BBCCaribbean.com | Fighting for survival?



Fighting for survival?
There are fears within Dominica's indigenous Carib community that their population will be diminished, if they continue to mix with non-Caribs.

This fear has prompted Carib Chief Charles Williams to call for marriage to non-Caribs to be outlawed, in order to preserve their heritage.

The island's 3,000 Caribs live on a 3,700 acre reserve on the north east coast, set aside for them in 1903.

Chief Williams said recently that he does not want their culture to be tainted by the rest of the country's citizens.

Dominican Gregory Rabess, who has close ties to the Carib Territory, told BBC Caribbean that while there's a need to preserve the Carib culture, he does not agree with the call for preserving racial purity.

"You cannot legislate how and who people can have relationships with, that's really out of the question," Mr Rabess said.

Economic development

The Caribs make their living from the banana industry and craft making, however they still struggle economically.

Mr Rabess noted that there needs to be greater focus on their economic development, and that would require further integration into the wider Dominican society.

"Integration of the Caribs in terms moving out of the territory to other parts of Dominica and the region for employment, that's just natural progression of life. You really can't stop that or legislate against it," he said.

However a former Carib chief, Garnet Joseph, does not believe there is enough incentive for Caribs to remain on the territory.

He told BBC Caribbean that at the moment, there is still a negative perception about the Carib population, and he wants more attention to be paid to his people's culture.

"Can we feel proud of ourselves as a Kalinago people, when we're taught in school that we were fierce, warlike?

"What do we have left culturally that can be used to generate income?" he asked.

Land ownership

Another main concern in the Carib community is land ownership.

In the Carib community the land is the possession of the Carib council, however individual families can gain ownership of land after working on it, and then pass it on to their children.

"So there is always the concern that non-Caribs will feel that's an easy way out, marry a Carib, come into the territory and get access to land," Mr Rabess said.

As for the future of the Caribs, Mr Rabess says he thinks they will be known more for their heritage than for their physical features.

"We will continue to boast that we do have a Carib community," he said.

"But that Carib community will not necessarily be defined by how they look, but really what they are in terms of a cultural identity, their history and a community," Mr Rabess said.