Kalinago Chief Charles Williams has highlighted the achievements made by students from the Kalinago Territory in terms of education and has urged them to help define the Kalinago culture.
“We are steadily building the educational capacity of the Kalinago Territory,” he said at the Media launch of the Dominica Country Conference of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus on Monday.
The Conference is carded for the 9th and 10th of August and will be held at the Kalinago Barana Autê under the theme: “Reclaiming Indigenous Heritage to Define Kalinago Destiny.”
He stated that 20 graduates have benefited from the Arthur Lewis Indigenous people award, UWI Cavehill Campus.
“We also have some 16 graduates coming from Cuba, 13 from Venezuela, 4 from the United States of America, 3 from China, 1 from Trinidad and Tobago, other than the Law school students and 1 from Guyana, thereby giving us some 70 plus university graduates in the Kalinago Territory,” Williams revealed.
With that capacity, he called on graduates to think a little less of self and a little more of Kalinago.
“Ask what it is that I can do for my people rather than what my people can do for me,” Williams urged. “Think of the struggles that we have gone through over the last 524 years, think of the blood of our ancestors…ask yourself why was I born in the Kalinago blood life.”
Williams went on to say that too often he has heard, “if I was there, then what would I do?”
“We are here now claiming our indigenous heritage; let’s see how together we can define the Kalinago destiny,” he stated.
He assured all Kalinago graduates that the Kalinago people and the Kalinago Council are very proud of their accomplishments and look forward to greater things happening in the future.
Officer in Charge of the UWI Open Campus Dominica, Kimone Joseph said there is no dought that the Kalinago people have made major contributions on the culture and heritage of Dominica and the region.
“And even so through misinformation and misinterpretation by policy makers, educators and others there is clear evidence of efforts both in the past and now to discredit the Kalinago for their tremendous influence,” she noted.
She explained some aspects of the conference.
“There will be a total of 16 papers in 7 sessions as well as workshops and an exhibition that will form the 2017 Dominica Country Conference at the Kalinago Barana Aute,” she stated.
Joseph said the conference will bring together indigenous leaders, academics, professionals, and students to discuss, “Kalinago sensitive issues, to exchange ideas and to collaborate in building resiliency in indigenous communities.”
Some of the topics to be discussed include Museums and collections in and out of the Caribbean, creative workshops, reparations: creating a stand for indigenous representation among other topics.
This year the United Nations (UN) under the declaration is observing the 10th Anniversary of the declaration of the rights of indigenous people.
The Dominica Country Conference of the Ministry of Kalinago Affairs is in collaboration with the UWI Open Campus and The Leiden University,
Great job Chief for the Great People of the Territory!!
I totally support Chief Charles in all that he is doing for his people.Gwan Chief don’t stop.
Iwould like to say what is the cheif doing since he became cheif – at the moment no meeting no one knows if he is alive and and he was just ask by some about the carib work he said right now i dont care a dam about the carib people , he has a disgrumble councle and not thing is beeing done by him gannet previous chef is doing his work , pls pm please desolve the councle this man has no respect for the people there is to much to be done in the reserve what is he doing
i will soon cont the goverment to get ride of the councle and place a working councle there
Paul Clearly you are out of touch and because you swear alligiance to a political party so that you can get ur bread buttered , others do not have to do the same as you do, the chief is proving to be a man of his own getting projects independently of the political dictorate that is plaging the country, the nonsense that you continues to support, you should tell your political directorate to stop playing politics with the countries resources, not because they looking for a pupet that tchief Williams will never be as ur proposed friend to think he is doing the chiefs job, he is doing the job that you guys want him to do but down goes the dictatorship party and you.
Reparations, ?? My God, when are we gonna move on in 2017. We are no longer in the year 1817. Stop giving today`s Kalinago people false hopes, outdated wishes and get them to see here and now and use the otracities of yesteryear and move on towards investment in education, investments in family, protection of family and children and stop this inward abuse called incest going on in the Carib Territory and other communities in our ailing villages. Go get educated and come back to invest, create jobs and move on, obviously not forgetting the past like we black people of the days of slavery. We got to move on and if our Carib leadership does not see it and stop singng the good old songs and not offering sound qualitatative leadership and guidelines then we remain in the past.
Chief, please us, your people across the river, we have crossed it, now its your turn to take that leap and move with us.
Could you please explain what you mean by, “take the leap and move with us”?
could you please read the article and them make a sensible comment? what you said is just utter rubbish. nothing that your said relates to what was mentioned in the article but the stereotype that you have imprinted in your small brain about the kalinago people.
let me summarize it for you.
they are going to have a conference where they will highlight the achievements made by students from the Kalinago Territory in terms of education and has urge them to help define the Kalinago culture.
he said 16 graduates coming from Cuba, 13 from Venezuela, 4 from the United States of America, 3 from China, 1 from Trinidad and Tobago, other than the Law school students and 1 from Guyana, thereby giving them some 70 plus university graduates in the Kalinago Territory.
the theme for this conference is : “Reclaiming Indigenous Heritage to Define Kalinago Destiny”
WHAT ARE YOU BABBLING ABOUT??????
just that you missed out 20 from the Cave Hill Campus of the U W I .
When chief Williams speaks of reparations that is a thorn in the flesh for the majority of Dominicans, because they know that the country that they are claiming is not theirs but kalinago, the institutions that controls are there to surpress the kalinago, and for reparations to take place it have to start with you cause you people owe kalinago big time.
This is awesome. Great job !