The Caribbean is a beautiful place, and that beauty comes at a high price as luxury developers try to dominate their piece of paradise. But long ago, before luxury hotels and casinos became the norm, the Caribbean islands were home to the Taíno people. History books tell us that the arrival of Europeans led to the collapse of this chiefdom and that the Taíno people were slowly disappearing. However, there are many people who do not agree with this idea. Kacike Roberto Mukaro Agüeybana Borrero, president Confederation of United Taino Peoples and a member Guainia tribeis one.

“Currently, the Taíno people are considered the tenth largest tribe or nation in the United States and its territories,” says Kacike Mukaro.

However, the Taíno Nation is not recognized by the U.S. Federal Government. In fact, it is currently the only government agency that recognizes any tribe of Taíno people as an Indigenous group, US Virgin Islands government.

So why is this? And why is there so much debate about whether the Taíno still exist and who can claim this ancestor? Much of this stems from the way colonial powers imposed their policies on Indigenous peoples; the tribe is still seeing the effects hundreds of years later.

The Impact of Colonialism on the Taíno Nation

“Over the years, the way we understand race, people, and connections to society has been influenced by colonialism,” says Kacike Mukaro. This is evident in the U.S. government’s treatment of the natives. For a tribe to be federally recognized, a number of criteria must be met. These “imposed” criteria make recognition of tribal peoples extremely difficult.

Such an obstacle blood quantum system in the USA. Blood quantum is a way to track the amount of Native American blood an individual has. While this may seem well-intentioned on the surface, Kacike Mukaro says there’s a darker underlying truth.

“(In the 18th century)… there was a general consensus that if they set a boundary, (the tribes) would cease to exist because more people would come from outside the community and eventually there would be no ‘blood’ left,” he says.

While this “no blood left” idea is something that has never come to fruition, the idea that there is no significant amount of Taíno blood left in the islanders continues to be used by individuals and governments to deny the recognition and existence of a modern Taíno nation.

Spain, Trujillo and the Genocide of Indigenous Peoples on Paper

Ramona Ferreyra, known in the community as Guatuke Ini Inaru, is its founder. Ojala TopicsA brand focused on reclaiming Taíno heritage. He is also a “tequina” based in the Bronx and has faced resistance to the idea of ​​a living Taíno nation. Ferreyra, whose roots lie in the Kiskeya region known today as the Dominican Republic, says that although the island is the historical center of power of the Taíno nation, the idea of ​​Taíno extinction is deeply rooted in Dominican society.

“I have always preferred to do events in the Puerto Rican community because when I go to the Dominican territories I have to be ready to defend my existence,” says Fereyra.

But while she describes the denial of her presence and the reference to her clothing as a “costume” as hurtful, Fereyra sees it as a byproduct of the break from the island’s Indigenous roots. He believes that, like many misconceptions about indigenous peoples, it stems from the colonial mentality that persisted under dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, who ruled from 1930 until his demise in 1961.

He explains: “In order for Trujillo to rebrand himself as Western and white, he has to deny that there is an Indigenous identity on our island. (Previously), you could choose ‘indio’ in the cedula (like your race). Trujillo is taking that back.”

In DR, “cedula” is the national identity card that contains details such as the cardholder’s profession, blood type and, until 2014, race. This kind of “paper genocide” is a real phenomenon that makes it difficult or even impossible for many Indigenous people to trace their ancestry.

Kacike Mukaro recalls a similar paper genocide that occurred in Puerto Rico in 1800, when the Spanish eliminated the category of “indio” and added a new classification called “colored pardos libres,” or “colored free people.”

“In this category, a person can be Indian, Indian (mixed with another race), African, African mixed with another race, and all kinds of mixtures,” explains Kacike Mukaro. “So it’s not just about the indigenous population dying. The government has removed that option.”

But according to Ferreyra, the Trujillo government’s actions went further, fundamentally changing the way the population was educated.

“The Dominican was told ‘el indio does not exist.'” Ferreyra says Trujillo’s entire cabinet is filled with his allies and that education in the Dominican is controlled by like-minded people. “A curriculum designed to erase.”

Climbing Back from Erasure and Preserving a Culture

Ironically, censuses are what enabled the modern Taíno nation to rise from the brink of extinction. Kacike Mukaro explains: “One of the elders of our community said this: ‘Just as they wrote us out of history, we can write ourselves back into history.’

Members of the Guainia Taíno Nation participated in the U.S. Census to generate participation and increase visibility of its importance. This, along with the right of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination, Indian Self-Determination and Education Acthas seen the number of people claiming to be Taíno increase over the last 30 years, A total of 112,682 people in the United States and its territories by 2022.

But ancestry is only one aspect of what it means to be Taíno—what it means to walk the path of Indigeneity. Another aspect is culture: having spaces for the practice and development of language, art, song and religion. In Austin, Texas, Kacike Tekina-eirú created such a space. A Puerto Rican cultural center into the heart of a thriving Yucayeque.

“I founded the Puerto Rican Cultural Center (and) for many years we had our mountain traditions, our bomba and plena, and our bailes de hall… but I was always saddened to know that the heritage that meant the most to my heart had no way to convey it,” says Kacike Tekina-eirú .

Like many of his Taíno ancestry, his journey began in darkness and he had no idea how to connect with what he knew. Her grandmother, Marcela Serrano, was clearly Taíno, but some aspects of the culture were not passed down to her. So he found a teacher.

That teacher, Kacike Cacibaopil Martin Veguillam, passed away last year, but Kacike Tekina-eirú continues to carry on his legacy. In addition to composing tekina-eirú, plenas, and other forms of folkloric Puerto Rican music, he also composes Taíno “areytos,” ceremonial dances with significant spiritual connotations. He also explains that the “yucayeque” that developed around the cultural center is not just an eclectic educational product. This is also an example of the Taíno people living their culture rather than preserving it like an object in a museum. An area where they can connect with their communities and strengthen their ties with nature, the land and each other.

“For me, the beauty of a yucayeque is personal time and togetherness,” says Kacike Tekina-eirú.

The Native Way and Its Effects on the Modern World

For Taínos like Mukaro Agueybana, Guaktuke Ini Inaru, and Tekina-eirú, indigenous roots are much more than heritage. This is the path they walk, and it has real-world consequences.

For example, what happens when Taíno bones and artifacts are unearthed? How should we care for the sacred caves in the Dominican Republic? Tribal members like Kacike Mukaro and Guatuke Ini Inaru are trying to ensure Taínos have a say in these matters. However, the Indigenous mindset extends beyond just Indigenous issues to many important issues at the forefront of modern politics.

Whether it is public land customized throughout the CaribbeanTaíno tribal members see problems like the impact of factory farming and processed foods on our health and environment, or the lack of affordable housing, as problems created by the same kind of colonial capitalism that seeks to erase them from history. They see these as problems that cannot be solved by colonial mentality, but only by a greater connection to the land and to each other (a tenet of Indigenous identity).

Indigenous identity is not monolithic. This is a mosaic that the Taíno people have never ceased to be an important part of. And as they fight for their recognition and will continue to lead us into a world where we are more at one with nature, ourselves, and each other.