Indigenous people of puerto rico: Indigenous Puerto Rico: DNA evidence upsets established history

Puerto Rican Indigenous Communities Seek Recognition, Return of Their Ancestral Lands

UTUADO, PUERTO RICO — The journey to reach the Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Center in the town of Utuado is a hot and humid trek across the western part of Puerto Rico’s central mountain ranges.

The only sounds are the chirping of birds and the rushing of the Tanamá river.

The land is sacred here, says Uahtibili Báez Santiago.

Báez is the leader of the Jíbaro-Boricua Indigenous Movement, a nonprofit organization that educates people about the history of the Jíbaro people in Puerto Rico. Báez says according to the oral history passed down to him, the land where the center sits once belonged to them.

“Right here, this belonged to us, to our families,” he says.

Today, that same land is part of a national park managed by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, a government-run institution.

Coraly Cruz Mejías, GPJ Puerto Rico

Uahtibili Báez Santiago walks through the Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Center in Utuado, Puerto Rico. Báez is the leader of the Jíbaro-Boricua Indigenous Movement, a nonprofit organization that educates people about the history of the Jíbaro people in Puerto Rico. On his shoulder, he carries a piece of clothing used by the Jíbaro people.

The Jíbaro-Boricua Indigenous Movement, a group of nearly 200 members, must apply a month in advance in order to carry out spiritual practices such as baptisms and naming ceremonies on that land. So the group is petitioning Puerto Rico’s government to recognize the center as a temple.

But for Báez and other members of the group, the recognition is about more than gaining unrestricted access to the land.

“If they recognize that this is a temple, then we do exist as indigenous people,” he says.

The Jíbaro and Taíno – two distinct indigenous groups that claim ancestral ties to Puerto Rico – are not currently recognized as indigenous peoples by the Puerto Rican government.

The Jíbaro-Boricua Indigenous Movement claim their heritage from Mayan Kan’ Xibalo ancestors. Members of the Taíno Council Guatu-Ma-cu A Borikén, another nonprofit organization, trace their ancestry to the Taínos, a community that they say Christopher Columbus encountered on his voyages to the Americas towards the end of the 15th century.

Ernie Xavier Rivera Collazo, a history teacher and archaeologist at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico in the southwestern city of San Germán, says that many people in Puerto Rico assume that indigenous people in Puerto Rico were exterminated during the Spanish conquest that began in 1493.

“That’s what they taught us in school,” he says.

But despite what the history books say, Rivera says that archaeological evidence shows that indigenous people on the island were resisting colonial rule even after 1700, which contradicts the belief that they were exterminated in the 15th century. That resistance, he says, continues today as those communities seek to gain autonomy in Puerto Rico.

Juan Carlos Martínez Cruzado, a biologist who specializes in molecular evolutionism, says a study he conducted in 2002 revealed that 61% of the 800 Puerto Ricans who participated had mitochondrial DNA that confirmed indigenous ancestral heritage.

Coraly Cruz Mejías, GPJ Puerto Rico

Guariboni joined the Taíno Council Guatu-Ma-cu-A Borikén four years ago. Here, he holds a mahogany seed carved to represent Yocahú, a Taíno deity of protection.

But according to Martín Veguilla, leader of the Taíno Council Guatu-Ma-cu-A Borikén, legislation in Puerto Rico does not currently recognize any indigenous organizations. The council is classified as a religious organization by the Puerto Rico State Department so the group can host spiritual ceremonies and give public presentations.

Doris O’Neill Cruzado, who identifies as a Taíno indigenous grandmother, conducts Taíno ceremonies to help educate people about the Taíno culture. For O’Neill, the lack of information surrounding Taíno history is the government’s fault for not recognizing Puerto Rico’s indigenous history.

Veguilla, who is known in the council as Cacike Caciba Opil Veguilla, which means Chief Sacred Stone of the Spirit, says that they have managed to organize a strong, committed community for the preservation of the Taíno culture. He adds that the conferences hosted by the group have helped their efforts to have some of the skeletal remains of their ancestors, currently held by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, returned so that the group can bury the remains in a traditional Taíno ceremony.

Báez says the Jíbaro movement is currently working with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Native American Indigenous Church in the United States to persuade the government to recognize the Caguana Indigenous Ceremonial Center as a temple. He says that the group has petitioned the Puerto Rico Department of Education to revise the history curriculum to include the history of indigenous people in Puerto Rico after the 15th century.

Báez hopes that through increased visibility of their culture and defense of their identity, the group will finally gain recognition and be able to recover their lands and autonomy.

“We want them to know that this is an ancient, ancestral country – that we, the people who live here, are ancestral descendants,” he says. “They did not extinguish us.”

Rishi Khalsa, GPJ, translated this story from Spanish.

Photo by Iris González Román, GPJ Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is an island in the Caribbean Sea. It is a self-governed, unincorporated territory of the United States, which means that the United States maintains control of Puerto Rico but people in Puerto Rico elect their own Governor and Assembly.

Photo by Iris González Román, GPJ Puerto Rico

Puerto Ricans have United States citizenship and are permitted to move freely between the United States and Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans who reside in the United States maintain the right to vote for U.S. president. However, Puerto Ricans who live on the island of Puerto Rico are not allowed to vote for U.S. president.

Photo by Iris González Román, GPJ Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is home to 3.2 million people. But the number of people residing in Puerto Rico has dropped significantly since 2004. Puerto Rico saw the most significant population drop in the months and years after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017. 5.6 million people who live in the United States claim Puerto Rican origin. About a third of those people were born in Puerto Rico.

Photo by Iris González Román, GPJ Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico has a $73 billion debt to the United States. But as a territory of the United States, Puerto Rico is unable to file for bankruptcy like a U.S. state. In 2016, President Barack Obama and Congress passed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) to oversee Puerto Rico’s fiscal plan and address Puerto Rico’s debt to the United States. Seven members, appointed by the U.S. president, sit on the PROMESA board. The Governor of Puerto Rico appoints one ex officio member. The complex financial relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rico dates back to the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, commonly referred to the Jones Act. The Jones Act requires that all goods be shipped to Puerto Rico by a primarily U.S. crew on a U.S. vessel. Based on a 2018 survey by Advantage Business Consulting, the Jones Act greatly increases costs of everyday items for Puerto Ricans, including food. Shipping containers to Puerto Rico costs $3,027 compared to a similar international shipment, not subject to the Jones Act, which would cost $1,206 for the same distance.

Photo by Gabriela Ortiz Díaz, GPJ Puerto Rico

Puerto Rican politics is dominated by the question of Puerto Rico’s relationship to the United States. The Popular Democratic Party supports Puerto Rico’s current status, while the New Progressive Party hopes to make Puerto Rico the country’s 51st state. A small third party, the Puerto Rican Independence Party, strives to make Puerto Rico an independent country.

Indigenous Taíno of Puerto Rico take their fight for visibility and rights to the UN

This story is published as part of the Global Indigenous Affairs Desk, an Indigenous-led collaboration between Grist, Indian Country Today, and High Country News.

In 2017, Hurricane Maria hit the Caribbean, destroying homes, killing thousands, and driving many from the region. Indigenous Taíno people in Puerto Rico were on the front lines of the disaster, which has since been compounded by environmental violence in the form of toxic military waste, luxury development on cultural sites, and other threats. But the Taíno struggle to get those concerns acknowledged by the U.S. and other governments. Now representatives are at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York to call attention to their situation.

“If we’re not getting visibility or any kind of recognition at the national level, we have no choice but to take it outside and try to build that visibility for our people,” said R. Múkaro Agüeibaná Borrero, President of the United Confederation of Taíno People. 

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The Taíno people are Indigenous to the Caribbean and live in Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, the U. S. Virgin Islands, and more. When Christopher Columbus made landfall in 1492, the Taíno were the first people he met. Today, Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, which means that it is neither an independent country nor an official state. Puerto Rico has a non-voting member of Congress and does not have electoral college votes in presidential elections. Because of this colonial relationship, the Taíno have few platforms to make their concerns heard. 

International forums like the UNPFII are a rare opportunity to directly engage with officials from the United States and other countries — providing space for the Taíno to advocate for policies that will help their communities. “There is a narrative that Taíno people were wiped out,” Borrero said. “So we have to make statements at the international level, to say ‘wait a minute, we are here.’” 

Andrea Carmen, Yaqui Nation and Executive Director of the International Indian Treaty Council, says that for the Taíno, Puerto Rico’s political status presents challenges for the Taíno. “What makes them unique is they are still residents of a colony,” she said. Carmen added that, like the Taíno, most Indigenous peoples around the world also lack state recognition, which makes the UNPFII and other international venues even more important in their fight for rights. 

In a statement to the forum, Tai Pelli, another representative from the United Confederation of Taíno People, highlighted the environmental and climate crises facing Indigenous peoples in Puerto Rico. Increasingly powerful storms have destroyed homes and driven many from the island while illegal toxic waste dumping and military waste contamination are also serious issues. On the island municipalities of Vieques and Culebra, the U.S. military conducted weapons testing for over 60 years, leaving unexploded ordinance and dangerous chemicals behind. “Increasing cancer rates and other non-contagious diseases are a direct result of the environmental injustices our people confront every day,” Pelli said. 

Pointing to luxury hotels and other development projects on culturally significant sites like the Dry Forest and the Kaguana Ceremonial Center, Pelli called on the UN to confront the issue with UNESCO, which oversees some of the sites, and demanded a review of UNESCO’s protected areas mandate and greater transparency. “The wrath of greed and uncontrolled development are beginning to seem as dangerous as the hurricanes, earthquakes and pandemic that we are still trying to survive,” she said.

The United Confederation of Taíno People also called attention to Taíno language revitalization efforts, which will lead to the publication of the first Classic Taíno Dictionary and Grammar Guide later this year. Borrero noted, however, that the International Decade of Indigenous Languages must not overlook Indigenous Caribbean languages and called on the Permanent Forum to give special attention to insular Caribbean Indigenous Peoples, including those in both self-governing and non self-governing territories. 

“We’re not only raising the visibility of who we are within the U.S.,” he said. “We’re also raising the visibility of our people for other Indigenous peoples so that we could build that solidarity regionally and internationally.”

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Puerto Rico is ours!

?

Categories:

• Politics
• Society According to the untrustworthy media, the vast majority of Puerto Ricans during the referendum voted for the island to join the United States as the 51st state. This is allegedly indicated by the preliminary results of the vote count.

  The idea of ​​joining the United States was supported by 97% of the residents who took part in the vote. 1.5% percent were in favor of maintaining the status quo, and only a little more than one percent of Puerto Ricans want complete independence for their state, Gazeta.ru reports.

  Puerto Rico is a country occupied by the Americans back in 1898 as a result of the war with Spain.
  Puerto Rican patriots never stopped their struggle to liberate the country from foreign invaders. After the Second World War, an uprising for independence broke out on the island. Which was suppressed and the leader arrested.

  Two Puerto Ricans, associates of the imprisoned leader of the uprising – Oscar Collazo
  and Griselio Torresola – decided to kill US President Truman.

  The attempt was unsuccessful – Griselio Toressola died in a shootout, and Oscar Collazo was captured. At the trial, he stated that the attempt on the president pursued the goal of the cause of the freedom of his homeland – Puerto Rico.
  He did not seek pardon for himself and was sentenced to death in the electric chair.
  But a few days before the execution, Truman personally commuted his execution to life imprisonment.

  On September 10, 1979, after Truman’s death, President Jimmy Carter granted amnesty to Oscar Collazo, who returned to Puerto Rico.

  After the release of Collazo was awarded by Fidel Castro for his “fight against imperialism” and the Luger is still in the President Truman Museum.
  To keep Puerto Rico and the nearest islands in obedience, the United States built 16 (!) military bases here. 12% of the territory of Puerto Rico is occupied by the Americans for military purposes.

  1993 in Barcelona, ​​the opening of the meetings of the International Tribunal for the Violation of Human Rights in Puerto Rico by the United States. During the hearings, the Tribunal made the following statements:

  — Puerto Rico and its people have the right to freely determine their political, economic, social and cultural status within the framework of international law;

  – the constitution of the freely associated state of Puerto Rico does not allow the citizens of the country to fully exercise their right to self-determination;

  – The United States has an international obligation to honor and respect the rights of the citizens of Puerto Rico to self-determination in accordance with the obligations that were entered into with the signing of the conventions;

  – The current US military policy in Puerto Rico contains an obstacle to the realization of the right to self-determination and threatens peace and security in the Caribbean.

  Based on the foregoing, the referendum cannot be recognized as legitimate because it took place at gunpoint from American machine guns. Now the US is trying to replace the colonial regime of Puerto Rico with a complete annexation.

  Tags: USA

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  Photo

  Hint only a thin mountain range and highway – and yet a journey of several miles from one park to another takes tourists to a completely different new world.

  El Yunque , the better known of the two, is lush and green – humid, steamy rainforests full of resonant parrots, downy trees covered in red blossoms, croaking Puerto Rican frogs and orchids that love moisture . Inside is the ancient home of “Yuquiyu”, a good spirit believed by the native Taino Indians to live on mist-shrouded mountain peaks. His name – just a little garbled by the Spanish conquerors – is the origin of the nickname “El Yunque” that is in use today.

  Guanica is a short drive west along the Ponce do San Juan interstate. It is fiery and dry, an inhospitable desert forest of rare flowering cacti, sizzling reptiles and limestone caves. It’s a fragile, arid atmosphere with frozen, unearthly rock formations, strange plants and large seabirds that circle around the cliff tops and over the bright blue waves of the Caribbean Sea.

  As strange as these two parks are, they are actually born from each other. El Yunq owes its beauty to the thick clouds brought to the island by the Atlantic winds that pour rainwater on the mountains of Licullo. Over the centuries, while El Yunq harvested most of Puerto Rico’s excess moisture, the poor, parched Gwanica – on the Caribbean side of Licullo – was slowly turning into a unique dry forest that the United Nations recognized as a protected biosphere in 1990s.

  Today, the cyclical hypnotic paths of Gwanica meander between gnarled deciduous trees. Some of them lead to Fort Capron. According to the inhabitants of the island, this is a colonial Spanish observation post, but most likely it is an old observation tower built by conservationists. Other trails lead to “El Centenario”, a century old tree that towers over all nearby bushes and trees. But most of the trails still lead down to the white sandy beaches along the coast.

  Aside from the slow lizards, Gwanica looks lifeless to the naked eye, but is actually teeming with life. The sun and water have eroded the clay-like ground, creating sinkholes and caves that are home to thousands of bats and strange creatures such as blind cave shrimps and purple earth crabs.