Dominica,
West Indies (UCTP Taíno News) – December 9th,
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.”
