Carib and Taino Recognized in U.S. Virgin Islands

U.S. Virgin Islands (UCTP Taino News) – An inter-tribal organization in the U.S. Virgin Islands has been officially recognized as an American Indian Tribe in a proclamation by Governor Charles W. Turnbull. The Carib-Taino Confederacy received this recognition on December 29, 2006. In an official communication to Confederacy Chief Fred Vialet and the new U.S. Virgin Islands Governor John de Jongh from the United Confederation of Taino People, Office of International Relations, UCTP President and Chairman, Roberto Mucaro Borrero stated the “proclamation is welcomed by the UCTP as it affirms our calls for the recognition of Taino, Carib, and Arawak peoples who reside throughout the Caribbean region”. Borrero continued stating that the UCTP looks forward to the establishment of a “formal relationship with the Carib-Taino Tribal Confederacy… as this relationship would further our mutual goals to protect and preserve the culture and promote the socio-economic welfare of the Indigenous Peoples of the region.”