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

Caribbean Indigenous Peoples Condemn Trumps withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement: A Joint statement from the United Confederation of Taíno People and the Caribbean Amerindian Development Organization

The United Confederation of Taíno People and the Caribbean Amerindian Development Organization condemn the shameful June 1st, 2017 announcement made by the President of the United States that his government will withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Agreement. 

Indigenous Peoples around the world, including the Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean are on the frontlines of the global climate crises. Our communities contribute the least to global warming, yet we are and will continue to be affected the most by its negative impacts. 

In the Caribbean region, the effects of climate change are real. We are experiencing erratic and shifting weather patterns, rising sea levels, increased intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes, negative effects on local fauna, as well as the bleaching of coral refers, which are integral component of the Caribbean Sea and its ecosystem. All these biophysical impacts will continue to evoke significant economic, social and political consequences in the near and distant future in the region and beyond. 

While the Paris Agreement did not fulfill all our aspirations and by itself, will not solve the global climate crises, it is an important step forward that includes the “rights of indigenous peoples” in its framework. 

The U.S. government’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is an irresponsible act that not only supports an immoral anti-environmental agenda, but also it also threatens the well-being of our future generations. We therefore call upon the U.S. government to reconsider its current position and convert this injustice into an historic opportunity to ensure a safer future for our children’s children.

Signed: 

Roberto Múkaro Borrero, President 
United Confederation of Taíno People 

Damon Gerard Corrie, President 
Caribbean Amerindian Development Organization

Indigenous Peoples lead Peoples Climate March in Washington D.C.

Indigenous Peoples at the frontline of the Peoples Climate March are joined by actor Leonardo DiCaprio

WASHINGTON D.C. (UCTP Taíno News) — On Saturday, April 29, over 200,000 people took to the streets in Washington D.C. to demand action on Global Climate Change on the local, national, and international level. Indigenous Peoples were among those who led the march, which took place in sweltering heat that tied a record for April 29. The People’s Climate March for “climate, jobs, and justice” coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump’s 100th day in office. Along with the main march and related activities in Washington D.C., more than 300 “sister marches” were held across the U.S. and around the world. 

“This is more than a march, it is a global movement to affect positive change.” said Roger Guayakan Hernandez, a Borikén Taíno representing the United Confederation of Taíno People at the march. Hernandez was a “bus captain” for one of two buses from New York organized by the International Indian Treaty Council to assist local NY Tri-State Area Indigenous Peoples, as well as indigenous delegates to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues participate in the Peoples Climate March. 

A large and diverse representation of Indigenous Peoples from around the country and the world were present at the march. Indigenous Peoples began the day with a sunrise water ceremony that opened with a welcome from Gabrielle Tayac of the local indigenous Piscataway Nation. During the march, Indigenous Peoples were a part of the led contingent, representing frontline communities. Among the Indigenous Peoples represented at the march from throughout the Americas and the world, were Taíno, Lokono-Arawak, and Maya from Belize alongside Lakota, Dine (Navajo), Schaghticoke, Sapara, Mexica, Mohawk, Quechua, Maori, Nuba, Maasai, and many, many other indigenous Nations.

“I am marching for Mother Earth and our future” said Mainaku Borrero, Taíno/Tlingit, 10yrs old. “Climate change is real.”

 UCTPTN 05.09.2017

The Paris Agreement: An “Incremental Advance” for International Recognition of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Some members of the Global Indigenous Peoples Caucus at COP21 in Paris

Paris, France – The 21st Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC-COP21) officially adopted the Paris Agreement on Saturday, December 12, 2015.  The Agreement, with the legal force of a UN Treaty, was agreed to by all the 195 States (countries) present.  Once ratified by at least 55 States, it will go into legal force in 2020.  It commits all countries, for the first time ever, to cut their carbon emissions while also recognizing the special circumstances of developing countries.  The States also adopted the “Paris Decision” which is not legally binding, but commits States to immediately begin the process of reducing greenhouse emissions that cause climate change.

Some commentators are denouncing the Paris Agreement as a failure while others are hailing it as an historic triumph.  But for Indigenous Peoples, the Paris Agreement can be seen as another step forward for the recognition of their rights in international law.

The International Indigenous Peoples Forum of Climate Change (IIPFCC) and the Indigenous Peoples Caucus representing over 200 indigenous delegates attending this session from around the world, was invited to make a formal statement at the COP21 closing plenary. The IIPFCC closing statement, presented by elder Frank Ettawageshik (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians), highlighted the three key messages advocated by Indigenous Peoples during the two-week session.  These included a call for the rights of Indigenous Peoples [to] be recognized, protected, and respected within a broad human rights framework in both the preamble and the operative sections of the Agreement; a temperature goal of no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius increase over pre-industrial levels; and recognition, respect for and use of Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge, with their free, prior, and informed consent, in measures for adaption to climate change.   The IIPFCC statement, while expressing that Indigenous Peoples were “keenly disappointed” at the shortfalls in meeting these calls, noted that all three Indigenous Peoples messages were “addressed to some degree” in the final Agreement.

In particular, the inclusion of “the rights of Indigenous Peoples” in the preamble paragraph of the Agreement, achieved despite the consistent opposition of some States throughout the process, is a significant and unprecedented step forward.  This is the first time this phrase has appeared unqualified in a legally binding UN Treaty, environmental or otherwise.  The same phrase was included the preamble of the Paris Decision, although both say that States “should consider”, while Indigenous Peoples and human rights advocates called for the use of the stronger word  “shall”.

As noted by hereditary Chief Damon Corrie, Lokono Arawak of Barbados, “strong support by a group of States including Philippines, Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Chile, Tuvalu, Indonesia, Canada and others, standing in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples throughout the negotiations, was required to achieve these inclusions in the final Agreement.

Despite disappointment that the phrase ‘rights of Indigenous Peoples’ and Human Rights in general did not also appear in the Agreement’s operative section, International Chief, attorney and member of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) Wilton Littlechild, Ermineskin Cree Nation, clarified that “the preamble of a Treaty provides the context and framework for interpreting and implementing the entire document.”  The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties supports his assessment. On this basis, Chief Littlechild called the Paris Agreement an “incremental advancement for recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples in international law.”

The Paris Agreement also calls on State parties (countries) to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” The 1.5 temperature goal was a core position not only of Indigenous Peoples, but the Small Island Developing States.

Article 7 of the Agreement addressing Adaptation affirms the need for a participatory, transparent, gender-sensitive approach based on science and “as appropriate, traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and local knowledge systems”.  UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Victoria Tauli Corpuz noted that Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge, innovations and practices are recognized in both the Agreement and the Decision, and stated that moving forward “the challenge is how to operationalize this decision.”

The inclusion of Indigenous Peoples’ core positions both in the Paris Agreement and Decision was the result of the monumental, coordinated and unified efforts by the Indigenous Peoples Caucus throughout COP21.  Despite the shortfalls, the inclusion of “the rights of Indigenous Peoples” in both preambles provides a basis for future advocacy to ensure that all programs addressing Climate Change are carried out with respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples as affirmed in the UN Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including land and resource rights, free prior and informed consent, traditional knowledge and Treaty rights.

Source: http://www.iitc.org/the-paris-agreement-an-incremental-advance-for-international-recognition-of-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples-121615/

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

Passing of a Lokono Arawak Matriarch

Barbados (UCTP Taino News) – Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak matriarch Hannah Mariah Corbin crossed over into the Spirit World on Saturday, May 4, 2013. She was 99 year old. Grandmother Hannah Corbin was the sole surviving child of Guyana born, Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak Princess Marian, daughter of hereditary Chief Amorotahe Haubariria (Flying Harpy Eagle) of Guyana.  Among her surviving relatives are children Daphne, Cecil, Audrey, Judith, and Cheryl, as well 22 grandchildren, including renowned Caribbean Indigenous Rights advocate Damon Gerard Corrie. 

UCTPTTN 05.05.2013

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

UCTP Meet and Greet Social

Part of this year's UCTP delegation to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Chief Damon Corrie and Tai AnaYuisa Pellicier.

 Announcement:  Greetings guaitiao. As some of you are aware the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues will begin its 11^th session on Monday, May 7 2012. The United Confederation of Taíno  People will have a delegation at the session including UCTP Council member Damon G. Corrie and UCTP Liaison Officer Tai AnaYuisa Pellicier.

A “meet and greet” social will be held in honor of them as special guests from 6-8pm at 2805 University Ave., Bronx, New York.  This is a pot luck event so please bring food to share.  The gathering is hosted by Taino Iukaike Guainia, the Kasibahagua Taino Cultural Society, and the UCTP Office of International Relations and Regional Coordination.   

For more details contact oirrc@uctp.org