St. Thomas Taino Welcome Registry Collaboration

St. Thomas (UCTP Taino News) – Opia Taino and the United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP) finalized a collaborative agreement linking their respective local and international tribal registries.  An indigenous organization based in St. Thomas, Opia Taino will now commence its registry on the island and other nearby islands such as St. Croix and Tortola.

The St. Thomas Taino registry will connect directly with the UCTP’s Taino Population Census and Inter-Tribal Registry. These programs are independent of State government census or similar programs. Both registries are open to Taino, Carib, and Arawak descendants. UCTP president, R. Mukaro Borrero and Opia Taino president Maekiaphan Phillips finalized the agreement in a meeting last week in New York.

UCTPTN 11.08.2013

Trinidad & Tobago Celebrates First Peoples Heritage

Trinidad & Tobago (UCTP Taino News) – Under the theme “exploring heritage, consolidating traditions, and creating a legacy” First Peoples Week was celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago from October 11-19, 2013. The celebrations raised the visibility of Trinidad’s Indigenous Peoples, as well as other Indigenous Peoples from around the Circum-Caribbean region. 

The events began with an international conference held at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UCTT) and continued through the week with several cultural events in Arima, home of the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community. The activities were co-sponsored by the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community, the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), the Ministry of National Diversity and Social Integration.

Invited participants to this year’s celebrations included delegates of Indigenous Peoples of Guyana, Suriname, Belize, Venezuela, Dominica, St Vincent, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Ecuador, Canada and the USA. Among the various issues presented during the week, the Santa Rosa First People’s Community is calling for a national holiday to honor the island’s Indigenous Peoples. 

The final day of the scheduled activities included a meeting of the Caribbean Organization of Indigenous Peoples (COIP). The meeting was held at the newly expanded Santa Rosa First Peoples Community Center in Arima. During the historic proceedings COIP officially welcomed its newest member, the United Confederation of Taino People. 

 UCTPTN 11.01.2013

Taíno-themed game released for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch

Santa Clara, CA (UCTP Taino News) - Raindrop Games has launched a new historical game entitled “Arrival: Village Kasike” for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Arrival: VillageKasike is the first game in the planed Arrival series, which focuses on the history of the indigenous Taíno people. Players will lead an ancient Taíno village to thriving prosperity or a struggling existence with challenges including hurricane preparation, food cultivation, village defense, and morale management, etc.  

 

Arrival: VillageKasike presents the story of Naniki, a Taíno woman, who, through fate, must lead a struggling village somewhere in the Caribbean. The iOS game was developed in collaboration with the United Confederation of Taíno People with Roberto Múkaro Borrero, President of The United Confederation of Taíno People as project’s lead consultant. Borrero reviewed the various aspects of ancient Taíno life portrayed - from clothing, farming techniques, and socio-ceremonial presentations – in an effort to provided the highest standard of accuracy in this setting. In his personal capacity as a renowned Taíno musician, Borrero also provided Taíno music and speech to create a more immersive and authentic experience.

“Before even beginning development, Raindrop Games reached out to the Confederation, and we in turned reached out to the Community – affiliated and non-affiliated - about the potential of this collaboration” stated Borrero. After outreach and consultations, the Confederation received mostly positive reactions to the project. 

“There were a few concerns, but the fact that we would be consulting all through development was a critical factor” noted Borrero. “The potential for introducing our ancient and contemporary culture to vast audiences using this technology was an educational opportunity that merited our attention and participation.” 

According to Raindrop games, the goal was to create engaging, entertaining, and educational game play experience were the concept of “balance” is the key to survival. 
  

Recommended devices for game play are iPhone 4 or newer, all iPads, iOS 5 or newer is required. Those interested in Arrival: Village Kasike can open iTunes to purchase and download the apps. Raindrop games also maintains a website for more information at http://www.arrivalgame.com/.

UCTPTN 11.17.2012

PRico sees increase in blacks, American Indians

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—The number of Puerto Ricans identifying themselves solely as black or American Indian jumped about 50 percent in the last decade, according to new census figures that have surprised experts and islanders alike.

The increase suggests a sense of racial identity may be growing among the various ethnic groups that have long been viewed as a blurred racial mosaic on the U.S. territory, although experts say it is too soon to say what caused the shift.

"It truly breaks with a historic pattern," said Jorge Duany, an anthropology professor at the University of Puerto Rico.

The growth in those calling themselves black or American Indian reduced the population share of Puerto Ricans who identify themselves solely as white. That group dropped nearly 8 percentage points to about 76 percent of the island's 3.7 million people.

More than 461,000 islanders identified themselves solely as black, a 52 percent increase, while nearly 20,000 said they were solely American Indian, an almost 49 percent increase.

Experts said several factors could have influenced the rise in the number of people who identify themselves as black.

Duany said the election of Barack Obama as U.S. president might have influenced some to call themselves black as the high-profile leader dispelled negative stereotypes about their race.

The jump in numbers of blacks also coincided with a push to highlight Puerto Rico's black population, with the Department of Education offering for the first time a high school book that deals solely with their history.

In addition, there was a grassroots effort to target dark-skinned Puerto Ricans through social media websites including Facebook that urged them to identify themselves as "Afro-Puerto Rican" in the 2010 census.

It was an option that appealed to Barbara Abadia-Rexach, a 30-year-old sociology and anthropology professor at the University of Puerto Rico.

On the 2000 census form, she and several relatives had reluctantly identified themselves as black or African-American.

"I don't identify with that although we are black Puerto Ricans," she said. "But it is a formal structure, and we have to live with it."

The island's population is a fusion of races where phrases such as "coffee with milk" abound to identify various varieties of skin color.

"There is no authentic or pure race," Abadia-Rexach said. "We are all mixed."

Puerto Ricans are known as "boricuas," a name derived from the Taino Indian word for the island's indigenous people who were colonized by the Spaniards.

One possible reason for the increase in Puerto Ricans who identify themselves as American Indian is that the U.S. Census Bureau allowed responders to write down their tribe.

That was enough to get Naniki Reyes Ocasio to check the American Indian designation.

In previous censuses, the 63-year-old member of the United Confederation of Taino People refrained from picking that category. She didn't identify with being an American Indian since it did not include the word "Caribbean" in its description.

With the change, she traveled around with other Taino confederation members to show people how to complete the form and teach them about the new option.

"We can rewrite ourselves within history," she said. "I used to check 'Other' because there was nowhere else I could place myself."

Author: Danica Coto
Source: Associated Press

Puerto Rican food adds zest to Taino solstice celebration

Youngstown, Ohio - To the untrained eye, a Puerto Rican pastelillo looks like a close relative of the Mexican chimichanga, but make no mistake — Mexican and Puerto Rican food are not the same.

Nancy Crespo knows. Half Puerto Rican and half Mexican, the Columbus woman gets to have it all — though she confesses liking Puerto Rican food best for its authenticity.

“When you get food from people like this,” she added.

Around Crespo and her family, including her parents, Tony and Maria Crespo of Youngstown, people at the Taino Summer Solstice and Puerto Rican Food Fest munched on arroz con gandules, or red rice with pigeon peas, arroz blanco y habichuelas, or white rice and beans, and pernil, or pork.

The event, at the OCCHA Hall on Shirley Road on Saturday, was paired with the Hispanic social-service agency’s celebration of a new wing on the building. The wing, which used to be an old warehouse, was remodeled with $142,500 that U.S. Rep Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, helped secure. It will be a senior and youth center, with 65 children starting a summer program there Monday, said Mary Isa Garayua, OCCHA’s executive director.

It’s all about education, said Ryan, who attended the ribbon-cutting.

“That’s what this room is all about,” he said.

Garayua said the room will be used for after-school tutoring, as well as the summer program, and also for senior citizens’ meetings.

People who attended the celebration were educated, too, about a part of their heritage — the Taino Indians.

They are indigenous to the Carribean, and it’s estimated that half of the Hispanic community in the Youngstown area are Taino, said David Jorge of Austintown. Jorge, a member of the United Confederation of Taino People, participated in a Taino ceremony to honor the summer solstice, led by Miguel Sague of Pittsburgh.

“We want to raise awareness that this is their indigenous soul,” said Sague, who is a Beike, or medicine man, affiliated with the Cane Indigenous Spiritual Circle.

Also participating in the ceremony was Inarunika Pastrana of New York, N.Y., who is the head of a women’s group, Bohio Atabei.

“The first people Christopher Columbus met were our people, because he landed in the Caribbean,” said Sague.

The ceremony included a dance that began outside and continued inside when it began to rain, with Pastrana leading the way.

“Every time you touch the earth, you are giving Mother Earth love,” she told the circle of dancers as they stomped their feet to the beat of Jorge’s drum.

Pastrana also established a chapter of her women’s group at the celebration.

Author: Jeanne Starmack, starmack@vindy.com
Source: YOUNGSTOWN VINDICATOR

First Week of UN Indigenous Forum Ends

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice addresses the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at UN Headquarters this week

United Nations, NY (UCTP Taino News) – The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, a UN body mandated to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights ended its first week of work today. Government representatives, UN agencies, and indigenous representatives from around the world presented reports and statements on key areas of concern.

One highlight of the week was the surprise proclamation by the Government of New Zealand stating that it would now support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice also surprised those in attendance by stating the Obama Administration would formally review its position on the Declaration. In 2007, the governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States opposed the adoption of the landmark human rights legislation. Australia was the first of the four countries to reverse its position now leaving the U.S. and Canada as the only UN member States still opposed to the Declaration.

During the week the United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP) presented a statement to the Forum on the issue of Human Rights and Caribbean Indigenous Peoples. The Confederation recommended that the Forum facilitate a Special Regional Consultative Session to focus on the unique situation of Caribbean Indigenous Peoples. The UCTP presentation also noted that because of Boriken’s (Puerto Rico) colonial status, indigenous representatives from the island are continuously discriminated against and or denied funding opportunities to participate in meetings, conferences, regional specific consultations, and capacity building sessions.

UCTP delegates also contributed to joint presentations along with other indigenous representatives participating in the Tribal Link Foundation sponsored Project Access Training and Capacity Building Project.

On Friday, the Confederation engaged the Convention on Biological Diversity with a call to increase Caribbean indigenous participation in related initiatives. The UCTP called on the Convention’s Secretariat to organize a Caribbean sub-regional capacity building session in collaboration with local and regional indigenous organizations.

The Permanent Forum will continue its session next week with a focus on future work, its report for this current session, and the development of an agenda for its 10th Session in 2011.

UCTPTN 04.23.2010

Taino Honor the Moon in Ohio

Leni MaisGuariche Sague and Dr. Rose Xochitl Anao Quiñones
honor the full moon and Taino culture in Ohio.
(Photo courtesy of M. Sague)

Youngstown, Ohio (UCTP Taino News) - On Saturday September 5, members of the Caney Indigenous Spiritual Circle joined representatives of the United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP) in the city of Youngstown, Ohio to honor the full moon with ceremony and educational events.

The special gathering was held at Boardman Park and officially hosted by the Ohio Liaison Office of the UCTP, and its representative Dr. Rose Xochitl Anao Quiñones. The ceremony was facilitated by Miguel Sobaoko Koromo Sague. Both the Confederation and the Caney Spiritual Circle maintained information tables at the event allowing participants an opportunity to learn more about ancient and contemporary Taino culture.

During the ceremonial portion of the gathering, Dr. Quiñones and Leni MaisGuariche Sague highlighted the importance of the 28 day moon cycle in Taino culture. Other Taino community members who traveled from New York and Philadelphia also shared teachings and participated throughout the day. Those gathered were greeted by the full moon and a perfectly clear sky as the ceremony concluded.

UCTPTN 09.08.2009

Bermuda’s 400th anniversary celebration to honor Native Peoples

UCTP Taino News – As part of the island of Bermuda’s 400th anniversary celebrations, the St. David’s Island Community will host its fifth Native American Festival on Saturday June 20th and Sunday June 21st, 2009. Previous festivals were hailed as over-whelming successes locally and internationally. The special event is held on the St David’s County Cricket Field and it continues to grow with about 2000 local people attending.

The festival began as a project to reconnect St. David’s Native American descendants with their contemporaries from East coast areas of the United States. The historical record reveals that Indigenous Peoples were taken from the United States as well as from around the Caribbean region to Bermuda as part of the slave trade in the 1700s.

About 80 American Indian representatives have been invited to attend and participate in the cultural festival, which will highlight American Indian song, dance, story telling and craft making as well as local artisans.

Among the invited delegates, Mildred Karaira Gandia (Boriken Taino) will represent the United Confederation of Taino People at this historic anniversary event. Gandia will present an official statement to the gathering which is expected to include Bermuda’s Governor, his Excellently Sir Richard Gozney among other Bermudan government officials and dignitaries.

North of the Bahamas in the mid-Atlantic, Bermuda's settlement began in 1609. Contrary to popular belief Bermuda is not one island – but a string of islands now linked by causeways and bridges.

UCTPTN 06.17.2009

Taino Re-Elected Chair of UN NGO Decade Committee

United Nations (UCTP Taino News) – Taino community activist Roberto Borrero was re-elected Chairperson of the NGO Committee on the United Nations International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples this past December. The Committee is a Special Committee of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in consultative status with the United Nations (CONGO).

The NGO Committee on the United Nations International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples is currently comprised of 25 non-governmental and community-based organizations. A part of the Committee's mission is to support the UN General Assembly Resolution, A/RES/59/174, calling for the establishment of a Second International Decade of the World's Indigenous People and promote the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Committee also assists, wherever possible, in the education of the international community about the concerns and issues facing Indigenous Peoples.

The Committee was formed in 1991 as the NGO Committee on the United Nations International Year of the World's Indigenous People in support of UN General Assembly Resolution 45/164 proclaiming the year 1993 as the International Year for the World's Indigenous People. The Committee operated as such until December 31, 1993, when it became the NGO Committee on the United Nations International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, in accordance with the adoption of GA Resolution 48/163 proclaiming the International Decade.

Borrero, who represents the United Confederation of Taino People and the Wittenberg Center for Alternative Resources, has actively participated within the Committee since its establishment.

Photo: At the United Nations, Yoanny Lora and Roberto Borrero of the United Confederation of Taino People are members of the NGO Committee on the United Nations International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples. (Photo credit: Miguel Ibanez, Habitat Pro)

UCTPTN 01.22.2009

Taino Spiritual Leader Crosses Over to Koaibei

Vega Baja, Boriken (UCTP Taino News) - Boriken Taino community elder and spiritual leader, Ángel Manuel Galagarza, 84, crossed into Koaibei (the Spirit World) on Sunday, December 13 at 5:00am. A resident of the Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, elder Galagarza was a respected activist, husband, father, and grandfather. He was a founding member of the Consejo General de Tainos Borincanos.

“He was and remains so very special to so many Taino as his home was always open to his people whether they lived on or off the island” stated Roberto Borrero, Chairman of the United Confederation of Taino People. “Aracoel Manuel was the kind of person you don’t meet often these days - like Albizu Campos and Gandi put together. He was always a gentleman and his council will be deeply missed.” continued Borrero.

“He was a humble but strong advocate for our sacred sites and a spiritual caretaker for the Caguana Ceremonial Center in Utuado” stated Carmen Rodriguez Bracero of Vega Baja. Rodriguez Bracero was a long time friend, student, and care-giver to Galagarza after the passing of his beloved wife Monsita.

She also noted “Visitors to Caguana come to the batei and see that each one is dedicated to a kasike from historic times. Abuelo Manuel was the person who initiated and made those signs. ”

A viewing for the elder will take place on 16 December only and a memorial service will soon be announced.

UCTPTN 12.16.2008

Most Dangerous Show on Radio Discusses the Human Spectrum

UCTP Taino News - "The Most Dangerous Show on Radio" with host Jay Winter Night Wolf will broadcast a discussion entitled "The Human Spectrum: The Red, the Black, the White and the Yellow" tonight, Friday, December 5, 2008 from 7 – 8pm (EST) on WPFW 89.3 FM – Pacifica Radio. Special guest interviews will include acclaimed American Indian musician and activist Robby Romero; Stacey Thunder - host of "Native Report" on PBS; and Roberto Borrero, President of the United Confederation of Taino People. The show will also be available Live via webcast at www.WPFW.org.

UCTPTN 12.05.2008

2008 Joint Taino Report to the CERD Now Available

UCTP Public Notice: The 23 January 2008 Joint Taino Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is now available for review at www.uctp.org. To access this historic report at www.uctp.org, please visit the "Documents in English" section, and click on the heading "Taino Advocacy at the United Nations."

The Taino submission to the CERD was a joint effort of the United Confederation of Taino People - Office of International Relations and Regional Coordination; the Consejo General de Tainos Borincanos; and the Caney Quinto Mundo in response to periodic reports of the United States of America, which were reviewed at the Committee's Seventy-second session held in Geneva, 18 February - 7 March 2008. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of Alls Forms of Racial Discrimination by its State parties. The report is 30 pgs in English only.

New Study Confirms Taino Ancestry Among Dominicans

Dominican Republic (UCTP Taino News) - According to a new DNA study conducted in the Dominican Republic a large segment of the country’s population retains indigenous Taino ancestry through their mother’s bloodline. The study, conducted by the University of Puerto Rico, reveals that approximately 15-18% of Dominicans have Native American Mitochondrial DNA out of a population of nearly 10,000,000.

The research is based on 1200 DNA samples taken throughout the island with some test areas revealing 90% of the subjects with Native ancestry. While the percentages are lower than similar studies conducted on the neighboring island of Puerto Rico, the estimates defy “popular” accounts that the Indigenous Peoples were completely exterminated on that island.

“This study is a confirmation of what we have already known and promoted for years” stated Roberto Borrero, a representative of the United Confederation of Taino People. “Our people continue to exist within the multi-cultural mosaic that is the Caribbean despite the genocidal campaigns that began against us 516 years ago with the arrival of Columbus.”

One interesting aspect of the study is that individuals tested in the Cibao region seem to have a different DNA sequence than those tested in the southern part of the island. While both sequences are indigenous the variants could shed some light on ancient migrations. The study also reveals that the Taino descendants from the Cibao area could have been relatively “un-mixed racially” until more recent times.

UCTPTN 10.10.2008

Expert Meeting on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Concludes First Session in Geneva

Geneva, Switzerland (UCTP Taino News) - The United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) concluded its inaugural session in Geneva on Friday, 3 October with the adoption of a number of proposals to the Human Rights Council. The Durban Review Conference on Racism, the right of Indigenous People to education, and the participation of Indigenous Peoples in sessions of the Council and United Nations human rights treaty bodies were the focus of some of the proposals presented.

The Expert Mechanism is mandated to provide thematic expertise on the rights of Indigenous Peoples to the UN Human Rights Council. The group met from 1-3 October at the Palais des Nations in Geneva with more than 400 registered to the historic meeting. A majority of those attending the inaugural session were Indigenous Peoples who actively participated in the three-day meeting making recommendations to the newly formed body as well as relating human rights situations affecting their communities.

Among the many presentations made at the session a joint oral statement on the points of consideration of the EMRIP study on Education was presented by the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) and the United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP). The presentation was made by IITC Executive Director Andrea Carmen. The IITC presented several other interventions during the session. Both the IITC and the UCTP participated within the Global Indigenous Caucus sessions to the EMRIP.

As mandated by the Human Rights Council through a resolution adopted at its session last week, the Expert Mechanism began to identify and suggest proposals for its consideration in 2009. In connection to the upcoming UN Durban Review Conference on racism taking place next year, the Experts were asked to assist the Preparatory Committee of the Conference by submitting recommendations as contributions to its outcome. The Experts recommended that the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action should acknowledge that the right of self-determination and the principle of free, prior and informed consent are now universally recognized through the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

In addition, the Experts recommended that the Declaration be considered as one of the human rights standards in the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review process.

The Experts also began work on preparing a study on lessons learned and challenges to achieve the implementation of the right of Indigenous Peoples to education to be concluded in 2009. In another proposal, the Expert Mechanism invited the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to contribute to the study and requested the Human Rights Council to authorize a two-day technical workshop/review to finalize the study.

At the meeting’s opening, John Henriksen (Norway) was elected to serve as Chairperson-Rapporteur of the first session and Jose Carlos Morales (Costa Rica) as Vice Chairperson-Rapporteur. The other three members of the Expert Mechanism are Catherine Odimba Kombe (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Jannie Lasimbang (Malaysia) and Jose Molintas (Philippines).

The Expert Mechanism will hold its second session in 2009 with the date to be decided at the 10th regular session of the Human Rights Council scheduled to be held in March 2009.

UCTPTN 10.06.2008

Community Co-Management Agreement Signed for Orocovis Recreational Area

Orocovis, Boriken (UCTP Taíno News) - The Department of Natural Resources and Environment signed a co-management agreement for the Doña Juana Recreational Area in Toro Negro State Forest with the Ala de la Piedra Community in Orocovis, Puerto Rico. Naniki Reyes Ocasio, Board president for Bo. Ala de la Piedra signed the agreement on behalf of the community. The project is described as an environmental educational project and eco-tourism community self-determined initiative that will among other activities reopen a natural water fed pool in the Doña Juana Recreational Area in the Toro Negro State Forest in Orocovis. Reyes Ocasio is also the founder of the Caney, Conclave Taíno Guatukan de la Cordillera, a member organization, and Representative of the United Confederation of Taíno People.

UCTPTN 08.29.2008

UCTP Opens Online Taino Shop

UCTP Taino News - The United Confederation of Taino People has created an online “Taino Shop” hosted at CafePress.com. The new virtual store located at http://www.cafepress.com/tainoshop features a number of high-quality products displaying unique United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP) graphics. Confederation representative Roberto Borrero notes that the “the new Taino Shop is an excellent opportunity to contribute directly to the precedent-setting work of the UCTP.” Proceeds from sales directly benefit the organization.

“There is no doubt that the UCTP has been pioneering the use of Information and Communications Technology to increase the visibility of Taino and other Caribbean Indigenous Peoples” continued Borrero. “Online sales - indigenous entrepreneurship - are just another part of Nation building.”

Orders can be conducted online or by phone toll-free at 1-877-809-1659 and merchandise is backed by a 100% money back guarantee. The product line at the Taino Shop focuses on the UCTP logo, which represents a unified Taino Nation reaching out in solidarity across the waters to relatives in all the sacred directions.

Caribbean Conservation: A WHALE OF A STORY

Filed Under: On Assignment
By AJ Goodwin, NBC News producer

SILVER BANKS, Caribbean Sea – Tail slapping, fin slapping, breaching, surfacing to breathe and diving again, it’s an incredible show of nature.

We are shooting a story on humpback whales, which will air on the Today Show and other NBC News outlets in the coming weeks.

To capture video of the whales in their natural habitat, we have come to the Silver Banks, a 40 square mile area about 80 miles off the coast of the Dominican Republic.

We’ve been out here for two days and at any time of the day, if you look out from the ships’ deck, the view is spotted with whales.

Ideal spot

This section of the Caribbean Sea, due to the incredible number of coral heads sprinkled throughout it, receives no through boat traffic. A couple of wrecked boats dotting the area demonstrate why any boat captain would give the Silver Banks a wide berth.

The absence of boat traffic, and waters too shallow for killer whales, creates an ideal spot for mating and calving humpback whales. In fact, at this of year, this area has the largest concentration of humpbacks anywhere in the world.

Atlantic humpbacks migrate to this area from their summer feeding grounds in the North Atlantic – in areas like Maine and Newfoundland. They are known to congregate in several areas in the Caribbean at this time of year, but the Silver Banks has the greatest concentration of whales.

Power of conservation efforts

It’s also an incredible show of what a little conservation can do. By the 1950’s, whales had been nearly hunted to extinction. So in the 1960’s the International Whaling Commission was formed, and banned hunting a number of endangered whale species – including the humpback. And the humpbacks have made an incredible comeback.

The Silver Banks are controlled by the Dominican Republic, and to its credi, the government has made it a conservation area. That means no long line or net fishing, and only a small number of private boats are allowed in the area by permit.

We are on one of those boats. We came here to meet a man named Tom Conlin. Eighteen years ago, he decided that he wanted to get people in the water with whales.

Now for the official "Don’t Try This At Home" warning: It is discouraged, and in some places I believe against the law, to chase down a whale and swim with it. But Conlin has spent nearly two decades perfecting a technique he calls "soft in-water encounters." The idea is to slowly approach a whale in a boat moving at very low speeds, so that the whale can get used to the boat, then, if the whale appears willing and doesn’t turn away, letting people quietly slip into the water and float with snorkel gear near the giant sea mammal.

Close up view of nature

Today we had a moment – actually two hours – that just blew everyone away. A mother humpback and calf allowed a group of about 13 awe-struck whale watchers to observe and follow them all afternoon.

I could see the characteristic grooves in the humpback’s head. A couple of times I looked her in the eye. The baby would hide under the mother’s tail, then pop up for air and return to roll around the mother. To say the whale is huge, a marvel of nature when it glides through the water, is an understatement.

It’s amazing to see the details of the humpback’s prehistoric head, followed by a body the size of a submarine. A "baby" probably less than a month old, is tiny compared to the mother, but it dwarfed the humans watching it. I’m not sure there are words for it. We’ll post pictures and video on msnbc.com when we return.

To think man almost hunted these gentle giants to extinction once, and there are those who would like to hunt them again, and then watch that mother and calf glide through the water, allowing all of us to watch in admiration, will make a conservationist out of just about anyone.

Conlin says part of the reason he wanted to introduce people to whales in this way was so that when they have the opportunity to contribute, to helping them, they will do so. I’d say its working.

==========================

Source http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/02/28/712961.aspx

Story posted by Miguel Sague, sobaokokoromo2@yahoogroups. com

Total Lunar Eclipse to Occur Wednesday

UCTP Taíno News - A total eclipse of the Moon will occur during the night of Wednesday, February 20/21, 2008. The entire celestial event will be visible from South America and most of North America on Feb. 20 as well as Western Europe, Africa, and western Asia on Feb. 21. During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon's disk can take on a dramatically colorful appearance from bright orange to blood red to dark brown and (rarely) very dark gray.

According to NASA an eclipse of the Moon can only take place at Full Moon, and only if the Moon passes through some portion of Earth's shadow. The shadow is said to actually be composed of two cone-shaped parts, one nested inside the other. The outer shadow or penumbra is a zone where Earth blocks some (but not all) of the Sun's rays. In contrast, the inner shadow or umbra is a region where Earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon.

If part of the Moon passes through the umbra, a partial eclipse is seen. However, if the entire Moon passes through the umbral shadow, then a total eclipse of the Moon occurs.

UCTPTN 01.16.2008

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See a related story at: http://taino-facts.blogspot.com/

CARIFESTA 2008 to be held in GUYANA

UCTP Taino News - CARIFESTA stands for the Caribbean Festival of Arts and this year the region’s roving, multidisciplinary, mega arts festival will return to its birthplace – Guyana – from August 22 to 31 2008. CARIFESTA attracts a wide range of creative artists from various Caribbean and Latin American countries and was the culmination of a concept that began in 1970 when participants at an Artists and Writers Convention in Guyana complained about the absence of an outlet to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Region. Since its inaugural launch in 1972, previous CARIFESTA have taken place in Guyana, Jamaica, Cuba, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Suriname. The Indigenous Peoples of the region have historically participated within the festival and in 2006, CARIFESTA coincided with an historic meeting of the Caribbean Organization of Indigenous Peoples (COIP) in Trinidad. During this meeting the COIP Secretariat was officially “handed over” from Guyana to Trinidad and a Declaration of Unity was entered into between the Santa Rosa Carib Community and the United Confederation of Taino People.

UCTPTN 02.11.2008

UN Expert Meeting on Indigenous Languages

United Nations (UCTP Taíno News) - An Expert Group Meeting on Indigenous Languages was held from 8-10 January 2008 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. Organized by the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), the meeting was held in accordance with a UN Economic and Social Council decision, which authorized a three-day international expert group meeting on indigenous languages and requested that the results of the meeting be reported to the Permanent Forum at its seventh session.

The meeting was attended by indigenous language experts, UNPFII members as well as interested Member States, UN Agencies, Indigenous Peoples' Organizations, and Non-Governmental Organizations. Some of the issues discussed included the importance of linguistic diversity, the connection between language rights and all other fundamental rights, a concern for the lack of urgency while a majority of all indigenous languages are threatened with extinction and proposals for the revitalization, promotion and protection of indigenous languages.

Represented at the meeting, the United Confederation of Taíno People was one of several organizations submitting interventions which form part of the final report now available at the PFII website.

UCTPTN 01.29.2008