Joseph Palacio (born 1943) is a

Garifuna The Garifuna people ( or ; pl. Garínagu in Garifuna) are a people of mixed free African and indigenous American ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian ...

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

an anthropologist. He was the first Belizean Garifuna to complete a doctorate degree in anthropology and is a leading promoter of Garifuna language, history, and culture."Profile of Dr. Joseph Palacio Keynote Speaker, International Garifuna Conference," Searchlight Newspaper, 10 February 2012, https://searchlight.vc/searchlight/features/2012/02/10/profile-of-dr-joseph-palacio-keynote-speaker-international-garifuna-conference/ He also serves as Chairman of the Barranco Village Council, his birth village.

Biography

Joseph Palacio was born in Barranco, the southernmost village in Belize. He attended secondary school in

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, w ...

before continuing his education at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

, the University of Manitoba at Winnipeg and earning a PhD in Anthropology from the

University of California-Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

in 1982. He is married to Myrtle Palacio, a politician and activist - their wedding was in 1968. He served as Belize’s Archaeological Commissioner from 1971 to 1976 where he was instrumental for developing legislation relating to the excavation and preservation of Belizean archeological sites. Palacio then joined the faculty at the University of the West Indies where he taught indigenous history and community development alongside founding the first formal Garifuna language training program. He was a founding member of the Caribbean Organization of Indigenous People’s (COIP). Palacio has written many monographs and academic articles, including a collection of essays titled “The Garifuna: A Nation Across Borders.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palacio, Joseph 1943 births Living people Anthropologists * University of California, Berkeley alumni