The Cheveres family are one of the few people in Puerto Rico who are in fact Indigenous (Taino). I’n the 1899-1900 census the cheveres family were classified as indigenous people to Puerto Rico ,even though the myth of extinction was still spreading at this time. The area where the Chéveres live still retains the Taino name (Barahona In Morovis). Along with other areas in that region, are known to still have indigenous names. In the Indiera de Maricao, several inhabitants of that region of Maricao were also classified as indigenous people. The reason we do not say the word “Taino” is because Taino is a fairly new word and identifier that many use today, however our ancestors only identified as Borikwa, Luku, or later on simply “Indio” or indian.

When Canarian people arrived in Humacao Valley in 1722 they encountered descendants of Humacao (a taino chief) and together they officially founded the town of Humacao. Despite the myth of extinction, there were still people being classified as indian in the censuses between 1776 and 1802. While taking a look at the censuses, the majority of people classified as indigenous in Puerto Rico were in fact in the west. They were in the coffee-growing zone of the mountains of San German and Yauco. The 1779 census there was 3,551 indigenous people that were registered within that region. In the 1800 census there were still 3,320 in San German. Indigenous people never disappeared from the island, they only stopped registering as Indians because in 1808 Governor Toribio Montes ordered that they be registered in the census category of “free browns” .

This information is also what inspired a project I was apart of called “I Am Taino”. It was done by me and an ex partner. I was not credited by National Geographic, but my partner at the time did credit me publicly for my contribution as the Fixer for that project. Fixers are also known as the unsung heroes of photo journalism. There would not have been this project without my ties to community, my knowledge on my culture, nor history. Before I had gotten involved with working for publications, she did have connections with different editors from different publications. What sparked the idea for the project was when I brought my partner to the Taino Symposium in New York City. I was frustrated knowing this would get zero media coverage by any big publication (which I was right). We then decided to do a project and pitch it to National Geographic.

What is a Neo-Taino?

This label was coined by Academics who refer to reconnecting Caribbean indigenous people or the Indigenous Caribbean Diaspora. A good example of the Neo- Taino or Taino Restoration Movement would be that it was the equivilant of the Nican Tlaca movement which was a movement of reconnecting indigenous people from Mexico in the United States. Taino on the East Coast of the United States can also be viewed in a similar situation as Samoans where samoans had to figure out if they should fight for recognition so they could support their people. Although they are not from the states many migrated, just like Modern Taino.

What Is The Neo-Taino Problem?

The biggest problem in the Neo-Taino movement or The Taino Restoration Community (also known as the Taino community) is that there are many who ASSUME they are Taino simply being from Puerto Rico. There is a reality that needs to be faced, there are not as many Taino today as many are self proclaiming themselves to be. As someone also involved within this community I have witnessed other Yukayekes or Tribes focus on what you call numbers or population for their yukayeke. I have witnessed even many yukayekes adopt people who are not taino who self proclaim thesleves as such.

Then there is the Puerto Rican problem. There are people who research their family tree and find out their 3rd great grand parents may NOT be from Puerto Rico. Therefor you would not be Indigenous or Taino. Your family would be settlers.

The simplest way to know if you are Taino from Puerto Rico is

• Where your family are from (the west side is genetically proven to be more indigenous)

• If your family specifically tell you that you are Indigenous

• You phenotypically look Indigenous (which some people debate, but as someone Native you can clearly tell).

You have what Boricua means today which is synonymous with the nationality Puerto Rican vs Its original meaning which means to be indigenous the island of Puerto Rico. In actuality not all Puerto Ricans are Boricua. The same way not every American is Navajo, Cherokee, Mohawk, Etc. You also have a drift between Puerto Rican Nationalists who Enter the Taino community and try to use being Taino as synonymous, but indigenous people do not identify as the integrated nations such as Puerto Rican, Peruvian, Mexican, etc. The same way other Natives in the U.S and Canada do not refer to themselves as American or Canadian. Some reconnecting Taino do not understand actual Tribalism or indigeneity although may be indigenous by blood. I have found many people I have personally met involved with the Taino community in the East Coast , that most of them were told by other Native people they were indigenous. However, that’s not every Boricua. You can be Spanish, Portugese, African, Chinese, etc in Puerto Rico. One big drift in Puerto Rico is the average Puerto Rican looks at indigeneity as NOT being mixed. This is far from the truth when you are involved with other Native communities. There are Native people mixed with both white and black yet still identify as solely as Native.

The Myth Of Extinction

On the island there is a drift. Some Puerto Ricans believe there are indigenous people but believe they are extinct because they are mixed. This is a Caribbean nuance. Academics such as Dr. Gabriel Haslip Viera would be one of those academics who lack knowledge on the indigenous identity. His lifes work has been mainly Latino studies, and anyone Indigenous in South America who is traditional would not identify as Hispanic or Latino that’s for one. Most of these academics lack the nuances to understand we have indigenous ways to identify ourselves. For example, Quechuas are not hispanic or latino nor we do refer to our land as “Latin America” nor “Peru” it seems that latinos or hispanics identify our land as such. Hispanics and Latinos (although I am aware of the origins and the true meaning in the U.S they use it incorrectly as synonymous) are simply indigenous people who integrated and assimilated to colonialism. We as indigenous people who resisted do not identify with our colonizers. It’s one thing to read on a people, vs being raised as such while having the nuances. A degree, does not make you knowledgeable on Indigeneity, it simply gives you a Non-Indigenous perspective to what indigeneity is. The reason being is because you are reading a research on a Non Indigenous person tell you what indigeneity is.

Breaking The Biggest Myths About Taino

• Last full blooded Taino was in the 1500’s: To understand how this is impossible and another lie the Spanish exaggerated in their diaries, you would need to understand genetics. Juan Carlos Martinez-Cruzado is the geneticist who took DNA samples from Boricua who concluded 60% of Puerto Ricans are Boricua (Indigenous). There is often a misconception when reading this data, the study doesnt say Puerto Ricans are 60% Taino. It means 60% of Puerto Ricans have from 1-12% Boricua or Taino Dna. However, in his study he did more samples that concluded to people having as high as 35% Boricua or Taino DNA. Well let’s look at a DNA chart.
  

What Cruzado is stating here is he is proving through DNA nobody Taino was extinct, like many like to falsely claim. This is a scientific fact that can not be debatable. If Taino were extinct there would be not one person who would have Taino DNA. In his study he also states the average person came up as 12% however when they used a different method their dna shot up by 35% which comes to the conclusion there are in fact people who’s grandmothers was full blood.

• Taino are African ,Moores or Israelites : This misconception comes from the fact that when Columbus came to the island there were in fact both jews and moores. Not to be confused that Taino were Jews or Moores. People forget that Columbus himself was actually a Portuguese Jew. His ethnicity always confuses people. He was a Portugese Jew born in Italy who conquered under the Spanish crown. Hebrew Israelites, believe the Agueybana stones or Papa Nazario stones are in Hebrew, however if you speak spanish you will hear the archeologist Reniel Rodríguez, when asked about it being Hebrew he says “no pega” meaning it did not match Hebrew. For some reason these people pretend to act like that’s not what was said. I will show the original video by clicking here. We also know through genetic studies where our ancestors come from, so not only does it not match the petroglyph but even genetics debunk that myth.

  
  

• Taino are Mayan: There were Mayans that came from Yucatan and Beliz as slaves but Taino in terms of origin are Not Mayan. It is very different to say there was possibly intermarrying going on vs saying the origin of Taino is mayan. Also we know from recent genetic studies that 6 out of 7 lineages of Taino come from Arawakan tribes and the 7th from the Tongva. This DNA study proves Taino were not Mayan nor mixed with them.
  
  
  

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