Dominica, West Indies (UCTP Taíno News) –December 9th, 2012 marked another historic day in the annuals of the history of Caribbean Indigenous Peoples as it marked the founding of the Caribbean Amerindian Development Organisation (CADO). The founding board of this Caribbean-based initiative includes well-known members of the Lokono Arawak,Kalinago Carib, and the Taíno Indigenous Nations. The group will focus on various projects to restore and or promote the tangible and intangible Amerindian culture and heritage throughout the islands, and be registered officially as a non-profit in Watikubuli(Dominica), Eastern Caribbean.
A collective statement by CADO noted that “"We are coming together to bring benefits to our peoples as best as we can. Being traditionalists as we all are, 'Development' is understood by us to be that which restores as much of our tangible and intangible heritage as has been lost and ensuring that as much as possible of it is taken into the future in the hearts and minds of the generations yet unborn that will follow us down the red road of our ancestors."
CADO’s founding board highlights gender and regional balance with the following members Shirling Simon-Corrie (Lokono), Damon Corrie (Lokono), Louisette Auguiste(Kalinago), Irvince Auguiste (Kalinago), Migdalia Ma. Pellicier (Taíno), and Roberto Mukaro Borrero (Taíno). From their spiritual perspective, and in their Caribbean traditionalist Amerindian Cosmovision, the 3 tribal nations are of the same maternal umbilical cord/tree of life, with a base/roots in the Lokono South, a middle/solid trunk in the Kalinago center, and top/crown; branches in the Taino North.
Members are all experienced indigenous rights advocates participating throughout the region locally, nationally, and internationally at such forums as the United Nations and the Organization of American States. Justifiably, the CADO motto is "Dedicated to the Preservation and Promotion of Amerindian Cultural Heritage, and the Implementation of Internationally Recognized Rights of Indigenous Peoples"
The groups contends that while it is well known that Caribbean Indigenous Peoples were the first to suffer “historical colonialism's cruel fate,” they are the “least listened to” of all Indigenous Peoples in the Western hemisphere. CADO members also affirm that Amerindians still suffer the effects of present-day neo-colonialism in the Caribbean, which continues to ignore indigenous existence or marginalize contemporary communities and organizations. From the perspective of its founding members, CADO’s regional perspective emphasizes, not only the spirit of resistance to assimilation, but also of the calls for Caribbean Amerindian unity. As such, the founders of CADO plan to move forward as “one blood, one mind, and one spirit.”
As Bob Marley prophesied, “as it was in the beginning, so shall it be in the end.”
