The Garifuna Heritage Foundation (TGHF) in collaboration with the University of the West Indies Open Campus (UWIOC), presents the 10th International Garifuna Conference from March 9th -11th, 2023 held under the theme, “From Reaction to Action: Challenges and Opportunities for promoting Reparatory Justice for indigenous Peoples”.
March 9th marks a significant day for the Garifuna People. On March 9th 1797 a fleet of ships sailed from St. Vincent to Roatan in Central America which is part of present-day Honduras, carrying 2336 persons who had been kept as prisoners of war on Balliceaux. A total of 2026 survived the journey. This group of persons formed the beginning of the Exile of the Garifuna people in present-day Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and the USA.
In the early sixteenth century, indigenous people exercised sovereignty over all the islands of the Caribbean before the arrival of the Europeans. By the end of the nineteenth century, the vibrant population of indigenous people were practically decimated, their culture, lives and livelihoods were destroyed and the territories over which they once ruled were controlled by colonial empires whose leaders had little or no concern for the survival of indigenous populations.
This historical context illustrates how the indigenous people moved from being in control of their land and sovereignty to the present time when subsequent to the colonial aggression, there is now economic and social vulnerability presently being experienced by these indigenous communities. This Conference will highlight some theoretical ideas which are gaining currency within the Reparations Movement as it seeks to actively promote and struggle for a Reparations Agenda in Caricom and the wider world.
For Indigenous People, this development is buttressed by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). CARICOM has taken notice of the centrality of the issue of Reparations for the historic injustices of slavery and genocide in the Caribbean. Hence, in 2013 CARICOM launched the Caricom Reparations Commissions (CRC) to seek Reparations from European Powers for Slavery and Indigenous Genocide. Since then, the CRC developed a Ten Point Plan which outlines several strategic objectives for its work. As part of its ten-point Plan, the CRC advanced the need for a Proposal for an Indigenous People’s Development Plan for Survivors. To date it does not appear that this has been formulated to any great extent.
The challenge which faces CARICOM and the Indigenous People of the Caribbean is how do we define and utilize the complex theoretical framework of Reparatory Justice in a pragmatic and practical manner to underpin a program of framing an Indigenous People’s Development Plan?
The CARICOM Call for an Indigenous People’s Development Plan provides an Opportunity to remedy not only past failures in relation to colonial policies an action but also that of successive post- Independence administrations. This Conference is an effort to contribute to the dialogue towards the formulation of and Indigenous Peoples Development Plan.
