May 13th, 2012
Project Access
As I reflect on what has transpired in the last twelve
days, I must admit the experience has been surreal. I had the wonderful
opportunity to be part of Tribal Link’s Project Access Global Capacity Building
Program to later participate in the 11th session of the United
Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
There were twenty-eight of us at the training. On that
very first day, as each of us introduced ourselves and spoke about our people
and struggles, I realized that the only thing that minutely sets us apart, is
the shade of our skin and the accents of our languages. The struggles are the
same. I usually call myself “a banana from a different bunch”, considering my
family and culture. I speak about what others think but don’t dare verbalize
for whatever their reasons. Through Project Access, I found myself with other
“bananas from different bunches”! I am not alone! I saw all of us as fragments
of the same spirit, spread throughout the world. Yet, this was only a fractional
glimpse for what I was to see beginning May 7th, 2012.
I have fought the Doctrine of Discovery since I was
eleven years old, unbeknownst to me, when I stood up in my 7th grade
History of Puerto Rico class to state to my teacher that not all Taíno were
dead because my family was alive. Of course at the time I was ridiculed, but
that became a pivotal and iconic moment in my life, and by age seventeen, I
decided to begin my own research and look for the answers to all the
contradictions of what I was being taught. I was doing it for me, never
thinking I’d ever be sharing my findings. All I remembered was the many times
my maternal greatgrandmother whispered to me: “We are indians!” That she called
me, “India”. My greatgrandfather was also one, hence my beautiful grandmother
and my mother.
No one in my beautiful island of Borikén (Puerto Rico),
would shy away from saying that a boricua is the mixture of the Taíno, “The
Spaniard” (big mistake, a more appropriate and accurate statement would be
“European”) and the African. If you happen to fit the stereotype of a Taíno,
there will be no problem in calling you “Taína” or “India”, as was my case, of
course that is as long as you don’t claim to be one! That is when we hear the
colonized mind speak: “All Taíno are extinct!”
My biggest issue is Education. I think we have had
enough with the romanticized versions of a “Discovery” of an entire continent
populated by PEOPLE (not sub-human creatures, heithens, savages). We, as Taíno,
are seldom mentioned in the books used to teach our children, particularly
during the first 13 years of their schooling. We are lucky if we are mentioned
in one paragraph in American schools! The myth of extinction has been engrained
in the minds of our people and we are perceived as “archaelogical artifacts”,
when in fact there are many of us. Some scholars have mocked Oral History and
when Science has proven else, the information has been swept under the rug.
However, when we look at the struggles of the people, for example, in my island
of Borikén, our people are being subjected to all the things that other
Indigenous Peoples from around the world are facing. Multi-million dollar
contracts were signed prior to any announcement to the people, for a gaspipe
that will be approximately 94 miles long going right through the middle of our
island, with total disregard to sacred and archaelogical sites. Flora and Fauna
would be affected, people would be displaced. Promises of great savings and the
propaganda of geological studies done that in reality comprised 1/27th
of the terrain involved, for an island that has a lot of seismic activity and
is less than 100 x 35 miles!
The economic conditions in the island are collapsing.
Incidences of NCD’s (Non-Contagious Diseases) such as Diabetes, CardioVascular,
Obesity and Lung Diseases are rampant, and an enormous amount of amputations.
Domestic Violence seems to be a pandemia.
Our people need to learn the truth. The United Nations
Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, should be presented to them,
particularly, the right of self-determination and Free Prior Informed Consent.
My unique greatgrandmother whispered to me often we were
indians. She just did not know, I would turn out to be “a banana from a
different bunch”, and I would never hush it. I am Taíno and I am here!
Tai Pelli
No comments:
Post a Comment