Connecticut has officially become the first state in the U.S. to formally recognize the contributions of native Caribbean people, according to the Higuayagua Taíno of the Caribbean tribe.
On the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month, a group of Caribbean Latinos gathered at the Afro-Caribbean Cultural Center in downtown Waterbury to hear a reading of the resolution. They’re Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Cubans who are proud descendants of the Taíno people.
Kasike Kalatauma wore a blue feathered headdress, and his face was painted in lines and dots.
“I have my paint, the red for the blood and the black to honor our ancestors,” he explained.
As Connecticut’s resolution was read to the crowd Wednesday, Kalatauma stood with other members of the Higuayagua Taíno of the Caribbean. On one side, he held the hand of his young daughter, who is in the next generation of the tribe. On the other, he lifted a large conch shell to his lips and blew.
Kalatauma, who now lives in Boston, was born Felipe Rosario in Puerto Rico, or Borikén, but he mostly goes by his Taíno name since reconnecting with those roots in his 20s.
“I grew up with my grandmother [and] my great grandmother, and they used to tell me the trees that they used to make the house,” Kalatauma said. “I got to see how they used to make casabe and everything.”
Casabe is the Taíno flatbread. It’s made with the staple Caribbean root vegetable yuca, or cassava, so is naturally gluten-free — and crunchy.
“But if you asked them if they were indigenous, they would have said no,” he said.
This is a common story for many Puerto Ricans who grew up before modern genetic testing.
Connecticut State Rep. Geraldo Reyes said he didn’t know about his own Taíno lineage until he was in his 40s.
“What I don't want is my children and my grandchildren to have to say the same thing,” he said. “We are proud borinquens. We are proud Taínos. We are definitely proud Boricuas, but it is past time the Taínos got the recognition that they're due.”
Reyes co-sponsored the resolution, which recognizes and aims to preserve the state’s Taino history. It suggests partnerships with cultural organizations, educational initiatives and language revitalization efforts.
Reyes and other bill sponsors will be headed to Texas to tout the move at an upcoming national gathering of Latino legislators.
“We're going to push 17 other states to at least introduce it and see where it goes,” he said.
Meanwhile, Reyes said Massachusetts lawmakers have already filed something similar, and a Rhode Island representative told tribal members he has language in the works.
