The Guainía Taíno Tribe (

Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...

: iukaieke Guainía) is an Indigenous

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

community based in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...

, composed of the Guainía Taíno Tribe of Borikén and the Guainía Taíno Tribe of the US Virgin Islands. In the US Virgin Islands, they were formally acknowledged as an Indigenous American tribe by Governor

Albert Bryan Jr. Albert Bryan Jr. (born February 21, 1968) is an American politician and businessman, serving as the ninth governor of the United States Virgin Islands since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as C ...

, and their contributions to preserving the territory's Indigenous history, educational research, and heritage restoration have also been recognized.

Etymology

The name Guainía comes from the name of the largest Taíno territory on Borikén (

). It covered the southern coastal area of Puerto Rico and into the interior of the island prior to the arrival of

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

. The word ''iukaieke'' means village.

Culture

The leader ( kasike) of the Guainía territory was an important Indigenous leader on the island and a skillful orator in the

pre-Columbian era In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

. As of 2022, the kasike of the Guainía in the US Virgin Islands is Maekiaphan Phillips, while the kasike of the Guainía in Puerto Rico is Roberto "Múkaro Agueibaná" Borrero. The two kasike maintain a dual citizenship pact, with Nitaíno Councils assisting both leaders in their respective affairs. ''Iukaieke Guainía'' has also established a separate non-profit in Puerto Rico to assist them in furthering "community development". According to the Guainía Taíno Tribe, Guainía was the historic

Arawakan language Arawakan (''Arahuacan, Maipuran Arawakan, "mainstream" Arawakan, Arawakan proper''), also known as Maipurean (also ''Maipuran, Maipureano, Maipúre''), is a language family that developed among ancient Indigenous peoples in South America. Branch ...

of the Guainía Taíno which extended across the Caribbean islands and into South America.

Recognition

Taíno communities in US territories have previously struggled to obtain

federal recognition This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States.

as a tribe, in part because of their

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

status. Guainía activists have also cited notions of

blood quantum Blood quantum laws or Indian blood laws are laws that define Native Americans in the United States status by fractions of Native American ancestry. These laws were enacted by the Federal government of the United States, federal government and S ...

and

paper genocide Paper genocide is the systemic removal of a group of people from historical records, such as censuses, which gives the impression that that group has disappeared or become extinct. A 2023 article published by Cultural Survival defines the term as ...

as reasons, concepts that have promoted an extinction narrative due to the legacy of colonialism in the Caribbean. The Guainía Taíno Tribe nevertheless assert the right to

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

as descendants of the broader

people. They and other Taíno groups in non-sovereign

U.S. territories Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions and dependent territories overseen by the federal government of the United States. The American territories differ from the U.S. states and Indian reservations in th ...

are represented on the

International Indian Treaty Council The International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) is an organization of Indigenous Peoples from North, Central, South America, the Caribbean and the Pacific working for the Sovereignty and Self-Determination of Indigenous Peoples and the recognition ...

under the

United Confederation of Taíno People The United Confederation of Taíno People (UCTP) is an organization based in New York and Puerto Rico, dedicated to the self-determination of people of Taíno and other Caribbean Indigenous descent, as well as the preservation and revival of Taí ...

. The IITC and UCTP has campaigned nationally and at the United Nations for the United States to recognize such groups. After a 10 year campaign, the tribe was finally recognized by Governor Albert Bryan of the US Virgin Islands as an "indigenous American Indian Tribe of the Virgin Islands" on 28 June 2021, which granted them the ability to “establish eligibility for federal health benefits, federal education benefits, housing benefits, job training, land use, and the right to engage in traditional religious practices and ceremonies“. He later honored their kasike's campaign for recognition during an observance of

Indigenous People's Day Indigenous Peoples' Day is a holiday in the United States that celebrates and honors Indigenous American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. It is celebrated across the United States on the second Monday in October, and is an ...

in the territory. In 2022, the tribe was contacted for consultation by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

of the

US Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relating t ...

on a project involving the exchange of land. The tribe also cooperated with the Virgin Islands Children's Museum to create a replica Taíno bohío (house) in the museum to "bolster cultural survival and educate visitors about ancestral Taíno life." In 2024 on August 9th, the tribe's continuing contributions to the preservation of Indigenous history and culture in the Virgin Islands was once again acknowledged by the Governor in observance of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People.

Affiliation

Tribal affiliation is open to Taíno Tribal Nation members and persons of

Arawak The Arawak are a group of Indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. The term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to different Indigenous groups, from the Lokono of South America to the Taíno (Island Arawaks), w ...

and Island Carib (

Kalinago The Kalinago, also called Island Caribs or simply Caribs, are an Indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. They may have been related to the Mainland Caribs (Kalina) of South America, but they spoke an unrelated language know ...

) ancestry. The tribe is a member of the

Membership

Phillips has stated that the first requirement of enrollment involves genealogical research. However, she also noted that an individual's "percentage of Taino DNA" is not important, as "some people only have oral stories." She has expressed interest in those who share descent with her through her maternal great-grandmother Francisca, and estimated as many as 81 families are related.

References