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The Caribbean Cultural Department is the newest addition to the Native American Arts Council. Many of our council members are Taino, therefore we felt it was a necessary addition. Our main focus is to help New York’s large population of Caribbean people understand more about their culture.
Some interesting new developments; an article in the San Juan Star stated
DNA genealogists took hair samples from 56 individuals, all coming from
ģindierasī translated to Indian Country otherwise known as the mountains
of Puerto Rico. Genealogists chose individuals based on their Native American
traits e.g. black straight hair, high cheekbones, etc. They were tracing
mitochondria in which they found that 39 of those individuals tested positive
for Native American DNA. The studies control consisted of 39 random individuals
of Puerto Rico where more than half revealed Native American DNA. The results
of the test suggest that Taino inheritance is greater than that of any other
ethnicity on the island. Further studies have revealed that a total of 63
Taino students, labeled ģPorto Rican Indiansī, appeared on the rolls of
the United Stated Indian School located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The Taino
students attended the school within the years of 1898-1918. Many of these
students were present n one of Geronimoķs last speeches in 1915. Three short
years later, Carlisle Indian School was closed.
We will continue to inform you of further studies or other interesting
developments that affect our Caribbean people. For further information,
you may contact our Caribbean Cultural Department.
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