My questions below are preceded by "MF". Dr. Joseph O. Palacio's answers are preceded by "JOP".

MF: You have been active for many years now in representing and articulating Caribbean indigenous culture, and you have also been active on the regional front as well in uniting and organizing Caribbean indigenous groups. So let me ask you: How did your involvement start? Can you give readers who are unfamiliar with you an idea of who you are, your background, and so forth?

JOP: There are two parts to my active involvement in the region’s Indigenous Peoples (IP) movement.  One is my own academic background in social anthropology and the other my own activist yearning to help people develop themselves. Both coincided when I came to work in Belize as the Resident Tutor of the UWI School of Continuing Studies in 1982.

MF: What motivated you to get involved in the process of promoting and affirming the indigenous heritage of the Caribbean?

JOP: My motivation came from my own Garifuna family background. My father, brother, and sister have always been active in the Garifuna people's movement. My own disciplinary formation gave me the rationale for planning how to advance my own involvement some steps further. But to a large extent the people themselves have been the main source of my motivation-–scores of IP’s whom I have been blessed to know and with whom I have worked over the years coming from throughout the Americas. I also give great credit to the strong spirit of Garifuna people in Belize and the rest of Central America.

MF: Can you give readers who are unfamiliar with you an idea of who you are, your background, and so forth?

JOP: I was born in the small Garifuna village of Barranco in southern Belize. As a child, I stayed in villages of Maya, Creole, and Garifuna peoples with my father and brother, both of whom were teachers. This was my first introduction to being different among sets of people, which later proved helpful as I delved deeper into anthropology. After finishing Vlth form, I worked as a public officer in remote parts of Belize in the Co-operative and Forestry Departments as clerk. Eventually I went to Canada to study for a first degree in philosophy and sociology at the University of Toronto. Then did a second degree in anthropology with specialization in archaeology at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. I returned to Belize to work in the Department of Archaeology before going to Berkeley, California to do my doctorate in social anthropology. On my return to Belize I started working with the UWI, a job which I still have up to now.

MF: If you had to summarize the range of activities in which you have been involved, what would be the main types of activities that you have undertaken?

JOP: If you are referring to my involvement in the region’s IP’s movement, I would say research especially in what is sometimes called applied anthropology; capacity building in organizations in Belize as well as the rest of the region; and continuing studies, especially mounting teaching programmes in the wide field of community development.  But I am also interested very much in Garifuna music and spirituality, among other things. 

MF: I think that many of us are engaged in a quiet debate over the ways in which we use terms to refer to the developments of the last decade or two, with reference to the idea that there has been a “revival” of Caribbean indigenous identities and traditions. Some will object that “revival” assumes a prior “death”, like a corpse being resuscitated, that it presumes that indigenous people in the Caribbean have not “always been here”, and, finally, that “revival” is entirely in the eyes of the analyst who is culpable for having ignored Caribbean indigenous peoples and who suddenly “discovers” them. Others, including Caribbean indigenous leaders themselves, will often use the term “revival”, or similar terms such as “revitalization” and “renaissance”, to describe not so much “rebirth” or “coming back to life”, but a reinvigoration of what was already there, with added new meaning, and new organizational forms. What is your particular take on this issue, on the terminology, and the meaning of the last 10-20 years for Caribbean indigenous peoples?

JOP: First of all, I prefer to use the term “aboriginal” as against “indigenous”. To a large extent this preference answers your question. By aboriginal I mean people who have cultural and biological roots within the region pre-dating Columbus. It specifically separates people who use the term indigenous rather loosely to refer to the fact that they and their ancestors for some generations have been in this region. Obviously aboriginal people have been here longer and continue to be here with nowhere else to go. The advantage of using aboriginal to Amerindian is that the latter does not put emphasis on the priority of existence in the region nor on the fact of continuity. Finally, it shows no regard to the issue of peoplehood. The question then is to retrieve what we can from the past through the help of our elders, thereby building a stronger grounding to the culture. Here again, I prefer to use the word “retrieve” as against the others that you mentioned. In Belize we have mounted several of these retrieval workshops, to some of which we have invited brothers and sisters from the region

MF: The Caribbean Organization of Indigenous Peoples (COIP) was first chaired by you. Give us a bit of the history of what has happened to COIP since it was founded. What have been its successes and limitations?

JOP: We started the COIP in the very late 1980’s. I deliberately say “we” because many people participated in the birth of the organization. I will never forget that memorable conference we had in St. Vincent in 1989 or 1990 sponsored by CUSO among other agencies. Among the hard workers, who deserves a great deal of credit for the success of the gathering is Nelcia Robinson and staff persons from the Jamaica office of CUSO [Editor: Canadian University Services Overseas], such as Selina Tapper and Dorothy Hollingsworth. It was at that meeting that I first met Desire Fox from Guyana and Irvince Auguiste [Editor: former Chief of the Dominica Carib Council] and others with whom I worked afterwards to get the COIP going. We gave up the leadership of the Secretariat in 1992. After that I had not heard too much about the COIP until CPDC (Caribbean Policy Development Centre) in Barbados organized a meeting at Dominica about five or so years ago. At that meeting there was a feeling that the organization would again rise to the potential that it earlier had but again there has been silence.

The very fact of having a functioning secretariat was a success for the COIP. Using the strong support of my office in the Belize branch of the UWISCS (University of the West Indies School of Continuing Studies), I was able to produce a newsletter that was circulated throughout the region and generally rally the membership to programmes.  Most significant was having a meeting of the leaders from the region here in Belize. At that meeting we moved toward formulating a charter of the organization and other structural tasks we needed to move forward. All in all, I would say that the most important achievement we accomplished was having the COIP accepted as member organization of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples (WCIP), which was based in Ottawa. The acceptance took place before the 1992 meeting of the WCIP in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. And at that meeting the charter of the WCIP was amended so that the Caribbean region could be represented on the Executive Council in its own right. I was fortunate enough to represent the region on this Council until the end of the WCIP in the late 1990’s. So, from being a group that was hardly known even within the region we were able to promote the region’s aboriginal peoples and the COIP within a few years to being active members at the executive level of the then world organization of IP’s.

MF: In a recent interview featured in this newsletter, Dr. Albert de Terville, from St. Lucia, could not answer as to why the indigenous people of St. Lucia were left out of the membership of COIP. Why were they left out?

JOP: Let me start by saying that exclusivity has never been a hallmark of IP’s movements. When the COIP started, persons and groups who heard about it from throughout the region and claimed to be aboriginal were openly accepted. So, people came from Dominica, St. Vincent, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, and Belize. If people would have come from other parts of the region, they would also have been accepted.  The larger issue that the gentleman was no doubt referring to has been the ignorance of the region of the strong and living current of aboriginal peoples within their midst.  This ignorance to a large extent goes to the aboriginal peoples themselves. A primary aim of the COIP was to break this silence and there is still a great deal to be done on this topic.

MF: Why do you think it mattered to have any regional body for Caribbean indigenous people? How would they be worse off without it? In other words, does it make any positive difference?

JOP: There are many ways to answer this question. One is to say that the late 1980’s was an historic moment in the effervescence of the world consciousness on IP’s. That spirit continued with much vigour toward 1992, the quincentennary of Columbus, which marked the strongest level of awareness of IP’s in this hemisphere and beyond. Since then, there has been a global thrust toward assisting IP’s with their complex development problems. Almost all multilateral development agencies have integrated IP’s in one way or another into their focus. This includes the World Bank, IDB, OAS, the EU, and many others. It is essential that the region’s aboriginal people be a part of this awakening. If we had not pushed for the COIP at that time, there would not have been another opportune time to do so. The regrettable fact is that it did not continue to grow to engage the non-aboriginal segments of respective states and the larger world community for the development of its constituency. We just have to look around in the other parts of the hemisphere where aboriginal peoples took advantage of the 1992 momentum for their well-being. Canada and Mexico are two cases that come to mind immediately.

Another way of answering this question is to say that the region’s aboriginal peoples have a choice. They either remain unknown and ignored within their own small states, many of which are xenophobic when it comes to aboriginal peoples. Or they articulate their presence and seek assistance from sister organizations and others to help them move from the darkness that surrounds them. Unfortunately, the lack of a unified stand at this time has brought us back to where we were before the 1980’s.
 

MF: Did COIP have a working definition of what constituted an “indigenous” person in the Caribbean, even if only an implicit one?

JOP: I cannot recall such details about the working of COIP. I do remember that we were busy working on a charter of the organization, which inevitably would have had to tackle this problem.

MF: Have you been active in St. Vincent as well?

JOP: No, I have not been active in St. Vincent. With due respect to St. Vincent I will have to say that the gathering that gave birth to the COIP took place there. People from there have, I think, kept up the movement.

MF: Is there a difference between referring to “native” groups in the Caribbean as either “indigenous” or “Amerindian”?

JOP: I have dealt with this distinction earlier, when I discussed my preference for the term “aboriginal”. I think the earlier we get rid of the term “Amerindian” the better.  Ideally, we should be referring to ourselves with the names that we have known ourselves from the time before Columbus. This is, of course, idealistic and impractical, given the cataclysmic changes inflicted by the Europeans on our ancestors. But the underlying point I am making is the importance of keeping in mind the identity and peoplehood of the region’s aboriginal peoples. These are traits that they passed on to their descendants not only in symbolic terms but in practical terms of food habits, technology, the knowledge of medicinal plants, etc. Incidentally, they also passed on other traits to their descendants. These have to do with a sociopolitical savvy-–the capability to know when to engage with the enemy and how. This spirit kept the Caribs alive, prosperous, and belligerent against the Europeans in the Eastern Caribbean for 300 years until the defeat and exile of the Garifuna in St. Vincent in 1796. In a recent address to a gathering in St. Vincent Hilary Beckles [Editor: Professor of History at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus, Barbados] brought up this point forcefully.

MF: Would you agree that Guyana is seen as the persisting fount of “original, authentic Amerindian culture” in the Caribbean amongst contemporary Caribbean indigenous leaders and activists? How do you react to that perception? Does it have any productive or counterproductive implications?

JOP: This view does little good to the region’s aboriginal peoples. It goes back to the myth of the purity of the Indian race. This myth ironically contributes more to racism and to the arguments of those who had tried desperately to exterminate all of our ancestors. The aboriginal peoples of the Caribbean have to realize that hybridity is the one factor that has most contributed to the fact that there is still a strong remnant of aboriginal identity in the region up to this time. This is what I meant earlier when I said that our ancestors knew how deal with the enemy, who wanted to exterminate them.  They were very much aware of the larger society and the political/economic ammunition it had against them. When it suited our ancestors to mix with non-Indian peoples they did so. It is the kind of decision that only a people can make whose ultimate aim is their survival and that of their children and grandchildren. There are examples of this kind of behaviour among peoples all over the world.

MF: Did COIP members provide, or estimate any rough approximation of what they thought was the numerical size of the total indigenous population of the Caribbean (including Guyana)?

JOP: No, the COIP did not have the resources to be able to do such estimation. In a study that Laureen Pierre and I did for the West Indian Commission, we arrived at a guestimate of about 150,000. This study was published in the Bulletin of Eastern Caribbean Affairs Vol. 20 (4): 25-40 in 1995.

MF: Should the indigenous population of the Caribbean be granted special rights by states? If so, what kind and why? If not, why not?

JOP: Without any doubt the states should grant them rights, something that is now accepted internationally in the wake of ILO 169. They should be granted rights to land and other natural resources that they have customarily used, such as rivers, the sea, and wetlands. They should be allowed to practice their traditional spirituality. They should be taught their language and customs in schools. These are some that I can think about immediately.

MF: You know very well how much “race” plays a part in contemporary Caribbean discourses on culture and identity, and has done so since colonialism. How does this affect the Garifuna, who are often referred to as “Black Caribs”?

JOP: I have already referred to racism and its insidious presence within the region, including among aboriginal peoples. One of the most awful things to witness is aboriginal people in the region trying to isolate themselves especially from black people. Again, this is ironic as it should be the other way around for it was aboriginal peoples, who were used in Guyana, for example, as slave catchers. When our people can rise to the occasion to face colonial racism in the face and to abhor it for what it is, they would have made themselves a tremendous favour.

Yes, Garifuna are Black Caribs. We derive from two sets of peoples, the so-called Arawaks/Caribs and maroon Africans escaping slavery. We have absolutely no problem with identifying ourselves as black people, the descendants of Arawaks/Caribs, or both.  Quite frankly we humour our brothers and sisters in Eastern Caribbean, who have difficulty in relating to us. We hope that it is a passing phase among blood brothers, a time where unresolved contradictions yet have to be worked out.

MF: To what extent would you say that the Garifuna of Belize are conscious of their indigenous Caribbean cultural heritage? How is this consciousness cultivated and maintained?

JOP: We are very conscious of our Caribbean aboriginal heritage. It comes through in our daily life through our language, belief systems, technology, and large annual celebrations that take place every year. At the national level we have exerted much influence on the government to recognize aboriginal peoples to the extent that aspects of the national Belize culture are primarily Garifuna. The irony here is that this has happened mainly through the dedication of the people themselves with minimal support from the government and external agencies. I cannot end here without mentioning the 2001 declaration by UNESCO of the Garifuna as a world heritage of oral tradition and intangible culture [see below]. The hard work going toward this award was spearheaded by the Garifuna themselves with support from the UNESCO staff in Belize and the Ministry of Culture.

MF: Do the Belizean Garifuna and Mayas have a close association, do they inter-marry, participate in the same rituals and traditions, build organizations that bring the two together, and so forth, or do they largely remain apart?

JOP: They live apart in the traditional pattern of geographic separation by ethnic origin in Belize. Historically there has been some overlap over them, especially in southern Belize, where they have lived adjoining to each other. The Garifuna were teachers, who first pioneered primary school education among the Maya. Within recent years the Maya have moved in large numbers into communities that were traditionally Garifuna.  So the extent of interaction has increased. There have also been efforts to work jointly in the IP’s movement.

MF: Is there an observable difference between how states and societies in the Caribbean see indigenous peoples of the region today as compared to, say, when COIP was founded?

JOP: I have not seen any marked differences. The primary social concern in the Eastern Caribbean now is ethnicity and the sharing of political power. It is especially the case in Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago, where there are aboriginal peoples. But the aboriginal peoples are usually overlooked in the discourse taking place in these countries. In Belize, as well as in other countries, the main concern now is survival within difficult economic times. Again, there is little space for aboriginal peoples. There is need, of course, to mention the ongoing dialogue that the Maya are keeping up with the Government toward the righting of historical wrongs against them. The Garifuna have not taken up this cry as stridently as the Maya.

MF: Would you agree that there are more Caribbean people today who are proud to identify with an indigenous ancestry? If so, what do you think accounts for that? If not, why not?

JOP: Yes, I think that is greater awareness at this time than before. I would suggest that the bursting forth of the world IP’s movement, to which I referred earlier is mainly responsible. The media within our region are fed by stories of IP’s from throughout the Americas fighting for their rights and receiving attention. Many of our people are in the diaspora, who bring along with them this sort of consciousness. One of the persons, who writes to me from New York claims to be a Carib from Trinidad. He is certainly influenced by the Taino revival among Puertorriqueños currently taking place around him.

We also have to give credit to aboriginal brothers and sisters from Canada, who inspired the Caribbean region to start the COIP and continued supporting the movement. Again, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) has maintained reciprocal exchange agreements with the Maya and Garifuna in Belize. Many similar agreements have taken place between our people in the region and counterparts from the North. All in all, the spread of consciousness in the region is certainly part of the globalization process that has overtaken this region.

MF: Some will argue, “Indigenous people in the Caribbean are basically, in the larger scheme of things, a relatively irrelevant minority. Besides, in many cases individuals claiming an indigenous ancestry are barely distinguishable in any way from their fellow Caribbean citizens, so they are not really ‘so indigenous’ that anyone should stand up and take notice”. I am inventing this particular statement, but on the basis of actual statements that I have heard or read. Without simply dismissing the argument, what would you tell undecided readers in response to this somewhat simplified argument?

JOP: If there is barely anything ‘resembling being indigenous’ among our people in the region? It proves those wrong, who are looking for phenotypic traits that they have assumed to be significant. We have to be aware of the primeval role of this region in the history of the movement of peoples and influences across the Atlantic. One of the things that we have contributed to this dynamic is the persistence of the culture of aboriginal peoples, notwithstanding overwhelming odds. It is the history of the region that has shaped us to be what we are today. But it has made us no less aboriginal than others found in other parts of the Americas and other discovered territories, such as Australia and Africa. The other part of the contribution of the Caribbean to the world is how peoples could survive over 500 years. This is a question in which all of us--aboriginal peoples and others--need to dialogue as we get to know our region and its global significance better.

MF: What are your current activities and projects?

JOP: One of my recent activities of which I am very excited is trying to understand the Maroons of Jamaica and whether there may be some similarities between them and the Garifuna. Towards this end I recently spent ten days in Moore Town and surrounding communities in Portland, eastern Jamaica. I am yet to write my report but I was touched by apparent similarities that I experienced. Obviously both peoples have been shaped by the influences of first peoples in this region (in the case of both, the Arawaks or Taino); the violent wars they fought with the British; the overwhelming displacement that overcame them afterwards; the strong African retentions that persist in all aspects of life, especially in spirituality; and the myopia of their nation states to appreciate them during the post-independence era. It is this kind of cross-comparison that will enrich our understanding of the forces that have shaped aboriginal peoples in the Caribbean. In my report I will chart out a deeper research project that could amplify the little bit I did.

In Belize I have become interested in the use by the Garifuna of marine resources.  There is now renewed interest in our coast and how communities have been using it.  As a premier coastal people, the Garifuna have a lot to contribute to this development.

MF: Where do you see the regional organization of Caribbean indigenous peoples going?

JOP: It is a question to which I have given much thought. If there was one lesson we learned bitterly from COIP it was the logistical difficulties of managing a regional organization of aboriginal peoples. It requires a tremendous amount of support--financial, technical, and otherwise. It is also my firm belief that the people should be intimately involved in generating these kinds of support as part of their ownership of their umbrella organization. It could be done but it is going to require much planning and selfless dedication. The corollary to this is that organizations at the national level will have to be strong in themselves to be able to dedicate the level of attention necessary for the regional body. Here I think all of our peoples have a long way to go. But the battle is not lost; we have to look at other ways to keep alive the spirit. Our universities need to fund research and continuing studies programmes targeted at aboriginal peoples. The NGOs have much to contribute as well as the church. CARICOM had acknowledged COIP as a regional voice of aboriginal peoples.  This could lead to more support through that body and its widespread linkages worldwide.

Probably, we have been putting the emphasis on the wrong side of the equation.  Probably we need to do much more awareness building, especially among the peoples themselves. In this regard there are many things that can be done. Hopefully, this could then lead to organizational building eventually resulting in regional organizations.

MF: Many thanks, Joseph for having participated in this interview. Very best wishes on your current and future endeavours.

JOP: I want to thank you too. Do keep up the good work.

(Photos of Dr. Joseph O. Palacio are property of Dr. Joseph O. Palacio and were reproduced here with his kind permission)
 

For some of Dr. Palacio's work, available online, see:

Feature Address by Joseph Palacio at the Second Gathering of Indigenous People in Arima, Trinidad, 1993 

A Re-consideration of the Native American and African Roots of Garifuna Identity, a paper by Dr. Joseph Palacio in Issues in Caribbean Amerindian Studies
 

In a similar vein, a number of pieces appeared in National Geographic, both online and offline. Susie Post Rust wrote “The Garifuna: Weaving a Future from a Tangled Past”. In that article, she writes, “This year, for the first time, the United Nations gave to a group of endangered cultures the title Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity (referred to in the article as World Heritage cultures). Included are the Garífuna of Central America, whose uniquely fused African and South American ancestry and culture gave rise to new traditions. Inhabiting coastal regions along the Caribbean, the Garífuna can be found in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The Garífuna were selected because of the vibrancy of their language, music, and dance…” One can also find some "field notes" by Susie Post Rust in the same issue.

A number of Web-based information resources also focus on select aspects of Garifuna culture which, as we are seeing, is starting to receive a certain amount of world attention, validation and valorisation. One of these sites focuses on the dügü ritual, also called “feasting the dead.” This site describes the reasons and preparations for this fervent ceremony and explains each aspect—“The culture of the Garifuna is a system of traditional and typical West African cultural expression fused with Amerindian customs and subsistence bases. This infrastructure of dance, drum and ancestor worship through ritual is no clearer defined than through the elaborate funeral rites associated with Garifuna culture. Our presentation was a visual synopsis of the Dügü. Here we will outline in detail the rites of death, the most important and sacred cultural expression of the Garifuna…”. Another site presents a CD of Garifuna music: "This CD presents for the first time black Carib secular and ritual music recorded in its traditional context. The Garifuna culture and music have been declared in 2001 by UNESCO: ‘Masterpiece of the human oral and immaterial heritage’.”

Other Web resources of interest include “The ‘Carib’ Story”, by Helan Sheran. This is a brief essay on the ‘Black’ and ‘Red’ Caribs of St. Vincent, as well as the Garifuna/ Garinagu of Central America, with links to various Web resources on the latter, including: Red (or Yellow) Caribs in Yurumei (St. Vincent); Red (or Yellow) Caribs in Waitukubuli (Dominica); Black Caribs in Belize; Black Caribs in Guatemala; Black Caribs in Honduras; and, Black Caribs in Nicaragua. An online essay, “The Garifuna: A Changing Future”, by Pamela Conley, (March 2000, @ planeta.com), tells us that “their largest population is in Honduras with 200,000 and it is here that their culture is most intact. There are 15,000 living in Belize, and 6,000 in Guatemala, and an additional few thousand scattered in Nicaragua and the Windward Islands. They have continued to be the victims of discrimination politically, economically, and socially”.

We also invite you to examine some of the other Garifuna information resources listed on the Caribbean Amerindian Centrelink's Belize page.
 

First, and well worth reading, is “The Leap at Sauteurs: The lost cosmology of indigenous Grenada” by Lennox Honychurch. This is a scholarly paper presented at the University of the West Indies’ Country Conference held in Grenada. In the Introduction to the paper, we read: “As colonizing forces advanced across the Grenadian landscape in the 17th century, the indigenous Kalinago people were routed. Past histories have focused on the human and physical loss occasioned by the genocide. But this paper focuses on the loss of the indigenous cosmology, their perception of their place within the environment of this island world. It shows how the process of contact and cultural exchange had begun years earlier and that by the time a group of Kalinago jumped to their deaths over the cliff at Sauteurs in northern Grenada, their world had been turned upside down. Their culturally structured place within the cosmic and ecological pattern of this archipelago had disappeared and their lives no longer made any sense within it. Since then, the Kalinago perception of the Grenadian environment, and its people's place within the cycles of this tropical oceanic island, has been wiped out. An alien vision of this environment has been imposed over the period of the past four hundred years. This paper explains the Kalinago concepts of their island, Kamahone (Grenada). It studies the island's relationship with the continent to the south and discusses its role as the indigenous gateway from the mainland to the islands. It shows how relevant the indigenous concepts of the environment still are today. It argues that elements of this cosmology need to be regained and more widely understood if we are to come to terms with the balance needed in the human ecology of neo-colonial Grenada”.

Secondly, “Defending Aboriginal Sovereignty: The 1930 ‘Carib War’ in Waitukubuli (Dominica)”, by Susan Campbell, is also a paper presented at the University West Indies’ Dominica Country Conference. This paper deals with a relatively important part of modern Dominica Carib history, and is worth reading especially for those who are unfamiliar with that historical background.

A number of full text articles have also appeared online. One of these has already been much talked about in some circles, dealing with how the Americas must have looked like the year before the arrival of Columbus. See:

“1491”, by Charles Mann, The Atlantic Monthly, March 2002

Finally, if I may be allowed to plug some of my own work, a recent paper of mine was published in the Spring 2002 online issue of Sincronía (an E-Journal of Culture Studies, Department of Letters, University of Guadalajara, Mexico), and is titled: “ ‘We are not extinct’: The Revival of Carib and Taino Identities, the Internet, and the Transformation of Offline Indigenes into Online ‘N-digenes’ ”. This accompanies a Powerpoint presentation which is available in the latest volume (Vol. 4) of Issues in Caribbean Amerindian Studies. As this concerns numerous Websites found on the CAC itself, and various organizations responsible for those sites, I warmly welcome comments, questions, and any constructive feedback from those concerned. On a related topic, I was recently invited to make a presentation on 19 April, 2002 at Brunel University, in Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK, at a seminar on “Research Relationships and Online Relationships” at the Centre for Research into Innovation, Culture and Technology (CRICT). The title of the paper is: “Partnerships, Co-Constructions, and Network-Building: The Case of Caribbean Amerindian Website Development”. Please follow the links to the paper summary and to the Powerpoint presentation. This presentation concerns my experience in developing Websites for and about Trinidad's Santa Rosa Carib Community, as well as my experience in developing the CAC.
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Lal Balkaran's new book, titled, Dictionary of the Guyanese Amerindians, and Other South American Native Terms(An A-Z Guide To Their Anthropology, Cosmology, Culture, Exploration, History, Geography, Legend, Folklore and Myth), will be of especial interest to those concerned with Caribbean Amerindian languages, and is a worthy complement to the dictionaries of the Taino and Island Carib languages already available online. Before I go any further, here is the ordering information for the book:

Price is US$29.95 inclusive of ordinary postage. For airmail, please add an extra 15%. Cheques or payment by VISA/MC/AMEX accepted.  Please call, e-mail, fax or send your order to: 

LBA Publications, 18 Portsmouth Drive, Scarborough, Ontario M1C 5E1, CANADA
Tel: 416-283-4051   Fax: 416-283-7497

E-mail: lbalkaran@attcanada.net  www.lbapublications.com

"… a valuable reference book on the subject"
- Dr. John Hemming, a former Director of the Royal Geographical Society and world-renowned author of several books on the conquest of Peru, Brazil’s Amerindians, and El Dorado.

"A very useful study and a good read. Lal Balkaran is to be commended for his zeal and industry. We wish him well and are proud to be associated with this excellent production". 
- Tony Montfort - Jesuit Missions, London, England

"This well researched and convenient Guide to the history and culture of the Guyanese Amerindians restores awareness of a long forgotten people, and invests them with the respect and dignity they deserve".
- Dr. Frank Birbalsingh, Professor, York University, Canada.

"This book provides easy information for anyone who wants to learn about the Amerindians of Guyana, and furnishes enough background data for the serious researcher who may want to indulge in more in-depth research into the history and culture of these proud people".
- Dr. Odeen Ishmael, Ambassador of Guyana to the United States of America.

The following is a copy of the Table of Contents:
¨ Introduction 
¨ Acknowledgments 
¨ Time Chart of Amerindian Related Events
¨ General Map of Guyana
¨ Map Showing Distribution of Current Nine Amerindian Tribes 
¨ Map Showing Distribution of Some Extinct Tribes 
A-Z ENTRIES 
APPENDICES
A. Sources of Information 
B.  Extinct Tribes of Guyana
C. Venezuelan Tribes
D. Surinamese Tribes
E.  Brazilian Tribes 
F.  Sample Words From Amerindian Languages in Guyana
G.  Minerals in Guyana 
H.  Animals in Guyana
I.  Main Timbers in Guyana
J.  Waterfalls/ Rapids in Guyana
K.  Rivers in Guyana 
L.  Mountains and Mountain Ranges in Guyana
M. Amerindian Villages in Guyana
N. Amerindian Population from 1891
O. Commanders, Directors-General, Lieutenant-Governors, Governors, Governors-General, Chief Minister, Premiers, Prime Ministers, and Presidents for the 1600-2001 Period
P. Jesuit Priests who worked in the hinterland among Guyana’s Amerindians (1857-2002)
Q. Amerindian Members of Parliament for the 1957-2001 Period

As one can see, this text does not simply comprise a dictionary, but includes a number of useful and interesting ethnographic and historical sections.

Finally, here is the book's self-description:

"At long last – here is an indispensable reference tool on Guyana’s Amerindians containing over 5,000 entries. As the title indicates, it is a comprehensive A-Z compendium defining and explaining those unique notions relating to their anthropology, acculturation, belief systems, cosmology, ethnobotany, ethnography, ethnology, ethnohistory, religion, exploration, history, geography, folklore, legend, music, myth and politics including other South American native terms. For instance, words like quinine, curare, coca, pepperpot, cassareep, hammock, cannibal, barbecue, buccaneer, ‘Amerindian’ itself, kanaima, piaiaman, shaman, maloco, balata, pegall, corial, woodskin, paiwari, parakari, the syncretic Alleluia Indian religion, and thousands of others are all explained. And there is more!

Amerindians have a unique relationship with the forces of nature, the cosmos, the environment, the forests, rivers, mountains, animals, plants, trees and people of other races. Colourful stories have been woven to explain all of these including: creation myths; reason for animals; the forces of nature; the different Indian tribes and races of mankind; the songs and plumage of birds; shapes of boulders and mountains; origin of strife; trees and many other natural phenomena. Rare legends of Roraima, Shiriri, Kanuku, Essequibo and the more common Kaieteur and El Dorado are all here in this excellently compiled guide. The book also profiles Amerindian organisations and many who defended and promoted Amerindian cause over the years including:
· The early explorers and missionaries – Keymis, Gravesande, Brett, Schomburgks, Hilhouse, Waterton, Cary-Elwes, MacLintock, Peberdy, and McKenna;
· Early anthropologists – Brett,  Im Thurn, and Roth;
· Amerindian ‘Who’s Who’; – Stephen Campbell, John Bennett, Basil Rodrigues, George Simon, Stephanie Correia, David Campbell, and others;

There is also a Time Chart of major Amerindian-related events from 11000BC right up to 2001AD. Added to that are three maps and sixteen appendices. As a bonus, there are twenty two photographs showing the various faces and scenes of the current nine Guyanese Amerindian tribes – Ackawaois, Arawak, Arekuna, Carib, Macushi, Patamona, Wai Wai, Wapishana and Warrau. This is the first time that such broad-based information has been carefully researched and accumulated in a single volume. Indeed, it represents value for money well spent."

Secondly, we would like to thank the Ciboney Tribe (Siboneyes de la Florida) for sending us information on a new CD that they have released. The title of the CD is WaGaNCHé, which is described by the publishers as follows:

"Seven voices and percussion instruments recreate spiritually and stylistically powerful music of Native Ciboney traditional music. Two years of research in the Spanish monasteries of the Big Island of Cuba and countless requests have led the Ciboney Tribe to produce WaGaNCHé – music CD. The manuscripts for the music came into being when Spanish Catholic friars, as part of their religious mission, incorporated the native rhythms, melodies, and language to further draw converts into their new religion.
One such native rhythm is called “Guaracha”, which translates to praising the Great Spirit, a dance of Native Ciboney origin still popular in Cuba. The result of WaGaNCHé – music CD has been unique, sparkling with rhythmic and melodic invention, and hauntingly beautiful."

Here is ordering information for those interested in purchasing a copy:

"To purchase the CD, please make check or money order to Ciboney Tribe, Inc. for $12.00 + Shipping and handling. Bulk Orders of the CD – volume discounts are available.

Ciboney Tribe, Inc.
8614 SW 148 Place
Miami, Florida 33193
Phone & Fax: 305.408.5982
www.ciboneytribe.org
Email: ciboneyT@aol.com"
 

That's right, KONA WARRIOR! Here are some notes sent to us by THE FIRE THIS TIME: "For the American army this was supposed to be a quick simple military exercise. Go in and in the name of the 'war on drugs', destroy the coca farms of unarmed Bolivian Indian peasants...but they hadn't counted on Kona Warrior, an indigenous heroine [Editor: no pun intended?] trained in martial arts, grounded by her traditional ceremony practices, schooled in the guerrilla tactics of Ho Chi Minh and fond of revolutionary poets from India. This aboriginal warrior, shows the peasant how cunning resourcefulness and ninja style can overcome the mightiest enemy." Kona Warrior is Available online at http://www.firethistime.com/ en/ Kona/ kona_1.html, and is a Mapuchedub creation (contact tftt3000@yahoo.ca), with artwork by Tamila Rostmoff (www.rostmoff.com).
 

On Monday March 11th 2002 Phillip Serrao was appointed QC (Queen's Counsel) by Chief Justice Sir David Simmons at a full sitting of the Court of Appeal of Barbados.

The tradition of Queen's Counsel has its origins in the 17th century when the function of providing assistance to law officers in cases where the crown had an interest.
Of the 346 registered attorneys in Barbados - less than 40 are QC.
With his elevation, Philip Serrao has become the 12th solicitor to be accorded the title of QC, he is also the Chairman of the Electoral and Boundaries Commission and a partner in the distinguished law firm Fitzwilliam, Stone, and Alcazar. 

Philip is one of 4 sons of the late Ruth Della Serrao (nee Dewever) who was one of the seven children of the late Princess Marian Dewever of the Eagle Clan Arawaks of Guyana - who immigrated (with her children) to Barbados in 1925. There are 175 descendants of the Princess currently residing in Barbados W.I., England, Canada and Jamaica. 

CONTACT INFORMATION :

Public Information Service of the
Pan-Tribal Confederacy of
Amerindian Tribal Nations
# 13 Highgate Gardens, Wildey,
St. Michael, Barbados WI BH-10

Tel (246) 228 - 0227
Fax (246) 437 - 2018".
.