First Peoples meet Speaker on remains, monument

FIRST Peoples' Groups are to select a representative to present a proposal for the reinterment of remains found during excavation at the Red House and design details for the proposed monument.

This was reported in a media release by the Office of the Parliament.

On Tuesday the Office of the Parliament, in conjunction with the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts and the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (Udecott), met again with representatives of the various First Peoples’ Groups to discuss the matter of the reinterment of remains found during excavation at the Red House and the options for the design of the associated monument.

The meeting was chaired by the House Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George and Senate President Christine Kangaloo, Community Development, Culture and the Arts Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly and Udecott chairman Noel Garcia were in attendance.

The release said further dialogue on this matter has been delegated to a team comprising Community Development Permanent Secretary Angela Leonard-Edwards, project administrator of the Red House Restoration Project Neil Jaggassar the Office of the Parliament and a representative to be selected from among the various First Peoples’ Groups.

The representative will provide the groups’ proposal for the reinterment of the remains and design details for the proposed monument. The representative will also assist with advice in regard to the essential requirements to ensure that the solemnity and sanctity of the monument is respected.

The details are expected to be finalized by the end of November 2018 and at the meeting, Annisette-George reiterated the Parliament’s commitment to honouring the historical importance of the First Peoples’ Groups.