Entry Questions
What things do you know about the Lenape and the Arawak (Taíno) indigenous groups? What cosmovisions do they have in common? To what extent does colonization in the Caribbean and what is now the US resemble?
Writing Exercise
Interpreting the significance of “The Golden Flower” myth, what type of relationship did the Arawak (Taíno) peoples have with their ecosystem? What spiritual beliefs can we distill from the myth?
“Boriken’s First Peoples”
Dr. Jorell Meléndez Badillo is a historian of Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and Latin America. His work focuses on the global circulation of radical ideas from the standpoint of working-class intellectual communities.
Puerto Rico: A National History (2024) introduces Puerto Rico, its history, and the contemporary political moment. It is a national history of a country without a nation-state. It tells how Puerto Rico has been colonized for more than five centuries. However, it also documents how the people have resisted colonial domination. Ultimately, the book provides readers with an informed argument of how and why Puerto Rico arrived at its current juncture and how Puerto Ricans imagine possible futures in the face of austerity, failing infrastructures, and the rubble left behind by colonial neglect.
Initial Questions
According to Meléndez Badillo, what are some challenges in assessing and understanding Arawak (Taíno) culture in Puerto Rico and the Antilles?
What description do we have of the social, political, and economic structures of Arawak (Taíno) societies in the Caribbean before European contact? How did these structures influence their initial responses to European arrival?
Presentation(s):
Discussion Questions in Groups
In what ways did the Taíno resist European conquest through direct confrontation and more subtle forms of resistance? How effective were these methods in preserving their culture and autonomy?
What role did Taíno leaders (caciques) play in organizing resistance against the European colonizers?
How did the introduction of European diseases and weapons impact the ability of Taíno societies to resist colonization? In what ways did these external factors shape the outcome of their resistance efforts?
Arawak Survival
According to the video, in which ways has the native Arawak (Taíno) legacy perdured in Puerto Rico?
How did Taíno spiritual beliefs and practices influence their resistance to European domination? To what extent did these cultural and religious elements help sustain the Taíno identity and resilience in the face of colonization?