St. Thomas, Virgin Islands Celebrates Taino Heritage

St. Thomas, USVI (UCTP Taino News) - St. Thomas, Virgin Islands residents recently experienced an exciting,  full day of Taino-related activities organized by local indigenous organization Opia Taíno International, Inc. Activities took place adjacent to the well-known historic building, Fort Christian, and at the nearby Emancipation Garden from 10am – 5pm, Saturday, December 1, 2012. The program featured an impressive list of speakers as well as an interactive, educational exhibition entitled “A Walk in My Moccasins.”  The daylong program was free to the public and supported by the Virgin Islands Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

"We are here to dispel the myth of Taino extinction in the Caribbean" stated Maekiaphan Phillips, President of Opia Taino. 

Some of the interactive features of the program included a Taino-inspired village with a batey (ceremonial plaza), Taíno artifacts and crafts, photographs, native foods, and results from Maekiaphan Phillips’s family genealogical exploration. 

Members of Opia Taino and other special guests were on hand throughout the day to answer questions concerning Taino and Carib heritage. Featured speakers included Phillips, Roberto Mukaro Borrero of the United Confederation of Taino People, and Senator-elect, the honorable Myron Jackson.  Discussion topics ranged from family genealogy to DNA testing; Taino history past and present; the United Confederation of Taino Peoples’ Inter-Tribal Registry; and the importance of honoring the Indigenous legacies of the Virgin Islands.  

UCTPTN 12.12.2012

Decision Welcomed in Barrier Island Name Dispute

Brevard County, Florida (UCTP Taino News) - Earlier this year, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names received a proposal to name a Florida barrier island after the Spanish Conquistador, Juan Ponce de Leon. The proposal was opposed by local residents, local governments, Indigenous organizations such as the American Indian Association of Florida and the United Confederation of Taino People, and others. On November 8th, it was announced by the Domestic Names Committee that the island would remain unnamed. 

See full Story at UCTP Taino News:
http://www.uctp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=792&Itemid=2

Based on a True Story, Taino Novel Republished

New York (UCTP Taino News) – Dr. Jose Barreiro's masterfully written historical novel chronicling the first encounters between Indigenous Peoples and Europeans beginning with Columbus has been re-released by Fulcrum Press under the title “Taino: A Novel.” The story is told from the point of view of Guaikan/Diego, Christopher Columbus' young adopted Taino Indian son and interpreter. The book vividly recreates the often violent clashes of cultures in the Caribbean during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. 

Author Jose Barreiro notes “My first publisher opted for a more generic title, and thus ‘The Indian Chronicles.’” He continued stating ““I always thought the book was best titled ‘Taino,’ as it tells the story of a Taino memory.” 

Indeed, the engaging and at times heartbreaking story is told four decades after the arrival of Columbus, when Guaikan is an elderly man. While the story is historical fiction, it is based on true historical events and figures. 

Presently a senior fellow at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Jose Barreiro is a novelist, essayist, and an activist of nearly four decades on American indigenous hemispheric themes. “Taino: A Novel” is currently available at Amazon.com. 

UCTPTN 12.04.2012

Peace and Dignity Journeys 2012 Coming to a Close

 Peace and Dignity Runners on Route to Guatemala. Photo courtesy of Yari Sina Sierra.

Uaxactun, Guatemala (UCTP Taino News) - The Peace and Dignity Journeys, a continental spiritual run held every four years by Indigenous Peoples from throughout the Western Hemisphere will end today Uaxactun, in Guatemala. The run began May 1^st, with two groups of runners beginning simultaneously in Chickaloon, Alaska and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.  The runners traveled through various indigenous communities carrying sacred staffs representing the prayers of the communities they have passed through since the first run and beyond. Each Peace and Dignity Journeys is dedicated to a specific prayer with 2012 dedicated to water. 

Among the Indigenous Peoples participating in the 2012 Peace and Dignity Journeys, Caribbean Indigenous Peoples have been represented and will be present during the closing ceremonies. Following two local Caribbean runs, one in Kiskeia (Dominican Republic) and one in Boriken (Puerto Rico), two youth Taino youth representatives, Yari Sina Sierra and Wakanari Arawak, have continued on with the main contingent entering Guatemala today. Also participating in the closing ceremonies are Kasike Roman Guaraguarix Perez and Sherri Vigor of Yucayeque Maisiti and Bibi Vanessa Inarunikia Pastrano, found of the Bohio de Atabei Caribbean Indigenous Women’s Circle, and Council member of the United Confederation of Taino People. Pastrano was worked together with the Peace and Dignity Journeys since 2010 as a regional coordinator and contact for the Caribbean.  

The Peace and Dignity Journeys will culminate in various ceremonies over the next few days, officially ending on Dec. 4. 

UCTPTN11.28.2012

Discussion: Indigenous Peoples & Inequalities in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

Dear colleague,

Indigenous people were absent from the Millennium Declaration and have remained so throughout the Millennium Development Goals processes: according to the UN System Task Team report on the post-2015 agenda, the MDGs have not reached the poorest and most marginalized people. To ensure that inequalities are addressed in the post-2015 agenda, the Global Thematic Consultation on Addressing Inequalities (co-led by UNICEF and UN Women) is holding a series of online, moderated discussions to gather views from a broad range of stakeholders on what the post-2015 development agenda should look like.  In this context, we would like to invite you to join an online discussion on inequalities and indigenous peoples, co-moderated by the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (SPFII) and experts from Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations.

The discussion is taking place from 27 November to 14 December. To participate, please post your response in the discussion forum at www.worldwewant2015.org/node/284745. You are invited to register to the consultation here. The site is available in English, French and Spanish. You are invited to post your comments in any of the sixty languages supported by Google Translate.  If you are unable to access the site, please email your response to: inequalities@worldwewant2015.org.  

The discussion is co-moderated by Myrna Cunningham Kain, Member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and Nilla Bernardi, Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (SPFII). They will be joined by experts from Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations beginning with:

Roberto Borrero, Chair, NGO Committee on the UN International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples

Jennifer Koinante, Director, SIIWA, Kenya

To kick off the global conversation, we invite you to reflect on the following questions, among others:

1. What are the most important forms of inequalities faced by indigenous peoples? - including discussion of where and among whom these challenges occur, their severity, the evidence about them, etc.

 2. What are the major structural factors at the root of these inequalities, within and among different societies?

 3. What kinds of policies, strategies or interventions have been most successful in addressing the various inequalities experienced by indigenous peoples? And under which conditions/in which situations have particular policies, strategies or interventions had the greatest, lasting impact? (Contributors may wish to cite examples or give references to these “successes”).

 4. Based on experience, what are the most important recommendations that could be proposed in the Post-2015 Development Agenda for making a lasting and transformative impact on the different forms of inequalities faced by indigenous peoples?

 5. What actions and initiatives could be taken by different stakeholders, including civil society and indigenous peoples organizations, to bring about lasting improvements in these inequalities? And how should those who face inequalities themselves be enabled to participate in the implementation phase of the new Development Framework?

The recommendations emerging from your contributions will be incorporated into a report on ‘Addressing Inequalities in the Post-2015 Development Agenda’, to be presented at a high-level meeting in February 2013 in Copenhagen. The report will also be transmitted to the High-level Panel on Post-2015, appointed by the UN Secretary-General.

The consultation aims to be as broad and open as possible, in order to enable a multitude of voices to be heard from academia, media, indigenous peoples’ organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society, private sector, governments and the UN System.  We look forward to hearing from you on how to realize the Future We Want for All.

Warm regards,
Myrna Cunningham Kain, Member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Nilla Bernardi, Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (SPFII)

Contact: inequalities@worldwewant2015.orgDiscussion website: www.worldwewant2015.org/node/284745