Justice for the dead?

Jerome Teelucksingh

THE NATIONAL Day for Truth and Reconciliation is observed in North America on September 30. The day originated in Canada with the intention of raising awareness of the horrible incidents of abuse and death endured by First Peoples (First Nations or Indigenous peoples) in residential schools during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Across the globe, millions of innocent Indigenous peoples suffered similar fates at the hands of missionaries, conquerors and invaders. Unfortunately, there is no justice for the dead. In the Caribbean, there is also a sordid past of exploitation, racism and death.

The Caribbean’s diverse First Peoples population included the Igneri, Warao, Guanahatabey, Ciboney, Tainos, Kalinagos and Saladoids. In Trinidad, there are more than 60 Saladoid sites. The TT Historical Society, in 1969, discovered the remains of a 7,000-year-old Banwari site in south-west Trinidad.

In 2013, artefacts and bone fragments of the First Peoples were discovered during restoration work of the Red House in Port of Spain. More of these sites could be discovered and artefacts properly dated if advanced technology such as infrared imaging system and radio-carbon dating were available.

The First Peoples, in early Trinidad, posed a formidable challenge to the incoming Spanish conquistadors and settlers. One of the outstanding chiefs, in Arima, who resisted the Spanish was Hyarima. He belonged to the Araucan tribe and during 1636 and 1637 he joined forces with Dutch settlers in Tobago and raided Spanish settlements in Trinidad.

The Arena Massacre on December 1, 1699, provided proof that the early Indigenous peoples were resilient and not complacent. They were enslaved and forced to rebuild the Roman Catholic Church at the San Francisco de los Arenales mission at Arena.

The priests felt these enslaved people were not working fast enough and were planning to complain to the colony’s governor.

The Indigenous peoples knew that an unfavourable report could lead to torture or death and thus they revolted, killing the priests and desecrating the church. The punishment was that 22 Indians were hanged in January 1700.

The Carib community in Arima annually celebrates the Feast of Santa Rosa de Lima. At this festival, in 2006, Carib Chief Ricardo Bharath appealed for help from the government to assist in promoting public awareness of the culture and history of Caribs.

In August 2011, Jennifer Pyle-Cassar, the Carib queen, emphasised the need for the necessary space for the descendants of the Caribs to continue their cultural practices, rear wild animals and grow crops such as cassava.

The legacies of many of these tribal cultures are quickly disappearing and there is need for intervention to ensure their survival in the 21st century. It is unfortunate that these former custodians of the natural order and temporary caretakers of the environment are relegated to the fringes of society.

It is a fact that First Peoples and their descendants always respected the environment and sought a cosmic balance. They lived simple, humble lives and worshipped benevolent and malevolent deities. Yet, across the world these ancient cultures have been treated as inferior and unequal.

In 2024 there is an estimated Indigenous population of 370 million in 70 countries including New Guinea, Borneo, Alaska, Africa, Latin and South America. They seek protection from encroaching civilisation and modernisation that threaten their survival.

First Peoples such as the Penans, Sarawaks (Malaysian Borneo), Aka Pygmies, Bayanga (Central Africa), Aleuts and Unalaska (Alaska) certainly need assistance in sustaining their communities and regaining the balance between humanity and the environment.

The world must remember the historical trauma that continues to unfold among communities with First Peoples. Governments need to be more sensitive and aware of the importance and the contributions of First Peoples to the planet.

Where are the reparations for those innocent victims who were humiliated, killed, raped, forced into reserves, robbed of their lands and suffered due to greed and materialism? The clash of civilisations ultimately resulted in the disappearance of numerous cultures, languages, religions and cuisines.

Undoubtedly, this invaluable history and experiences of the First Peoples contain the solutions to some of the region’s socio-economic problems.

Chief Oren Lyons of the Onandaga Nation once stated, “Even though you and I are in different boats, you in your boat and we in our canoe, we share the same river of life. What befalls me, befalls you.”

This wisdom is relevant for us.