Indigenous Geographies / History

Photo Credit looptt.com

The indigenous persons in Trinidad and Tobago passed through a very rough history, filled with stories made up that had them appearing as uncivilised. The story of them eating humming birds which caused their civilisation to sink in the pitch lake had many untruths to it. These persons also have no representation in the political arena, so their rights are not always upheld. Additionally, these indigenous persons do not believe in landownership, thus many lands which they occupied were taken since they lacked the rights to it in the form of documentation, another form of colonialism and capitalism as spoken by Fanon. 

The indigenous persons feel undone by, as the "rumours" created about them by the colonizers are still spread today and are included in school textbooks, while their true stories are not well documented or broadcasted. Their forms of technology were also ignored, as they had various tools to make work easier, but were wiped from history upon the arrival of the Europeans. The only registered indigenous body in the Caribbean is the Santa Rosa Carib Community located in Arima. The skeletal remains found under the Red House, as well as the case of the Standing Rock Pipeline in the US shows that indigenous rights and often overlooked in the face of development in the country. 

Recognition must also be given to the indigenous persons based on their technologies which assists in everyday use, but were never credited to them. These technologies include tools, bow and arrows, and numerous home remedies which were taken and used, but never credited to the indigenous as their product. 

The struggles faced by these indigenous persons can all be attributed to one statement made by Frantz Fanon, "the best way to silence a people is by eliminating its culture", which is seen in the lack of documentation of the indigenous persons. However, there is hope for indigenous persons as there is growing education and interest from both within and outside groups which seek interest in the persons, and have seen strides in landownership for the indigenous persons to build model villages.

Photo Taken from the National Library of Trinidad and Tobago