Results of the Amerindian Project Committee in Trinidad and Tobago

Thanks to the website of the Arima Borough Corporation for posting these details:

Artist's rendition of the Carib Model Village

Based on the 2009 Report of the Amerindian Project Committee, Government has agreed to the following areas of assistance for the development of the Amerindian Community:

1. The lease of five (5) acres of State land for use by the Amerindian Community to establish a Model Amerindian Village.
2. The provision of financial support for the production of two (2) documentary films on the Amerindians in Trinidad and Tobago – one entitled “The Amerindians”, by Tracy Assing, and the other entitled “Buried Treasures”, by Pearl and Dean Caribbean Limited.
3. The provision of technical and financial support for the enhancement of exhibits and curatorial services at the Amerindian Centre in Arima to facilitate the opening of the Centre to the public on a regular basis.
4. Continued support for the implementation of special activities to mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (August 9th) and Amerindian Heritage Day (October 14th).
5. With respect to (1) above, collaboration should take place with all relevant agencies to identify the specific parcel of land and a further submission to be made to Cabinet in that regard.
6. The submission for the consideration of Cabinet be made with proposals for the construction of the Amerindian Village, including a business plan.
7. The expenditure in respect of the above, be met from the 2010 Budgetary Allocation of the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs.
8. The re-appointment of the Amerindian Project Committee for a further period of three (3) years with effect from the date of their letters of appointment.

Amerindian Heritage Festival in Trinidad: Argument Erupts in Public between Two Groups

First published in The Trinidad Express

By Rickie Ramdass

15 October 2010

 

An argument between two groups over which one represented indigenous people erupted in Arima yesterday.

Representatives of the two groups argued during the Amerindian Heritage Festival celebrations that they were the original representative body of indigenous people in this country with the other being fakes.

The groups—The Santa Rosa Carib Community and The Partners for First People Development—had gathered at the park to perform a smoke ceremony in celebration of the victory of Nepuyo warrior Hyarima over Spanish invaders in this country in 1637.

Kendel Reyes, one of the members of the Partners for First People Development, accused the other group of denying indigenous people of non-Catholic belief entry into the group.

"Our group is about all people who have indigenous blood regardless of how you look or your religious persuasion. The Santa Rosa Carib Community is a Catholic mission and their present chief and president Ricardo Bharath (Hernandez) has decreeded that if you are not Catholic you cannot be a member of the Santa Rosa Carib Community.

"The Government (in 1980), through its wisdom or non-wisdom has seen it fit to recognise only the Santa Rosa mission as the representative body of peoples with indigenous blood. But the Santa Rosa Community does not represent all people with indigenous blood but only those who belong to the Catholic faith," he said.

He said it was also the tradition of the indigenous people to perform their ceremonies before 6 a.m., and this was not being done by the opposing group. His group, he said, had performed the smoke ceremony to the spirits at 5.30 a.m., while 7 a.m., was given by the other group as the time to perform the ceremony.

Hernandez however, accused the Partners for First People Development of perpetuating that there was a division in his group in order to gain control of it.

"As far as I am aware, there is no division in the Santa Rosa Carib Community. The Santa Rosa Carib Community existed since the 1700s. There is a small group of people who came on the scene just a few years ago and they are trying to make a division because they want control of the Santa Rosa Carib Community, and they will say all sort of things and do all sorts of thing to give the impression that there is a divide, but as far as I am concerned, there is no division."

Hernandez said a person's religion was not relevant if they chose to join the group. He said members of the group would meet every last Sunday of each month to attend meetings and if anyone with indigenous blood wished to join they could do so.

Also, please see Max Forte's 2002 interview:

INTERVIEW with Roger Belix, on Partners for First Peoples Development in Trinidad and Tobago 

Eurocentric Prejudice Still Taking Command of Carib History

One can go over to The Official Site of the CHAGUARAMAS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY to catch a glimpse of how racist, elite Trinidadians like to put their ignorance on display for the whole world to marvel at. In particular, this gem of colonialist lore is reproduced:

Before European explorers landed on the Caribbean islands, peaceful tribes of Amerindians called the Arawaks inhabited the entire Caribbean archipelago. Generous and open where these people that they embraced the Spaniards and bestowed every comfort for the Spanish explorers. Ironically since the arrival of the Spanish these people were mistreated and many died from diseases, within a few decades it was belief that there were no Arawaks left.

There was another another Amerindian tribe, a fierce tribe known as Caribs. This tribe pounced on the Arawaks and were known to be cannibals (eaters of human flesh). The Caribs had devoured their way up the Caribbean islands.

Did you get that? Peaceful tribes, who welcomed the Spaniards--no resistance against colonialism, thus the first myth in this piece of tripe appears. The second myth is that there was a total extinction. The third myth, is to blame genocide on the Caribs, "fierce" as they were--poor Europeans, they were mere spectators, having passed through the Caribbean as part of their yachting exercises. The fourth and ugliest myth, the Caribs devoured people, eating their way through the Caribbean.

No amount of "development" is going to help people who, in 2011, are still repeating the vulgar obscenities and colonial justifications of 1492. Development without education, and without decolonization, is just the accumulation of stuff, another way of superficially mimicking the white man even while repeating the filth that few Western scholars would be caught dead saying today.

Jennifer Cassar is new Carib Queen.

Jennifer Cassar is new Carib Queen.
By Kimberly Castillo | Trinidad Express Newspapers | Jul 2, 2011 at 11:54 PM ECT

AUGUST 6 will signal a new chapter in the history of the Carib community.

On that day, Jennifer Cassar, 59, will walk out of the Santa Rosa RC Church in full Carib regalia, as the new Carib Queen.

The event is expected to draw supporters and members of the indigenous community bearing the traditional halekebe (crocheted poncho).

Cassar will take her place among her predecessors including Dolores MacDavid, Maria Werges, Justa Werges and Valentina Medina.

Her inauguration next month will be the first time in more than a decade that the community has elected a titular head.

For 11 years Medina served as Carib Queen until she succumbed to breast cancer in April at the age of 78.

Carib queens are elected based on their maturity and their vast knowledge of Carib history, practices, customs, way of life and oral traditions.

To say that Cassar is knowledgeable of her heritage would be a big understatement.

Since she was a child, Cassar was groomed in the indigenous customs, so much so that today she is like a walking encyclopedia on indigenous history.

"Although my mother was around, I also grew up with my grandparents and they lived a strict Carib way of life, this involved all aspects of Carib life. My grandmother was involved heavily in the Santa Rosa festival, I had to be part of the the procession with her. I made a commitment before she died that the lifestyle she had, I would emulate. I have to carry the mantle of my ancestors," said Cassar as she sat in the Carib Centre at Arima, surrounded by life-sized wooded sculptures, palm fronds and hand-woven baskets.

Cassar's appointment was based on more than her knowledge of the indigenous community. President of the Santa Rosa Carib Community, Ricardo Bharath-Hernandez explained that Cassar's cultural activism and her public service made her an obvious choice for Carib Queen.

For more than 20 years, Cassar has been involved in Carnival related activities, and has been the main organiser for the regional Carnival committee of the National Carnival Commission.

It is hard to imagine that this wife and mother of two, who is reserved by nature, is also a coordinator for stick-fighting competitions.

She has also spent 40 years as a public servant.

For the past five years, Cassar has also been a member of the Cabinet-appointed Amerindian project committee and has participated in a seminar on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for the Caribbean.

"Cassar has what it takes," said Bharath-Hernandez, to take the Carib community further.

Cassar made it clear that her role would involve more than simply being the face of the Carib community.

Her duty as Carib Queen will include supervising the Santa Rosa Festival, one of the major highlights on the local indigenous calendar.

She will take on the responsibility of cleaning and decorating the church in preparation for the festival.

Cassar will also take the lead in the procession and offer prayers and she is tasked with passing on Carib traditions to members of the community.

There are burning issues which Cassar says need to be addressed as a matter of priority.

"We want to ensure that the land that was promised to us by the last Government comes to fruition, at least during my lifetime, and to ensure that the people of Amerindian descent become actively involved in the Santa Rosa Carib Community, because there are a lot of them out there who do not want to be identified as Carib or indigenous, so we want to create projects to woo young people and also go out there on a campaign to encourage them to come to the community," said Cassar.

One of Medina's unfulfilled wishes was to see a united indigenous community.

Cassar says she is committed to making this a reality as she paid homage to her predecessor: "She was a very pious individual, very devoted to Santa Rosa, she was like a matriarch. Even though I have a lot of experience in many areas, I am a simple person, very approachable and open to any idea anyone may have on how we can take this community forward."