Carib Territory
Encyclopedia
The Carib Territory or Carib Reserve is a 3700 acres (15 km²) district in the Caribbean island-nation of Dominica
. It was established for the descendants of the indigenous Carib people, also known as the Kalinago, who inhabited Dominica prior to European colonization and settlement.
The Carib Territory was officially formed by British colonial authorities in 1903, in a remote and mountainous area of Dominica's Atlantic coast. Its population remained largely isolated from the rest of the island throughout most of the 20th century, with only a ceremonial chief and no other formal self-governance. An incident later known as "the Carib War" escalated from a brief skirmish in the Territory in 1930, when law enforcement attempted to crack down on smuggling, to a political controversy ending with the abolition of the post of chief. The Chief was reinstated in 1952, and formalized local government was instituted the same year as part of an island-wide system. The Carib Reserve Act, enacted the year of Dominica's independence in 1978, reaffirmed the Carib Territory's boundaries, its land management, and institutions of local government. In the last decades of the 20th century, modern utilities and infrastructure were finally introduced to the Carib Territory, which also established contacts with foreign governments and other indigenous peoples in the region.
The present population of the Carib Territory is estimated around 3,000 Caribs. Legal residents share communal ownership
of all land within the Territory. The Carib Territory has limited local government in the institutions of the Carib Council, and its head the Carib Chief, which are the equivalent in power of village councils and council chairpersons elsewhere in Dominica. The administrative centre is in Salybia
, the largest of eight hamlets in the Carib Territory.
A modern movement in the Carib Territory has supported the rediscovery and preservation of Carib culture. This has been fueled in part by Dominica's tourist industry. A model Carib village was established in the Territory in 2006. Cultural preservation groups stage performances at the model village and other locations, and practice traditional Carib crafts, such as making baskets and pottery, that are sold to tourists as souvenirs.
, on the east coast, were set aside by British colonial authorities as part of the surveying of the island and its division into lots. A legend arose that this land was set aside by the request of Queen Charlotte
, the wife of George III
; from this another legend spread, and persisted among some Carib to the present, that Charlotte had set aside half of Dominica for the Carib people. Later colonial officials were unable to locate any record of a title deed for the 232 acre (0.93887152 km²), however. European settlers continued attempts to turn the Carib lands into plantations through the end of the 18th century, but the Caribs successfully held out, often with the assistance of runaway slaves.
In 1902, Henry Hesketh Bell
, the Administrator of Dominica, sent a lengthy report to the Colonial Office
on the state of the Carib people after he had visited its communities. He proposed that 3,700 acres (roughly 2% of Dominica's area) be set aside for the Caribs, and that a Carib "chief" be officially recognized and given a token annual allowance of 6 pounds. Bell's proposals were adopted in 1903, formally establishing the Carib Reserve. Its boundaries were announced in the Official Gazette of Dominica on 4 July, 1903. The Carib Chief was subsequently endowed with a silver-headed staff, and a ceremonial sash embroidered with "The Chief of the Caribs" in gothic lettering. At the time the Carib Reserve was established, the Carib population of around 400 was extremely isolated from the rest of Dominica, but the community appreciated the token symbols.
. The colonial Administrator decided to crack down on this smuggling due to its impact on revenues, and in 1930, five armed policemen entered the Territory to seize smuggled goods and to arrest suspects. When the police tried to seize a quantity of rum and tobacco and to take away suspects in Salybia, a crowd gathered in response and hurled stones and bottles. The police fired into the crowd, injuring four, of whom two later died. The police were beaten but managed to escape to Marigot
, without having seized prisoners or contraband. The Administrator responded by summoning the frigate HMS Delhi
to the coast, which fired star shells into the air and displayed searchlights along the shore; the Caribs ran in fear from this display of force and hid in the woods. Marines landed to aid local police in the search for the perpetrators of the disturbance. Accurate news of the incident was difficult to come by, and rumors instead spread throughout the island of a Carib uprising. The Times
incorrectly reported that Caribs had looted and rioted in the capital, Roseau
. The incident is still hyperbolically known as "The Carib War."
Carib Chief Jolly John subsequently surrendered to authorities in Roseau and was charged, with five other Caribs, with wounding the police officers and theft, though the prosecution fell apart by the following year. A commission of inquiry was appointed in 1931 by the Governor of the Leeward Islands to investigate the 1930 incident and the situation of the Caribs generally. The final report found fault on all sides. As a consequence for the Caribs, the position of Chief was eliminated, the staff and sash were confiscated, and the former chief was forbidden to call himself "king."
The Carib Reserve Act was enacted in 1978, the year of Dominican independence. It reaffirmed the boundaries set in 1903, and legally established common ownership of land within the Carib Reserve. A broader consequence of the Act was a renewed interest in the distinctiveness of Carib identity and in Carib culture. Though under the Carib Reserve Act, the area's official name is the Carib Reserve, the Carib people themselves, however, prefer the name Carib Territory, and that name is now in more popular use. Considering the word "reserve" a relic of colonialism and exploitation, Carib Territory residents have urged the Dominica House of Assembly to officially change the name.
The communities of the Carib Territory remained isolated into the late 20th century. A motorable road was not laid through the Territory until 1970; telephone service and electricity were established in the 1980s. The Carib Territory was one of the last areas of Dominica to receive electricity, which began to be installed in 1986. By 1990, 55% of Carib households still did not have access to electricity, and 85% of households did not live within 5 minutes of their nearest water supply. The Carib people have remained possibly the poorest segment of the population of Dominican, which is in turn one of the poorest countries of the Lesser Antilles
.
In the 1980s, the Carib Territory began to receive material, financial and ideological support from foreign governments, including the United States
, Canada
, and Great Britain
. The Territory's leaders also reached out to other indigenous populations in the region, organizing a conference held in Saint Vincent
; the Caribbean Organization of Indigenous Peoples was subsequently formed. Successive Carib Chiefs also worked with the United Nations
Working Group on Indigenous Populations
.
Most of the territory is uninhabited. Though the Carib Territory adjoins Dominica's east coast, due to its rugged topography it only has two access points to the Atlantic Ocean
, both of which are difficult landings. The land is mostly of poor quality, with the worst soil erosion on Dominica, and deforestation that has destroyed many streams in the Territory.
The Carib Council and police station are located in the hamlet of Salybia
, the administrative center of the Carib Territory. There are seven other hamlets in the Carib Territory: Bataca, Crayfish River
, St Cyr, Gaulette River, Mahaut River
, Sinekou and Touna Aute. Aside from small shops selling Carib crafts, these settlements, and the small farms surrounding them, do not differ significantly from the rest of Dominica.
Residents of the Carib Territory are among the poorest in Dominica. Territory residents are less educated, and have fewer work opportunities than other segments of the island's population.
The Kalinago are also represented in the House of Assembly of Dominica
as part of the Salybia constituency. Though its Representative has more power in practice, the Carib Chief is utilized more as a spokesperson for the Territory.
As established by Article 25(1) of the Carib Reserve Act, all land within the Carib Territory is under the "sole custody, management and control" of the Carib Council and Chief. No individuals can buy or sell parcels of land or encumber
it as collateral. Carib residents instead have usufruct
rights: they can claim vacant, unused land to work and build a home upon, subject to approval by the Carib Council. Land left untended for more than a year is considered vacant and may be claimed. Soil erosion and deforestation have been attributed to this common ownership, as the land is intensively used by a rapid succession of tenants.
Because of the usufruct rights over the communally-held land, legal residency in the Territory is a significant issue. Under Article 51 of the Carib Reserve Act, an individual becomes a legal resident and member of the Carib Territory community by birth; if at least one parent is Carib; or after 12 years of lawful residency within the Territory. The latter criteria has been a target of criticism from the Carib people, who view it as a means by which non-Caribs may appropriate their land.
and cultural tourism
. The Territory and its residents receive very little revenue from tourism, however; there is no entry fee for visitors or any site management fees charged for nature activities, and most visitors stay and arrange their travel from outside the Territory. Images of the Carib Territory and its people have also been used to promote tourism to Dominica as a whole, rather than the Carib Territory specifically.
Carib arts and crafts are widely sold in the Territory, and elsewhere in Dominica, as souvenirs. Chief among these is the larouma reed basket, which is handmade in brown, white, and black traditional designs; this craft has been noted as one of the few enduring aspects of traditional Carib culture.
The Kalinago Barana Auté, a representation of a pre-Columbian
Carib village, is located in the hamlet of Crayfish River. In the Carib language
, the name translates to "Kalinago cultural village by the sea." It opened in April 2006, with funding from the Dominican government. The village was based on a concept of Faustulus Frederick, who served as Carib Chief from 1975 to 1978. Its goal is to recreate and promote awareness of Carib traditions and culture. Its central feature is a karbet, a kind of large hut that used to be located in the center of a Carib village. The karbet is used to stage presentations of Carib culture, such as dance performances. Other traditional cultural demonstrations at the Kalinago Barana Auté include pottery making, cassava
processing, and basket weaving.
Numerous organizations seek to preserve, teach, and promote Carib culture. Among these are the Karifuna Cultural Group and Carina Cultural Group, which stage music and dance performances for tourists at the Kalinago Barana Auté and a small stage in Bataca. The Karifuna Cultural Group has traveled throughout the Caribbean, as well as South America and Europe, promoting Carib cultural heritage. The Carina Cultural Group has also established ties with Amerindian groups in South America. The Waitukubuli Karifuna Development Committee has built several traditional buildings in Salybia
. Among these is the church of St. Marie of the Caribs, which is decorated with murals depicting Carib history, and has a Carib canoe for an altar.
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
. It was established for the descendants of the indigenous Carib people, also known as the Kalinago, who inhabited Dominica prior to European colonization and settlement.
The Carib Territory was officially formed by British colonial authorities in 1903, in a remote and mountainous area of Dominica's Atlantic coast. Its population remained largely isolated from the rest of the island throughout most of the 20th century, with only a ceremonial chief and no other formal self-governance. An incident later known as "the Carib War" escalated from a brief skirmish in the Territory in 1930, when law enforcement attempted to crack down on smuggling, to a political controversy ending with the abolition of the post of chief. The Chief was reinstated in 1952, and formalized local government was instituted the same year as part of an island-wide system. The Carib Reserve Act, enacted the year of Dominica's independence in 1978, reaffirmed the Carib Territory's boundaries, its land management, and institutions of local government. In the last decades of the 20th century, modern utilities and infrastructure were finally introduced to the Carib Territory, which also established contacts with foreign governments and other indigenous peoples in the region.
The present population of the Carib Territory is estimated around 3,000 Caribs. Legal residents share communal ownership
Public property
Public property is property, which is dedicated to the use of the public. It is a subset of state property. The term may be used either to describe the use to which the property is put, or to describe the character of its ownership...
of all land within the Territory. The Carib Territory has limited local government in the institutions of the Carib Council, and its head the Carib Chief, which are the equivalent in power of village councils and council chairpersons elsewhere in Dominica. The administrative centre is in Salybia
Salybia
Salybia or Salibia is a hamlet on the east coast of Dominica in Saint David Parish. It is located to the south of Pagua Bay and north of the town of Castle Bruce...
, the largest of eight hamlets in the Carib Territory.
A modern movement in the Carib Territory has supported the rediscovery and preservation of Carib culture. This has been fueled in part by Dominica's tourist industry. A model Carib village was established in the Territory in 2006. Cultural preservation groups stage performances at the model village and other locations, and practice traditional Carib crafts, such as making baskets and pottery, that are sold to tourists as souvenirs.
Establishment of the Carib Reserve
Dominica is the only Eastern Caribbean island that still has a population of pre-Columbian native Caribs, who were exterminated or driven from neighbouring islands. The Caribs on Dominica fought against the Spanish and later European settlers for two centuries. Over time, however, their population declined and they were forced into remote regions of the island as European settlers and imported African slaves grew in number on the island. The first reservation of land for the Carib people occurred in 1763, when 232 acre (0.93887152 km²) of mountainous land and rocky shoreline around SalybiaSalybia
Salybia or Salibia is a hamlet on the east coast of Dominica in Saint David Parish. It is located to the south of Pagua Bay and north of the town of Castle Bruce...
, on the east coast, were set aside by British colonial authorities as part of the surveying of the island and its division into lots. A legend arose that this land was set aside by the request of Queen Charlotte
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the Queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King George III...
, the wife of George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
; from this another legend spread, and persisted among some Carib to the present, that Charlotte had set aside half of Dominica for the Carib people. Later colonial officials were unable to locate any record of a title deed for the 232 acre (0.93887152 km²), however. European settlers continued attempts to turn the Carib lands into plantations through the end of the 18th century, but the Caribs successfully held out, often with the assistance of runaway slaves.
In 1902, Henry Hesketh Bell
Henry Hesketh Bell
Sir Henry Hesketh Joudou Bell GCMG was a British colonial administrator and author.He began his career in the colonial service in the Bahamas with a minor position but was promoted to Administrator of Dominica within a few years...
, the Administrator of Dominica, sent a lengthy report to the Colonial Office
Colonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
on the state of the Carib people after he had visited its communities. He proposed that 3,700 acres (roughly 2% of Dominica's area) be set aside for the Caribs, and that a Carib "chief" be officially recognized and given a token annual allowance of 6 pounds. Bell's proposals were adopted in 1903, formally establishing the Carib Reserve. Its boundaries were announced in the Official Gazette of Dominica on 4 July, 1903. The Carib Chief was subsequently endowed with a silver-headed staff, and a ceremonial sash embroidered with "The Chief of the Caribs" in gothic lettering. At the time the Carib Reserve was established, the Carib population of around 400 was extremely isolated from the rest of Dominica, but the community appreciated the token symbols.
"The Carib War"
The population of the Carib Reserve remained disconnected from the rest of Dominica, seldom seen and largely self-sustaining apart from some limited illegal trade with the neighboring French islands of Marie Galante and MartiniqueMartinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
. The colonial Administrator decided to crack down on this smuggling due to its impact on revenues, and in 1930, five armed policemen entered the Territory to seize smuggled goods and to arrest suspects. When the police tried to seize a quantity of rum and tobacco and to take away suspects in Salybia, a crowd gathered in response and hurled stones and bottles. The police fired into the crowd, injuring four, of whom two later died. The police were beaten but managed to escape to Marigot
Marigot
The French name Marigot is given to several places in the Caribbean:*Marigot, Dominica, a village in Dominica*Marigot, Saint Martin, the largest settlement on the French side of Saint Martin *Marigot, Saint Barthélemy*Marigot Bay, Saint Lucia...
, without having seized prisoners or contraband. The Administrator responded by summoning the frigate HMS Delhi
HMS Delhi (D47)
HMS Delhi was a Danae class cruiser that served with the Royal Navy in the Baltic and in World War II. She was laid down in 1917 and scrapped in 1948 after war service in the Atlantic and Mediterranean....
to the coast, which fired star shells into the air and displayed searchlights along the shore; the Caribs ran in fear from this display of force and hid in the woods. Marines landed to aid local police in the search for the perpetrators of the disturbance. Accurate news of the incident was difficult to come by, and rumors instead spread throughout the island of a Carib uprising. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
incorrectly reported that Caribs had looted and rioted in the capital, Roseau
Roseau
-Architecture:The central district of Roseau is tightly packed with small and large houses and even larger modern concrete structures. There is little green or open space situated within the city, and this is even more so today, as many of the courtyards which was once commonplace within the city...
. The incident is still hyperbolically known as "The Carib War."
Carib Chief Jolly John subsequently surrendered to authorities in Roseau and was charged, with five other Caribs, with wounding the police officers and theft, though the prosecution fell apart by the following year. A commission of inquiry was appointed in 1931 by the Governor of the Leeward Islands to investigate the 1930 incident and the situation of the Caribs generally. The final report found fault on all sides. As a consequence for the Caribs, the position of Chief was eliminated, the staff and sash were confiscated, and the former chief was forbidden to call himself "king."
Local government and modern developments
The Administrator did not relent to Carib petitions for the restoration of the position of Chief until June 1952, when he personally conducted an investiture ceremony and presented the new chief with the staff and sash. Later that year, the Carib Council was created as part of a system of local government for the whole island.The Carib Reserve Act was enacted in 1978, the year of Dominican independence. It reaffirmed the boundaries set in 1903, and legally established common ownership of land within the Carib Reserve. A broader consequence of the Act was a renewed interest in the distinctiveness of Carib identity and in Carib culture. Though under the Carib Reserve Act, the area's official name is the Carib Reserve, the Carib people themselves, however, prefer the name Carib Territory, and that name is now in more popular use. Considering the word "reserve" a relic of colonialism and exploitation, Carib Territory residents have urged the Dominica House of Assembly to officially change the name.
The communities of the Carib Territory remained isolated into the late 20th century. A motorable road was not laid through the Territory until 1970; telephone service and electricity were established in the 1980s. The Carib Territory was one of the last areas of Dominica to receive electricity, which began to be installed in 1986. By 1990, 55% of Carib households still did not have access to electricity, and 85% of households did not live within 5 minutes of their nearest water supply. The Carib people have remained possibly the poorest segment of the population of Dominican, which is in turn one of the poorest countries of the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
.
In the 1980s, the Carib Territory began to receive material, financial and ideological support from foreign governments, including the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. The Territory's leaders also reached out to other indigenous populations in the region, organizing a conference held in Saint Vincent
Saint Vincent (island)
Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains...
; the Caribbean Organization of Indigenous Peoples was subsequently formed. Successive Carib Chiefs also worked with the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Working Group on Indigenous Populations
Working Group on Indigenous Populations
The Working Group on Indigenous Populations was a subsidiary body within the structure of the United Nations. It was established in 1982, and was one of the six working groups overseen by the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, the main subsidiary body of the United...
.
Geography
The Carib Territory is located in the northeast of Dominica, on the Atlantic (windward) coast. It comprises 3700 acres (15 km²) in Saint David Parish, within boundaries first established by colonial authorities in 1903, and reaffirmed in Articles 41 and 42 of the Carib Reserve Act in 1978. The Dominican government may grant additional lands to the Territory, though it has never done so.Most of the territory is uninhabited. Though the Carib Territory adjoins Dominica's east coast, due to its rugged topography it only has two access points to the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, both of which are difficult landings. The land is mostly of poor quality, with the worst soil erosion on Dominica, and deforestation that has destroyed many streams in the Territory.
The Carib Council and police station are located in the hamlet of Salybia
Salybia
Salybia or Salibia is a hamlet on the east coast of Dominica in Saint David Parish. It is located to the south of Pagua Bay and north of the town of Castle Bruce...
, the administrative center of the Carib Territory. There are seven other hamlets in the Carib Territory: Bataca, Crayfish River
Crayfish River (Dominica)
-References:* * *...
, St Cyr, Gaulette River, Mahaut River
Mahaut River
The Mahaut River is a river in Dominica. It rises on the western slopes of Morne Trois Pitons, flowing west to reach the Caribbean Sea on the country's western coast, close to the town of Massacre....
, Sinekou and Touna Aute. Aside from small shops selling Carib crafts, these settlements, and the small farms surrounding them, do not differ significantly from the rest of Dominica.
Demographics
The Carib Territory has an estimated population of around 3,000, which makes it the largest settlement of indigenous people in the Caribbean. The population of the Carib Territory was only around 400 at the time of its formation in 1903. This has grown over time, both in absolute numbers and in proportion to the total population of Dominica. In 1970, the population of the Carib Territory was 1.6% of Dominica's total population. As of the 1991 government census, this had increased to 3.5%, with the population of the Carib Territory (including the nearby non-Carib village, Atkinson) counted at 2,518 people; this increase was reflected in a large proportion of young adults and children.Residents of the Carib Territory are among the poorest in Dominica. Territory residents are less educated, and have fewer work opportunities than other segments of the island's population.
Government and land management
The Carib Council comprises five members and the presiding Carib Chief. Popular elections are held every five years. Notwithstanding the different titles, these institutions have the same powers and responsibilities as other village councils in Dominica, with the Carib Chief equal to a village council chairman.The Kalinago are also represented in the House of Assembly of Dominica
House of Assembly of Dominica
The House of Assembly is the legislature of Dominica. It is established by Chapter III of the Constitution of Dominica, and together with the President of Dominica constitutes Dominica's Parliament. The House is unicameral, and consists of twenty-one Representatives, nine Senators, and an...
as part of the Salybia constituency. Though its Representative has more power in practice, the Carib Chief is utilized more as a spokesperson for the Territory.
As established by Article 25(1) of the Carib Reserve Act, all land within the Carib Territory is under the "sole custody, management and control" of the Carib Council and Chief. No individuals can buy or sell parcels of land or encumber
Encumbrance
Encumbrance is legal technical terminology for anything that affects or limits the title of a property, such as mortgages, leases, easements, liens, or restrictions. Also, those considered as potentially making the title defeasible are encumbrances...
it as collateral. Carib residents instead have usufruct
Usufruct
Usufruct is the legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that either belongs to another person or which is under common ownership, as long as the property is not damaged or destroyed...
rights: they can claim vacant, unused land to work and build a home upon, subject to approval by the Carib Council. Land left untended for more than a year is considered vacant and may be claimed. Soil erosion and deforestation have been attributed to this common ownership, as the land is intensively used by a rapid succession of tenants.
Because of the usufruct rights over the communally-held land, legal residency in the Territory is a significant issue. Under Article 51 of the Carib Reserve Act, an individual becomes a legal resident and member of the Carib Territory community by birth; if at least one parent is Carib; or after 12 years of lawful residency within the Territory. The latter criteria has been a target of criticism from the Carib people, who view it as a means by which non-Caribs may appropriate their land.
Culture and tourism
Beginning in the late 20th century, the people of the Carib Territory have had a renewed interest in Carib culture and identity. This has been motivated in part by the tourism industry in Dominica, in the forms of both ecotourismEcotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
and cultural tourism
Cultural tourism
Cultural tourism is the subset of tourism concerned with a country or region's culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those peoples, their art, architecture, religion, and other elements that helped shape their way of life...
. The Territory and its residents receive very little revenue from tourism, however; there is no entry fee for visitors or any site management fees charged for nature activities, and most visitors stay and arrange their travel from outside the Territory. Images of the Carib Territory and its people have also been used to promote tourism to Dominica as a whole, rather than the Carib Territory specifically.
Carib arts and crafts are widely sold in the Territory, and elsewhere in Dominica, as souvenirs. Chief among these is the larouma reed basket, which is handmade in brown, white, and black traditional designs; this craft has been noted as one of the few enduring aspects of traditional Carib culture.
The Kalinago Barana Auté, a representation of a pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Carib village, is located in the hamlet of Crayfish River. In the Carib language
Carib language
Carib, also known as Caribe, Cariña, Galibi, Galibí, Kali'na, Kalihna, Kalinya, Galibi Carib, Maraworno and Marworno, is an Amerindian language in the Cariban language family....
, the name translates to "Kalinago cultural village by the sea." It opened in April 2006, with funding from the Dominican government. The village was based on a concept of Faustulus Frederick, who served as Carib Chief from 1975 to 1978. Its goal is to recreate and promote awareness of Carib traditions and culture. Its central feature is a karbet, a kind of large hut that used to be located in the center of a Carib village. The karbet is used to stage presentations of Carib culture, such as dance performances. Other traditional cultural demonstrations at the Kalinago Barana Auté include pottery making, cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
processing, and basket weaving.
Numerous organizations seek to preserve, teach, and promote Carib culture. Among these are the Karifuna Cultural Group and Carina Cultural Group, which stage music and dance performances for tourists at the Kalinago Barana Auté and a small stage in Bataca. The Karifuna Cultural Group has traveled throughout the Caribbean, as well as South America and Europe, promoting Carib cultural heritage. The Carina Cultural Group has also established ties with Amerindian groups in South America. The Waitukubuli Karifuna Development Committee has built several traditional buildings in Salybia
Salybia
Salybia or Salibia is a hamlet on the east coast of Dominica in Saint David Parish. It is located to the south of Pagua Bay and north of the town of Castle Bruce...
. Among these is the church of St. Marie of the Caribs, which is decorated with murals depicting Carib history, and has a Carib canoe for an altar.
See also
- Chief of the Carib TerritoryChief of the Carib TerritoryThe Chief of the Carib Territory presides over the Carib Council, the local government of the Carib Territory The position is the equivalent of a village council chairperson elsewhere in Dominica...
- Indigenous movements in the AmericasIndigenous Movements in the AmericasIndigenous people under the nation-state have experienced exclusion and dispossession. With the rise in globalization, the conditions indigenous populations live under have worsened. At times, national governments are negotiating natural resources without taking into account whether or not these...
- Indian reservationIndian reservationAn American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
- Indian reserveIndian reserveIn Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...