourage you.”

As head of the Santa Rosa First People’s Community, a position he assumed during the 1980’s, Bharath-Hernandez has been lobbying aggressively for “meaningful recognition” for his people for more than three decades.

Bharath-Hernandez said his family business, which produces indigenous foods such as cassava breads, ferine and related items, for sale, locally, is evidence of his desire to preserve aspects of the heritage.

The Carib Centre, established during the 1970’s alongside his home on Paul Mitchell Street, also bears testimony of the community’s efforts to preserve its ancestry, he said.

The centre, which can be regarded as a museum, contains instruments, writings and artifacts relevant to the First Peoples and remains a must-go destination for many visiting the eastern borough.

However, mild-mannered Bharath-Hernandez lamented that many in the society, including past governments, have not valued the contribution of the First People’s in shaping Trinidad and Tobago’s historical landscape.

“We are not a club or a parang association,” he said, alluding to the feeling that the community was simply about acquiring funding from the Government and other organisations.

The feeling by some that descendants of the First People’s, locally, were largely “watered down” versions of the indigenous inhabitants, have also contributed to the failure of the authorities to comprehensively address their concerns over the years, Bharath-Hernandez believes.

“But look at the Metie People in Canada. They are an indigenous group of mixed blood line and they enjoy protection under the constitution of Canada,” he argued.

In his latest battle, Bharath-Hernandez, supported by other members of the community, is urging the Government to develop a portion of the Red House, Port-of-Spain, into a national heritage site following the discovery of bones and artifacts of the indigenous people, several weeks ago.

Last Saturday, the group visited the Red House, where they performed the first of a two-part Purublaka ceremony to appease the spirits of the indigenous peoples whose remains are buried at the site. The second phase of the ritual is expected to be performed in October by a Shaman, preferably from one of the neighbouring countries in which there are First Peoples inhabitants.

Bharath-Hernandez, who served as a PNM councillor on the Arima Borough Council for some 18 years, regarded the find at the Red House as significant.

“It is not only about remembering those whose spirits lie there but also those who still live here and do not have their rightful place,” he told Sunday Newsday.

According to Bharath-Hernandez, descendants of the First Peoples in this country have long been viewed as “another cultural minority group,” when, in fact, they should enjoy “inherent rights” with respect to land titles. “These rights are supported by the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples which 144 countries voted for and Trinidad and Tobago is one of them,” he said.

The First Peoples, Bharath-Hernandez said, had initially been granted some 1,300 acres of land through a then Treaty by the Spanish Government.

“But somehow, they lost their lands under the British. That, to me, is a legal issue,” he said.

Bharath-Hernandez said since that period in the country’s history, descendants of the First People’s survived in scattered, unorganised communities in areas such as Caura, Tacarigua, Arouca, Lopinot, La Pastora, Santa Cruz, Maracas/St Joseph, Tamana and San Rafael.

The father of three estimates there are about 10,000 descendants of First Peoples living in the country. However, he claimed the community in Santa Rosa, Arima, was by far the most structured.

Nevertheless, Bharath-Hernandez said the community, a registered body which now falls within the purview of the Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration, is not without its challenges.

Although there are about 700 First People’s descendants in Arima and its environs, the Chief lamented that only about 120 participate actively in ceremonies and rituals.

He said these are usually limited to the Santa Rosa Carib Festival and the Heritage Day event in October, both of which receive government assistance.

Attributing the shortfall in participation to the fact that many descendants have different occupations and responsibilities, Bharath-Hernandez said many of the young people were also integrated heavily into the wider society and, as a result, were not focused on the indigenous aspect of their heritage.

He admits, “There is hardly anybody that lives the indigenous heritage to its fullest because things have changed. That has gone from us a long time. But there are still those who still practice aspects of the spirituality.”

Bharath-Hernandez said the most popular ritual was perhaps the smoke ceremony in which tobacco, herbs, leaves and other items are used during prayer sessions.

“Different items are used depending on what is being prayed for,” he said.

The former Deputy Arima Mayor said, however, that a “significant portion” of young descendants still want to know more about their heritage.

As such, he believes the 25-acre plot of land, which First People’s descendants have received (five acres from the PNM and the other 20-acres from the People’s Partnership Government), along the Blanchisseuse Road, Arima, holds the key to their future.

“It would mean that they (young descendants) can become involved in something to create a greater awareness. For now, there is nothing to hold on to and see returns,” he said, adding that the land, located in a forest reserve area, was being surveyed.

Bharath-Hernandez said the land has been earmarked for the construction of a full-fledged Amerindian Village, which would contain a cassava factory, craft museum, home for the Carib Queen, guest house, among other amenities.

Saying he expects that a major part of the project should be realised in three years time, Bharath-Hernandez said a master development plan for the Amerindian Village still had to be drawn up.

“That is a very costly exercise,” he said.

Bharath-Hernandez insisted that the community was not interested in hand-outs.

“All we are asking for are the basics - infrastructure, access to the site and some start-up funding,” he said, adding that there are plans to access funding from other sources. Bharath-Hernandez said when completed the Amerindian village would benefit the entire country.

“While it is not a tourism project, it is going to have a tourism component,” he said. “This can be a major aspect of divestment as it relates to preserving the culture. It would not be a URP or a CEPEP that could be taken away.”

"The Sidelining of Trinidad's Indigenous People."

The sidelining of Trinidad's indigenous people.

By Tony Fraser

Caribbean Intelligence

Trinidad's Amerindians seeking a heritage site

 

         

The fast-disappearing Amerindian community in Trinidad is petitioning for the national Parliament, housed in the history-rich “Red House”, to be moved.

 

Instead, they say, the area in downtown Port of Spain should become a heritage site dedicated to their ancestors buried under the building more than 1,700 years ago.

 

This community – approximately 1,000 to 1,500 descendants of mixed blood – are, thankfully, willing to compromise, but want some recognition as the first people of Trinidad.

 

“If that be asking too much to remove the ‘seat of power’ to allow a shrine to be built here to commemorate our ancestors, then in the restored building, there must be a recognition of our ancestors buried under the building,” said the chief of the Carib community, Ricardo Bharat-Hernandez.

 

The chief, the Carib Queen and a small group of the First Peoples of the Community of Arima were recently allowed access to the compound of the Red House.

 

The seat of the Trinidad and Tobago parliament is now undergoing major reconstruction. During this work, archaeological artefacts and human bones were discovered in March.

 

“What was found so far is a small amount of pottery, but it fits the period of AD 0 to AD 350,” said University of the West Indies (UWI) archaeologist, Peter Harris.

 

“While we haven’t got the whole story yet, I’m sure that if things were found so closely together in a place, they’re likely to be related. 

 

“We’re a long way from knowing what village or what was there on that site, but we do know the bones found are almost certainly Amerindian.”

 

Chief Bharat-Hernandez told Caribbean Intelligence© that the small group of Amerindian descendants who went on to the Red House compound “communicated with the ancestors in the prayer and ceremonial ritual known as the Purublaka”.  

 

Ancient battleground

 

Archaeologists believe the site could have been a battleground between two tribes, in what was then a forested area. 

 

“The Community wishes to assert their rights to revitalise their cultural traditions and to maintain protect and develop this archaeological site and the remains found therein,” Chief Bharat-Hernandez said.

 

He sent a letter to the Speaker of the House, Wade Mark, seeking to establish their rights as enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Peoples.

 

Article 11 of the UN Declaration states: “Indigenous peoples have the right to practice and revitalise their cultural traditions and customs.

This includes the right to maintain, protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites, artefacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature.”

 

Chief Bharat-Hernandez pointed out to the Speaker that the Declaration requires that “states shall provide redress through effective mechanisms, which may include restitution, developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples, with respect to their cultural, intellectual, religious and spiritual property taken without their free, prior and informed consent or in violation of their laws, traditions and customs.”

 

Whether such claims would extend to a country’s seat of parliament is another matter.

 

But the Carib community are sure to press their claims for space and recognition as renovations at the 106-year old Red House continue.

 

Red hot Red House

 

Historically, the Red House is no stranger to controversy.

 

The present building was reconstructed in 1907, four years after the original building was burnt to the ground by residents of Port of Spain in protest at an attempt by the Legislative Council of the day to place water meters in homes as a means of charging water rates.

 

In the 1930s, the period of the country’s Labour Riots, it was a focal point of protest by trade union agitator Uriah “Buzz” Butler and a large group of Grenadian-born workers in the oilfields of south Trinidad, who engaged in a Hunger March to the city.

 

In 1990, at a sitting of the national Parliament, the Red House was the target of a group of Black Muslim insurrectionists under Imam Yasin Abu Bakr.

 

Having bombed the next-door police headquarters, the Muslimeen group stormed and took over the Red House, in effect the Parliament chamber, in their attempt to stage a coup.

 

Prime Minister ANR Robinson, several members of his cabinet and members of the opposition were held hostage in the building for six days before the group surrendered to the armed forces besieging the building.

 

The Muslimeen, having negotiated what they believed was an amnesty given by the President of the Republic, surrendered only to face lengthy national and appeal court hearings.  

 

Raze the Red House

 

Today, the Amerindian population wants to level the Red House, or at least to see it recognised for different reasons.

 

But those ambitions of the Amerindian population long pre-date the archaeological find of a few months ago.  

 

For many decades, the Amerindian community in Arima, a town 17 miles east of the capital which hosts a statue of 17^th Century Amerindian warrior chief Hyarima, has petitioned successive governments for a 25-acre plot of land of its own.

 

“The intention is to re-create a model Amerindian village, to establish a cassava factory [cassava being a staple of the Amerindian diet] and to develop it as a tourist venture for the community to be self-sufficient; we don’t want hand-outs from the State,” said Chief Bharath-Hernandez, proclaiming the pride of his ancestral community.

 

Dominica’s Kalinago

 

He likens the idea to the Amerindian community in Dominica, which belongs to the Kalinago people of that nation.

 

The chief says that establishing the village community has the potential to encourage the young people of Amerindian descent to aspire to knowledge of their ancestral cultural patterns. 

 

He notes that, at present, there is little that keeps them attached to the way of life of their grandparents and great-grandparents.

 

But Chief Bharath-Hernandez told Caribbean Intelligence© that, while there are far larger Amerindian communities in Dominica and Guyana with descendants who have stronger blood ties to the past, the smaller Trinidad community has still “preserved quite a lot of the rituals and ceremonies of our forefathers”.

 

Outside Arima, in the deep south-west of Trinidad, towns and villages such as Cedros, Icacos, Siparia and Erin all derive their names from the First Peoples. Communities of Amerindian descent have been claiming sites such as the San Fernando Hill, once named Naparima, and also want to establish them as heritage sites.

 

“We have been living here for the past 7,000 years,” Rabina Shar, leader of the group in south Trinidad, said in January 2011 in a letter of complaint to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. 

 

“We want to organise and approach the government for recognition and lay claim to sacred sites.”

 

He noted in his letter that the national census had failed to recognise and categorise the indigenous peoples.  

 

“We are the first nation and everybody [else] come late. We want to be respected by all in society.”

 

Indigenous background

 

The United Nations 2009 report State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples paints a frightening picture of the condition of indigenous peoples today.

 

“The situation of indigenous peoples in many parts of the world continues to be critical: indigenous peoples face systemic discrimination and exclusion from political and economic power; they continue to be over-represented among the poorest, the illiterate, the destitute; they are displaced by wars and environmental disasters; the weapon of rape and sexual humiliation is also turned against indigenous women for the ethnic cleansing and demoralisation of indigenous communities; indigenous peoples are dispossessed of their ancestral lands and deprived of their resources for survival, both physical and cultural; they are even robbed of their very right to life. In more modern versions of market exploitation, indigenous peoples see their traditional knowledge and cultural expressions marketed and patented without their consent or participation.”