Short Film on Taíno Chief Premiers at Venezuelan Embassy in Barbados

Barbados (UCTP Taíno News) - A short film, highlighting the bravery of Taíno Kasike (chief) Guamá premiered at the Venezuelan Embassy in Barbados on Friday, January 27, 2023. The work of First Nations Productions, a fledgling Indigenous media group, led by Lokono Hereditary Chief, Damon G. Corrie was the first ever to feature the chief’s story.

The 23-minute film was premiered along with ”The Last Arawak Girl of Barbados,” another film short by First Nations Productions in collaboration with Poste Creativo based in Venezuela. It was the first and only film ever made entirely in the ancient Lokono-Arawak language. First Nations Productions again collaborated with Poste Creativo on the Guamá project.

 “As Indigenous Peoples we need to tell our own stories,” said filmmaker Damon Corrie. “This is a story that needed to be told. We’ve started with this short, G-rated presentation, but our goal is to make a feature film on Kasike Guamá, as well as other Taíno chiefs.” 

The Guamá film project was financially supported, in part, by the United Confederation of Taíno People, and grassroots donations. The project was commended by the Cuban government, as well as one of the remaining Taíno communities in Cuba, the Ramirez-Rojas clan. Guamá will be available on the Eagle Clan Arawaks’ You Tube Channel on January 28, 2023.

UCTP Taíno News 01.27.2023

Lokono Arawak Leader Releases 4th Book Focusing on Legendary Creatures of Eagle Clan Oral tradition

Bridgetown, Barbados (UCTP Taíno News) - Chief Damon Corrie, a hereditary leader of the Eagle Clan Lokono Arawaks has released his 4th publication this year entitled "Amazonia's Mythical and Legendary Creatures in the Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak Oral Tradition of Guyana." A well-known, radical, international advocate for the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Corrie now takes on the role of prolific writer sharing accounts drawn from his personal involvement in tribal life, as well as his long-time interactions with tribal elders. Additional books by Corrie include "The Amazon is Burning - The Flames of 21st Century Resistance Inspired by Indigenous Women," "Understanding Spirituality, Anomalous Phenomena as life lessons," and "Understanding Spirituality, Dreams, Insights, Exorcisms, Visitations and Shamanic Healing." Damon Corrie is also a co-founder of the Caribbean Amerindian Development Organization and a governing board member of the United Confederation of Taíno People. He currently resides in Barbados with his wife Shirling and their 4 children, Hatuey Francis, Tecumseh Shawandase, Sabantho Aderi and Laliwa Hadali. 

UCTPTN 10/21/2019

CADO Launches Relief Mission for Kalinago in Dominica

On foot, Chief Charles Williams surveys the
destruction iacross the 8 villages of
Kalinago Territory in Dominica

Barbados (UCTP Taíno News) – The Caribbean Amerindian Development Organization (CADO) recently launched an appeal for hurricane relief focusing on the indigenous Kalinago Nation of Dominica. In cooperation with the United Confederation of Taíno People (UCTP), the CADO office in Barbados will receive donations to ship by air for the Kalinago Territory. In a recent post on social media, a number of donation items needed included dry food light-weight items, large tarpaulins, building tools/equipment (hand saws, hammers etc), rain-proof tents and sleeping mats, lanterns, assorted nails and screws, coolers, water purifiers, and pampers for elderly and babies were among the request. 

The first shipment of relief donations to Kalinago Territory will depart today, Friday Oct. 6, 2017. An additional shipment is scheduled for the following week. Contact with the CADO office can be made by email to caribbeanamerindian@gmail.com or by sending a message to CADO's Facebook page. 

While no deaths have been reported in Kalinago Territory as a result of the storm, community members have affirmed that many homes were completely destroyed and communications are still difficult. Both CADO and the UCTP have pledged ongoing support and will issue updates on the situation as reliable information becomes available. 

UCTPTN 10.06.2017

Indigenous Leaders from Around the World Meet at COP21 in Paris

Kayapo Chief Raoni Metuktire of Brazil and Kasike Roberto Mukaro Borrero,
President of the United Confederation of Taino People meet in Paris. 

Paris, France (UCTP Taino News) - About 250 indigenous leaders who engaged in a series of unprecedented consultations in the Arctic, North America, Asia, Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Russia and Eastern Europe, and Africa finalized their proposals to COP21 on Monday. The delegates are now actively lobbying governments to include the rights of Indigenous Peoples in the COP21 agreement. The indigenous leaders are also calling on countries to adopt a goal of keeping the global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming with the view of further lowering it to one degree Celsius. According to experts, the disastrous and possibly irreversible tipping point of climate change is 2°C. Among this historic and diverse gathering of indigenous leadership are Chief Damon Corrie of the Caribbean Amerindian Development Organization (CADO) and Kasike Roberto Mukaro Agueibana Borrero, President of the United Confederation of Taino People. 

UCTPTN 11.30.2015

Lokono Chief Damon Corrie Attends Climate Change Consultation in Peru

Chief Damon Corrie (Lokono Arawak) presents a Taino necklace to
Lima meeting Chairperson Benito Callixto, head of the Indigenous Forum
of Abya Yala (FIAY in Spanish). The gift made was made by Taino leader and artist
Roberto Mukaro Borrero and presented on behalf of the Caribbean Amerindian Development Organization (CADO) and the United Confederation of Taino People.

Lima, Peru (UCTP Taino News) - Lokono Arawak leader Damon Corrie attended the UN Climate Conference (COP21) Regional Consultation for Latin America and the Caribbean in Lima, Peru from 12-15 October 2015. The consultation sought to consolidate regional positions on Climate Change, which would add to outcomes of similar consultations being conducted around the world. The Indigenous Peoples Global Climate Change Consultations are an initiative of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC) in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Corrie was the only indigenous representative from a Caribbean Small Island State in attendance. Speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Amerindian Development Organization (CADO) and the United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP) Corrie expressed concerns of Indigenous Peoples of Caribbean small islands including global sea level and temperature rise, increasingly intense hurricanes and tropical storms, food sovereignty, and unusual rain and drought patterns. Chief Corrie intends to be present at and share these concerns, among others, at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21), which will take place in Paris, France 30 Nov. - 11 December 2015. 

UCTPTN 10.16.2015 

Treaty Council Commemorated 40th Anniversary in Oklahoma

UCTP President R. Mukaro Borrero; Alabama Quassarte Ceremonial Ground Mekko Bobby Yargee; UCTP Liaison Officer Tai Pellicier; and Bonnie Deere attend the historic 2014 IIITC Conference 

Muscogee Nation Territory, Oklahoma (UCTP Taino News) - The 40^th anniversary  conference of the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) took place in Muscogee (Creek) Territory on September 10-12 at a newly constructed roundhouse dedicated to the late, revered Muscogee spiritual leader and activist Phillip Deere. The IITC conference was entitled “40 Years Defending the Rights and Recognition of Indigenous Peoples.”  

The IITC conference addressed the ongoing challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples throughout the Americas, the Caribbean, and the Pacific such as racism, food sovereignty, environmental health, climate change and reproductive health, among others. Campsites and meals were provided to the local and international participants. Two buffalos were donated from the Inter-tribal Bison Cooperative one from South Dakota and one from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Nation, to feed attendees at the conference.

Various dynamic issues panels were convened and conference participants adopted a number of resolutions for IITC work focus for the next year and beyond. Three organizations requested and were approved as IITC affiliates by the conference general assembly; among them was the Caribbean Amerindian Development Organization (CADO).

The International Indian Treaty Council is an organization of Indigenous Peoples from North, Central, South America, the Caribbean, the Arctic, and the Pacific working for the Sovereignty and Self-Determination of Indigenous Peoples and the recognition and protection of Indigenous Rights, Treaties, Traditional Cultures and Sacred Lands. Since 1977, the IITC has been recognized by the United Nations as a category II Non-governmental Organization (NGO) with Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council, making it the first indigenous NGO to gain such status.

UCTPTN 09.13.2014

Caribbean Amerindian Development Organization Established

Dominica, West Indies (UCTP Taíno News) – December 9^th, 2012 marked another historic day in the annuals of the history of Caribbean Indigenous Peoples as it marked the founding of the Caribbean Amerindian Development Organisation (CADO). The founding board of this Caribbean-based initiative includes well-known members of the Lokono Arawak, Kalinago Carib, and the Taíno Indigenous Nations. The group will focus on various projects to restore and or promote the tangible and intangible Amerindian culture and heritage throughout the islands, and be registered officially as a non-profit in Watikubuli (Dominica), Eastern Caribbean.

A collective statement by CADO noted that “"We are coming together to bring benefits to our peoples as best as we can. Being traditionalists as we all are, 'Development' is understood by us to be that which restores as much of our tangible and intangible heritage as has been lost and ensuring that as much as possible of it is taken into the future in the hearts and minds of the generations yet unborn that will follow us down the red road of our ancestors."

CADO’s founding board highlights gender and regional balance with the following members Shirling Simon-Corrie (Lokono), Damon Corrie (Lokono), Louisette Auguiste (Kalinago), Irvince Auguiste (Kalinago), Migdalia Ma. Pellicier (Taíno), and Roberto Mukaro Borrero (Taíno). From their spiritual perspective, and in their Caribbean traditionalist Amerindian Cosmovision, the 3 tribal nations are of the same maternal umbilical cord/tree of life, with a base/roots in the Lokono South, a middle/ solid trunk in the Kalinago center, and top/crown; branches in the Taino North.

Members are all experienced indigenous rights advocates participating throughout the region locally, nationally, and internationally at such forums as the United Nations and the Organization of American States.  Justifiably, the CADO motto is "Dedicated to the Preservation and Promotion of Amerindian Cultural Heritage, and the Implementation of Internationally Recognized Rights of Indigenous Peoples"

The groups contends that while it is well known that Caribbean Indigenous Peoples were the first to suffer “historical colonialism's cruel fate,” they are the “least listened to” of all Indigenous Peoples in the Western hemisphere. CADO members also affirm that Amerindians still suffer the effects of present-day neo-colonialism in the Caribbean, which continues to ignore indigenous existence or marginalize contemporary communities and organizations. From the perspective of its founding members, CADO’s regional perspective emphasizes, not only the spirit of resistance to assimilation, but also of the calls for Caribbean Amerindian unity.  As such, the founders of CADO plan to move forward as “one blood, one mind, and one spirit.”

As Bob Marley prophesied, “as it was in the beginning, so shall it be in the end.”

UCTPTN 12.21.2012

‘Barbadiana Jones’ First Outsider to See Hidden Water Falls in Guyana Interior

BARBADOS - Some people call Damon Corrie a real life ‘Barbadiana Jones‘, a reference to the adventurous ‘Indiana Jones‘ a fictitious explorer of Hollywood fame. Corrie is of Barbadian birth and Guyanese Amerindian descent. He is well-known in local, regional & international circles for two things primarily – his promotion of Indigenous Rights and his promotion of Guyana as the 'premier Eco-Adventure Paradise' destination in the Americas.

See the full article at UCTP Taino News:
http://www.uctp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=656&Itemid=2

YES – THERE ARE AMERINDIAN CHILDREN IN BARBADIAN SCHOOLS! Opinion from Damon Corrie

"My wife and I kept our last daughter Laliwa Hadali (Yellow Butterfly of the Sun) home from school on Friday January 28th 2011 today because it was her 4th birthday, and 4 & 9 are sacred numbers to us."

Fellow Barbadians,

I am tired of my own Arawak children and other Amerindian children in Barbadian schools (some 40 children in all) being told by mis-educated or ill-informed teachers that the tribe to which they belong ‘no longer exists’ so therefore they cannot possibly be who they say they are. For the information of these ’educators’ there are almost 20,000 Arawaks STILL in Guyana, 2,000 in Suriname, about 1,000 in French Guiana, and around 200 in Venezuela to this day! Also for the record – we do NOT call ourselves ‘Arawaks‘, it is not even a word in our language, we call ourselves ‘Lokono’ which means in English ‘The People’ (Columbus nearly got it right when he wrote that the name of our tribe was ‘Lucayo’); but for the sake of familiarity I shall use the word ‘Arawak’ throughout this letter.

Also good to note is the fact that the word ‘Amerindian’ is merely an abbreviation of two words ‘American‘ and ‘Indian‘, so technically it can be correctly used to describe any Indigenous tribe of the Western Hemisphere except the Inuit (mistakenly called ‘Eskimos‘); many erroneously believe that 'Amerindians' are from Guyana and 'American Indians' are from the USA; but we are all one indigenous race in this so-called ‘New World‘ – just different tribes.

I decided to write this article to hopefully open the minds of my fellow citizens to a little-known (seemingly ‘unknown‘ as far as I can tell) fact about our multi-ethnic Society. My maternal grandmother emigrated to Barbados from Guyana in 1925 with her 5 other siblings and mother – who was the sole surviving child of the last Hereditary Lokono-Arawak Chief in Guyana. My Great grandmother Princess Marian was the first member of the ruling family of her tribe to be Christianised and receive a Western Education, this was done by the Anglican missionary Reverend Percy Austin who was trained at Codrington College in Barbados before being sent into the interior of Guyana among the indigenous tribes; Rev Austin later became the Bishop of Guyana.

Though accepting of Christianity, Great-grandmother – as do I, my wife, and our children, never rejected her Arawak religious beliefs and maintained them BOTH throughout her life, for they are compatible if you know the core values they both espouse.

In the Arawak tribe there is no word for ‘Prince‘ or ‘Princess‘, the children of the traditional leader of the tribe (which was always a hereditary position) were merely called the ‘Sons or daughters of the Chief‘. It was the English speaking British colonial society who gave my Great grandmother the title of ’Princess Marian of the Arawaks‘ when she was introduced to the then visiting Prince of Wales who visited Guyana in the early 1920′s; so out of respect that title remained with her for the rest of her life.

Great grandmother died in Barbados in 1928 and is buried here in Westbury Cemetary – the only known burial site of an Arawak noble in the entire English-speaking Caribbean. Her daughter Hannah, who is my beloved grandmother – is 97 years old and still alive, residing on ‘Arawak Road in Chancery Lane (no pun intended); however all of her 5 other siblings are now deceased. My grandmother married Barbadian George Cecil Corbin, her sister Ruth married Barbadian Philip Serrao, and sister Martha married Barbadian Keith Chandler – and from these 3 sisters who spent the rest of their lives here there are just over 100 persons of Arawak descent in my family born in this country, and about 20 of them are still students within the educational system of Barbados; not mentioning at least 20 more Amerindian children I know personally at school in Barbados today.

I returned to my Great grandmother’s tribe in Guyana on the 500th anniversary of Columbus setting foot in the New World (OUR day of infamy & Holocaust) and at the age of 19 married my then 17 year old Arawak wife, Shirling, we had 5 children together, 4 born on tribal land on Pakuri Arawak Territory in Guyana (who are Barbadian citizens by descent through me), and one born in Barbados at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (a Guyanese citizen by descent through her mother), with one - my first daughter, buried on tribal land on Pakuri Arawak Territory in Guyana where she died as a baby of 3 days.

My wife and I kept our last daughter Laliwa Hadali (Yellow Butterfly of the Sun) home from school on Friday January 28th 2011 today because it was her 4th birthday, and 4 & 9 are sacred numbers to us. All Arawak children will traditionally receive Yuri (Tobacco) smoke blessings at the age of 4 & 9 and have a song written for them on each of those birthdays, if a girl, her next song will be the longest and one she must memorise for the rest of her life during her 9 day long puberty rite of passage, my eldest daughter may have hers any day now, it is determined by the appearance of the first menses and not by age; she is 12, some see it at 11, some 13.

The puberty rite will be the first and most important rite of passage for my daughters, second is her marriage ceremony, 3rd her first childbirth, and 4th her first grandchild being born; but the puberty rite is the FOUNDATION for all that follow and will determine the positivity/negativity of those that follow it.

If my daughter’s time comes during the school term – we as her parents will have no choice but to keep her at home for those 9 days so that her rite can be completed according to our ancient traditions and religious practises; and according to the United Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples which the Government of Barbados (as well as every other Government on Earth) has officially endorsed, we have the right to do this.

Article 11 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples reads:

1. Indigenous Peoples have the right to practise 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, artifacts, designs, ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature.

Article 12 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples reads:

1. Indigenous peoples have the right to manifest, practise, develop and teach their spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies; the right to maintain, protect, and have access in privacy to their religious and cultural sites; the right to the use and control of their ceremonial objects; and the right to the repatriation of their human remains.

This brings me to the point of Barbadian Society, I applaud the accommodations that the Ministry of Education has made for Muslim children, for Hindu children, for Rastafarian children, and all I now ask is for the same respect to be shown for Amerindian children who follow their traditional religious beliefs – such as my own children.

Yours sincerely,

Damon Gerard Corrie

PS - here is the song I wrote for my daughter on her birthday – and sang to her that night as we asked for the Creator to bless her.

LALIWA YENI (Yellow Butterfly’s song)
ADAYAHULI URAKO AYUNBANA, (Creator in the spirit world,)
ADUKA TOHOBO LOKO ILONTHO, (see this Arawak girl,)
DAKOTA LALIWA TO BUNAHA (show Yellow Butterfly the path,)
TO HEBEYONO KAMUNKA KONA. (The ancestors have walked.)

Artice source: The Bajan Reporter

Indigenous Peoples Meet in Washington DC to Discuss Rights Declaration

Some of the Caribbean Indigenous delegation meeting at the Organization of American States in Washington, DC. From left to right - Dr. George Norton, Liselote Naniki Reyes Ocasio, Cleis Tavarez Maria, Eveline Moesijem Monstanto, Damon Corrie, and Zoila Maria Ellis.

Washington, DC (UCTP Taino News) – The 13th Meeting of Negotiations in the Quest for Points of Consensus on the OAS draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples began today in Washington, DC. The Meeting of Negotiations will take place at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) from January 18 to 20, 2011.

Among the Indigenous Peoples representatives present at the negotiations are a delegation of Caribbean Indigenous Peoples including Liselote Naniki Reyes Ocasio (Borikén/ Puerto Rico), Damon Gerard Corrie (Barbados), Dr. George Aubrey Norton (Guyana), Clenis Tavárez María (Kiskeia/Dom. Rep.), Zoila Maria Ellis (St. Vincent and the Grenadines), and Eveline Moesijem Monsanto (Suriname).

Some points of discussion expected to be covered at this session include: Rights of association and assembly, Indigenous law and jurisdiction, contributions of the indigenous legal and organizational systems, treaties, and Indigenous spirituality.

UCTPTN 01.18.2011

"WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER"

A PRESS RELEASE BY THE OFFICE OF THE PAN-TRIBAL CONFEDERACY OF INDIGENOUS TRIBAL NATIONS

#13 Highgate Gardens, Wildey. St. Michael,
Barbados W.I. BB 14005
pantribalconfederacy@gmail.com

"WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER".
A SYNOPSIS OF THE FOLLOW-UP MEETING OF THE 3rd INDIGENOUS LEADERS SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS

From left to right - Damon Corrie, Roberto Borrero, Ovide Mercredi, and Leilani Stewart meet in Ottawa, Canada to follow-up on the OAS Summit of the Americas process.

Interested readers may follow the developments of the 3rd ILSA at the OAS run website www.summit-americas.org as well as its FaceBook site.

"We need to continue to work together" stated Andrea Montilla of the OAS as she explained the on-going process in the Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Some advocated believe the proposed OAS Draft Declaration could be stronger than the UN Declaration - if the USA joins the rest of the 34 member OAS community and supports the Declaration instead of obstructing it.

Montilla also noted the importance of the OAS as well as its genuine desire to work with Indigenous Peoples throughout the Americas. The audience concurred, for all have taken note that the Organization of American States HAS indeed prosecuted MORE cases in favor of Indigenous Peoples of the Western Hemisphere than even the United Nations!

Grand Chief Ed John of the Assembly of First Nations of Canada and Celeste McKay of the Native Womens Association of Canada both gave informative opening addresses and likewise both re-affirmed the positives of collaboration with the OAS in a spirit of equity, and made excellent suggestions as to formats the OAS could consider adopting - which would enhance this special relationship between Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and the Organization of American States.

The floor was then opened for audience feedback/questions/comments.

Former Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Ovide Mercredi – who presided at arguably the most tension-filled time in recent memory of relations between Native Nations and the Neo-Colonial Government of Canada in the 1990's (Oka Crisis) - addressed the gathering.

Ovide, still no stranger to controversy and an inspiration to a generation of anti-assimilationist native leaders, eloquently explained the difference between Indigenous Leaders and Political Leaders of the Nation States of the Americas.

"I am a leader of MY indigenous people - not the Prime Minister of Canada.” Likewise the Prime Minister of Canada is the leader of HIS non-indigenous peoples of the Neo-Colonial Political State of Canada. The OAS must find a way whereby the Indigenous Leaders of the Americas recognized by their own Indigenous Peoples - not merely representatives who may potentially have no actual mandate to speak on behalf of any Indigenous Nation - must be able to sit across the table from the Political Leaders of the 34 Neo-Colonial Nation-States of the Americas and have a genuine and equitable dialog for I believe this is the only way that over 500 years of inequity can be successfully addressed and redressed - in order to create a better future for generations to come.”

President Tony Belcourt of the ICCTA (Indigenous Commission for Communications Technologies in the Americas) spoke in detail about the need for a secretariat or Permanent Forum to be created by the OAS to allow for more effective participation by Indigenous Peoples within the OAS system. The suggested entity could function as a nexus between the Indigenous Leaders and Political Nation State leaders as Ovide had suggested.

Ellen Gabriel - the outgoing President of the Quebec Native Womens Association & Veteran of the crisis years of the 1990's (Oka crisis) that also propelled her to International Fame as a committed Indigenous Rights leader in Canada - raised the issue of the need to protect traditional knowledge as a way to mitigate and survive the Global Climate change that is already effecting us all – and Indigenous Peoples more severely than any others.

President Clement Chartier of the Metis National Association of Canada supported Ovide Mercredis call and added to what Tony Belcourt had said highlighting the fact that presently there exists no separate category in the OAS system for 'Indigenous Peoples' - and much to all our chagrin - we still fall under the broad (and inappropriate in our minds) category of 'Civil Society' which lumps us in with religious organisations, charities and sexual orientation advocacy groups; when in truth and in fact our issues are that of the intricately delicate relations between Colonizers and those they forcibly Colonized.

President Roberto Mukaro Agueibana Borrero of the United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP) - who has been almost singlehandedly pushing the agenda of Pan-Caribbean Indigenous Rights for over a decade - delivered a very enlightening presentation where he made several recommendations covering some areas not addressed previously. President Borrero exposed the fact that the UCTP had sent information from the 3rd ILSA (Indigenous Leaders Summit of the Americas) to virtually EVERY CARICOM (Caribbean Common Market) country asking them if they were aware of the issues being discussed with the OAS - which they are also members of - and asking for their official position on these matters. Unfortunately, true to their form of first decade of the 21st century not a single Caribbean Government had even the courtesy to respond.

Following the 5th Summit of the Americas and the 3rd ILSA (April 2009), the ONLY CARICOM government to report anything on the subject of Indigenous issues was the Government of Guyana. Unfortunately Guyana took the opportunity to blow it's own horn about its Amerindian Affairs Minister (a political appointee of the President of that country - NOT one voted for by any democratic majority of Guyana's 100 Amerindian Chiefs/Toushaus) and it's Ministry of Amerindian Affairs. In its official report to the OAS, Guyana says nothing of relevance about the Indigenous Leaders Summit of the Americas or OAS Draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples process.

In conversation with President Borrero of the UCTP, Leilani Stewart, Vice President of the Pan-Tribal Confederacy of Indigenous Tribal Nations gave a very insightful analysis, which beautifully explained the validity of oral tradition as a vehicle to factually transmit information. Stewart also stress the need to strengthen the voice of Caribbean Indigenous Peoples through the well-positioned UCTP 'Indigenous media octopus'. President Damon Corrie of the Pan-Tribal Confederacy of Indigenous Tribal Nations pledged to supply the UCTP with as much information as he receives from allied communities in the Caribbean Region.

PTC.PR – 12.2010