LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The 2021 SSSS Annual Conference will be held in Borikén, land of the Taíno people
(present-day San Juan, Puerto Rico)
HISTORY
After laying the foundation for the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Christopher Columbus returned to the Caribbean in February 1495, taking 1,600 Taíno people by force from Borikén to be enslaved and offering “as many as they shall order” to Ferdinand and Isabella. (Copyright: UCTP Taíno News)
Figure 1: Source: https://gsp.yale.edu/case-studies/colonial-genocides-project/puerto-rico
In 1508, when Juan Ponce de León heard of the gold and other resources of the island, he created the first European settlement in Puerto Rico (Caparra), not far from the modern city of San Juan. The Taíno Chief, Agüeybaná, openly greeted Ponce de León. However, conflicts soon arose as the settlers began tyrannizing the Taíno. Within a year, Ponce de León had oppressed most of the native population and gained control over most of the island. Caparra was eventually abandoned, and the settlement relocated to a coastal islet called Puerto Rico, or “Rich Port”. After a Taíno uprising in 1511, a second settlement, San Germán, was founded on the southwestern part of the island.
In the 1520s, the island took the name of Puerto Rico, and the port became San Juan. Also in 1520, a royal decree that collectively emancipated the remaining Taíno population. Ironically, by this time, the Taíno population was dwindling. Governor Manuel de Lando’s census in 1530 reports the existence of only 1,148 Taíno in Puerto Rico. However, oppressive conditions for the surviving Taíno continued, leading Carlos I (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain) to decree that the natives be as free as any Spaniard. In reality, the declaration of equality did not end the colonial social class system. (Source: https://gsp.yale.edu/case-studies/colonial-genocides-project/puerto-rico)
TODAY
Many histories report that the Taíno have completely vanished after the genocide. However, in 2003, Juan Martínez Cruzado, a geneticist at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, found that at least 61% of Puerto Ricans possess remnants of Taíno DNA. Despite colonization, oppression, and violence, the Taíno have not vanished and are worth celebrating. This will always be their land and we must protect and honor its history. (Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/world/americas/02iht-puerto.4.18336408.html)
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While land acknowledgment is a small part of supporting Indigenous peoples, SSSS hopes this statement will inspire others show solidarity with native communities.
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If you are not able to donate, please amplify the voices of Indigenous people leading movements of change.
