about Taínos
January 2, 2006
I am from Quisqueya (a.k.a. Dominican Republic) and have Taíno blood. Taínos have certainly not been eliminated as propagated widely throughout modern history. History books have always claimed that the French and Spanish colonists annihilated the Taíno/Arawak people. Similar myths surround the Mayan and Aztec peoples. All governments have always resisted giving tribal nations any recognition. Why not eliminate whole societies instead? What world leader wants to deal with indigenous people demanding land and equal rights? Despite our enourmous cultural contributions, we learn early on to deny our own existence and blend in with the rest of society as a lost civilization.
When the colonists conquered Ayti (Modern day Haiti/Dominican Republic), they had quickly decimated many of the island’s natives. The colonists knew that the expensive endeavor of bringing african slaves to the island was a difficult selling point. So they exaggerated the reduced number of the Taíno people; and Parliament sent African slaves to preserve their investment.
In 1999, the University of Puerto Rico performed a DNA test on 56 volunteers. Seventy percent were found to have Indo-American DNA. Puerto Ricans call themselves Boricua, based on the Taíno name for the island, Boriken. Cuba, after going through many colonial names settled on an abbreviated form of the original Cubanascnan.
More info will be posted in the coming weeks…
