INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

A priest once told me about this beautiful place and the Garifuna culture. I hope I will be able to see this place one day. Such beautiful music. There still is a significant number black people living in Central and South America and I often wonder what their life is like. "A visual presentation of the new album by Andy Palacio & the Garifuna Colelctive entitled "Watina". Formed by members of the unique African-Indigenous Garifuna community of Central America, the Garifuna Collective presents soul-stirring music that unites the legacies of Africa and the Caribbean to create a powerful and moving tribute to Garifuna culture. ... Read Full Story

Carib was a name used by Europeans to describe those people who inhabited the islands of the Lesser Antilles at the time of Columbus' second voyage in 1493. This was not what the people called themselves. The repeated use of the name for over five centuries however, has made it widely adopted even by the descendants of the people themselves. The French missionary Raymond Breton, visiting Dominica in 1642, recorded that the "Caribs'" name for themselves was Callinago in the "men's language" and Calliponam in the "women's language", while Callínemeti was "a good peaceful man". This has now led to the adoption of the ... Read Full Story

High Mass in Arima By JANELLE DE SOUZA NEWSDAY Monday, August 25 2008 Voices were raised in song and prayer yesterday as parishioners left the Santa Rosa Roman Catholic Church in Arima to begin a street procession honouring the first of the New World saints, Santa Rosa de Lima. The early Spanish missionaries dedicated the mission of Arima to St Rose who is honoured as “The Divine Patron of Arima.” According to the oral tradition of the Carib Community, St Rose appeared to a group of three hunters of the Carinepogoto tribe when the Mission was founded. Even though the actual feast day was ... Read Full Story

Indian Conquistadors: Indigenous Allies in the Conquest of Mesoamerica Laura Matthew and Michel R. Oudijk, Eds. 2007 University of Oklahoma Press Consider the predicament of the Tlaxcalan conquistador Don Francisco de Oñate. Oñate was heir to a central Mexican lordship, and, in 1527, led a regiment of Tlaxcalans in the conquest of Guatemala. He was proud of his service under the Spanish captain Jorge de Alvarado, and he expected rewards of land, money, and legal privilege. Yet, he was disillusioned at how little he received. He and his men worried that more disappointment was to come. The campaign dragged on, and Oñate learned that ... Read Full Story

A collection of three separate articles, and one video, in line with the intent of the previous post: “You will be on my mind every day I am in the White House” My Indian policy starts with honoring the unique government to government relationship between tribes and the federal government and ensuring that our treaty obligations are met and ensuring that Native Americans have a voice in the White House. Indian nations have never asked much of the United States, only for what was promised by the treaty obligations made by their forebears. So let me be clear: I believe that treaty commitments are ... Read Full Story