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

American Indians share their culture through Pow Wow

By Sandra Fischione Donovan
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Miguel Sague of Verona is a member of the Taino tribe, the Caribbean Indians who greeted Christopher Columbus in 1492. So he has a ready joke about Columbus' arrival in the Bahamas, where he landed while searching for India.

"He was lost, and we found him," says Sague, a native of Santo Domingo, Cuba, and member of the Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center since 1977.

While Columbus' voyages are known worldwide, information about the Taino tribe is not as readily available. But Sague will help familiarize people with his tribe Saturday and Sunday at the Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center's 30th annual Pow Wow in Indiana Township.

Sague will tell stories that are traditional to the Taino and other tribes. He will wear different costumes for each tribe, including the Senecas, who settled in this area, he says. Sague, medicine man for the council, will invoke the male spirit of life and energy, and the female spirit of Mother Earth and nurturing.

Sague's extended family also will participate in the Pow Wow, or celebration. His sister, Rosa John, and her husband, Melvin John, of Alberta, Canada, will act as masters of ceremony. The Johns and members of their family will perform various dances as part of the Kehewin Native Performance Troupe of Canada.

Russell Simms, executive director of the center, says the Pow Wow is important for a variety of reasons.

"It's a place where Native American people gather in fellowship, make new friends, share our culture and have fun," Simms says. "Because of who we are and how we do things and view life, we do not have a problem with sharing portions of our life. We invite the public to take part. We're trying to encourage the general public to participate so they can learn."

The Pow Wow will open each day with a grand entry featuring all native dancers. Among the entertainment will be drumming, Aztec dancers, a hoop dancer, and men's and women's fancy dances. Native American crafts will be featured, and vendors will sell Native American foods such as buffalo burgers, native chili, fry bread and corn on the cob. American fare like hot dogs and traditional hamburgers also will be available.

Proceeds from the Pow Wow will go toward the Council of Three Rivers center, a United Way agency that promotes the socio-economic development of 8,000 to 10,000 American Indians in the Pittsburgh area.

The center operates a Head Start program, a child learning center, a foster and adoption program, an elder program and employment centers in three states and the District of Columbia, among others. Some of its programs are open to people from non-Indian backgrounds.

Taino celebrate Equinox and International Day of Peace in the Bronx

Bronx, NY (UCTP Taino News) – Taino People gathered in the South Bronx on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008 in recognition of the Autumnal Equinox and the International Day of Peace. Organized by the Cacibajagua Taino Cultural Society, Bohio Attabei Women's Circle, and Iukaieke Guainia in collaboration with Friends of Brook Park the gathering included ceremonies, songs, music, food, and discussion. Along with representatives of the host organizations, also in attendance throughout the day were members of Casa Atabex Ache, and hip hop poetry duo “Taino Survivalists.” A focus on the protest campaign against a proposed Columbus monument in Boriken (Puerto Rico) was featured among the various discussions taking place. The plans to erect the Columbus statue are being initiated by the Mayor of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico and The Holland Group Inc. The establishment of an international, inter-tribal coalition against the statue was announced. Follow-up on the campaign will be coordinated by the United Confederation of Taino People.

UCTPTN 09.22.2008

Amerindian Heritage Day to be celebrated in Trinidad

Trinidad and Tobago (UCTP Taino News) - Amerindian Heritage Day will be commemorated this year in Trinidad and Tobago with a week long commemoration from October 13-19, 2008. Taking place in the town of Arima, the program will include ceremonies, lectures, and special cultural presentations hosted by the Santa Rosa Carib Community. Indigenous delegations from around the Caribbean region are set to attend the events, which will include a meeting of the Caribbean Organization of Indigenous Peoples (C0IP). “We are looking forward to attending this important regional meeting and continuing to work in solidarity with our relatives keeping our future generations in our hearts and minds” stated Roberto Borrero, a representative of the United Confederation of Taino People. Indigenous delegates from Guyana, Dominica, Suriname, Belize, Saint Vincent, Puerto Rico, and other countries are expected to attend.

UCTPTN 09.21.2008