I was really happy to be assigned the Taíno group for unit 6, as I had a close relationship with Puerto Rico and its culture growing up. Grey, Emma and Roberto put together an amazing podcast and blog lecture that was super insightful and felt very personal and authentic.
Admittedly, up until now I had passively accepted the narrative that Taínos and their culture became extinct due to the atrocities of colonization. Even while having family living in Puerto Rico for years, and having visited the island on numerous occasions, it never even crossed my mind that these people must have an existing legacy. You hear the name in Calle 13 lyrics, and you know of their widespread presence in the Caribbean, but the image that always comes to mind is that of a mystical tribe in the 1500s that–ostensibly–never saw the light of the day again. This is a clear example of why accurate representation truly matters, and why I’m really happy that Grey included pictures of their family. Now it seems so clear how ridiculous it is to believe that an entire ethnic group–including their bloodlines and cultural traditions–were obliterated without leaving any kind of legacy.
What I loved the most about the post is how it takes commonplace, Puerto Rican elements that are usually categorized as latino (for instance the sancocho), and traces its origins to the Taíno tradition. In a way, the sharing of these stories and connections through our blog is a form of cultural reclamation. After reading the lecture, I can picture Grey’s Taíno ancestors exclaiming “we’re alive and more resilient than ever,” and for that I feel very proud of my classmates.
I’d like to end my last blog post with a quote back from unit 3, as it seems very relevant to this reflection:
“It is during the long journey that we rearrange our burden.”
I hope everyone stays safe through the journey and arrives at their destination with new knowledge about their burdens.
Hello Daniela,
I really enjoyed reading your post! It is very sweet the way you write about Taíno peoples and how they are still present nowadays despite their narrative of extinction. I believe it is important to acknowledge that some things might not be the same as before, yet it does not mean they do not exist. Taíno peoples still have their descendants in Puerto Rico. Hence, their culture and its people are still part of this world but just more in a hidden kind of way. Things do not need to be overt in order to exist. They can exist and be kept in a more covert ways too. You just have to look a bit deeper to realize they are still around us!
Thank you so much! I love the quote you posted! 🙂
Wow Daniela! This is such a touching post! I wholeheartedly agree with this idea of reclaiming our cultures and resilience.
I grew up in New York with a BIG family, so our culture was vivid for me and I assumed everyone knew about the Taino and their histories. Moving out of New York and not meeting another Boricua for 6 years was a strict reality check about how histories are survived. My history class told me Tainos were dead and cannibals and that Puerto Ricans weren’t even ‘Latinos’. Shocking and obviously hurtful to me during my formative years. Luckily I eventually moved to Florida where Puerto Ricans are abundant! Now I live in Canada and have a different appreciation for Indigenous histories. Over the last 2 years in school, my main goal has been to reconnect with my culture and reclaim the most important part of my identity. This class has definitely helped with that and certainly you can see that with this project. There was no greater gift then to share a nod to my ancestors with my education because essentially its for them.
Thanks again for your words! I look forward to connecting with you soon!
I also didn’t have an idea that the Tainos actually had an existing culture before being assigned to the Tainos project. My fathers side of the family is from Cuba and when I went to the eastern part of the country the locals said that the Tainos don’t exist in Cuba anymore. I mistakenly assumed from this that the Tainos didn’t exist anymore at all, however through the project I have a new perspective in which I am glad about.