As a Puerto Rican, with a
background that incorporates racial/ethnic/cultural elements of
such widely diverse peoples as the Taino-Arawak
(Native American); Spanish (Castilian, Andalucian, Extremaduran)
and West African (Ibo, Yoruba, Ashante, Fula, Dinka, etc.),
I have observed with intrigue a
fairly recent movement among some Puerto Ricans to rediscover
and reclaim the Taino-Arawak part of our heritage, insisting that
they are "Boricua" only (from "Boriken", the Taino word for the island)
and rejecting association or affiliation with the traditional
Spanish-based
culture of the island.
To fully understand the implications of this it is
important to realize that the consensus among historians is that
the Taino-Arawak inhabitants died out by the 18th century, their
numbers decimated by the Spanish conquest of Puerto Rico
(begun in 1508, the Spanish basically enslaved the Taino, whose
population plummeted due to overwork, European diseases,
and by escaping to neighboring islands still free of Spanish rule)
Some Taino communities remained in the jungle-covered hill country
of the interior, but centuries of intermarriage with Spanish and Africans
further diluted Taino ethnicity/culture. As a matter of fact,
slaves-derived
African culture (Afro-Caribbean) permeates the life of the ordinary
Puerto Rican in a more direct and visible way than any vestigial Taino
influence.
However, Taino-Arawak are idealized as the "First Puerto Ricans"
peaceful farmers, and traders who cared for the environment and
lived in an Eden-like tropical paradise. The modern-day
Puerto Ricans who identify themselves as Tainos have formed two
major organizations: The "Taino Nation of the Antilles"/"Taino
Uara-A Bauaken", with based in New York; and the "Taino tribal
Council of the US", based in Milville, NJ. Both organizations
have chapters in other major US cities and in Puerto Rico, as well
as contacts with similar groups in Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.
The individuals who belong to these Taino organizations tend to
be of the middle or upper-middle class, with better than average
education, and range from serious scholars of the Taino-Arawak
people,to 2nd or 3rd generation Puerto Ricans living in the
US who want to learn more about their heritage.
The rise of this 'Taino consciousness' coincides with the increased
visibility, influence and militancy of Native American peoples in
all parts of Latin America, a trend that gained strength during
the late 1980's and that include militants groups like the
"Zapatistas" of Chiapas.
However, the renewed interest in their Native American roots among
"Hispanics/Latinos" in the US is not new. The Chicano movement
of the 1960's also exalted the Native American roots of Mexican
Americans, but at the same time it recognized their 'mestizo' or
mixed-raced (Spanish-Indian) heritage. Now, the "Indianess" of the
Chicano ( Xicano) is stressed over the Spanish/European. A recent
article by syndicated writer Robert Rodriguez makes this same point.
This can be seen as a response to the anti-immigrant sentiment in the US
because claiming "Indian" heritage allows Chicanos to emphasize
that their presence in what is now the US predates that of European-
descended Americans. Also, Native Americans are seen by White
Americans on a somewhat more positive stereotype than Latinos or
Blacks (care for the environment, the "noble savage" as depicted in
movies like "Dances With Wolves", etc..)
I do believe that among many Latinos in the US the rediscovery of our
Native American roots will prove to be one of the ways to create
a new identity that does not rely on European (Spanish) culture
as the unifying factor. Also, the possibility of political alliances
between Native Americans and Latinos (specially in localities
where Indians have newly-acquired economic wealth but lack
the numbers to be an effective voting block) will be something
to watch in the near future.
Francisco J. Gonzalez