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Native American Nations in the US Territories (Part XV)

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By Patty Inglish, MS


Chamorro
Chamorro
Arawak and Taino
Arawak and Taino
Chamarro clothing and fire dance.
Chamarro clothing and fire dance.

U.S. Territories/Outlying Areas

Puerto Rico - Arawak Indians. Today, nearly all residents are Hispanic, expcet for a few that are a mix of Hispanic and indigenous peoples (much like the Metis).

Guam - Chamorro, Filipino, Caucasian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and mixes.

U.S. Virgin Islands - Originally peopled by the Carrib Indians now in Tobago and Trinidad..

American Samoa - Proto-polynesians, Samoans.

Northern Mariana Islands - Chamorro.

Midway Islands - No indigenous inhabitants.

Wake Island - None.

Johnston Atoll - None.

Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands - Unknown.

Kingman Reef - None.

Navassa Island - None. Became home to freedaslves after 1857, working to gather fertilzers until they revolted against inhumane workling conditions.

Palmyra Atoll - None.

From iexplore.com
From iexplore.com

Oral Traditions: Creation Legend of Guam

Recorded by Lawrence J. Cunningham in 1992.

Puntan and his sister, Fu'uña, were born of space and had neither a father nor a mother. They existed before the sky and the earth. When it was Puntan's time to die, he instructed his sister to make a place for humans by using his chest and back to make the sun and the moon, and his eyebrows to make the rainbows.

Fu'uña followed the instructions of Puntan and then took the red earth of Guam and mixed it with water. Then she built a great rock called Laso de Fua. This rock divided into many smaller stones. These stones became the first people on earth.

In a volcano (Mt. Sasalaguan) there lived a god named Chaife. He governed the winds, the waves, and fire. He created souls in his blacksmith shop to be his slaves. One day he was busy pounding out another soul into shape. Since he was in a hurry, he put too much wood in his oven. All of a sudden the whole place exploded into a huge eruption. Ash and stones were thrown into the air, and rivers of liquid fire began to pour down the sides of Mt. Sasalaguan. Chaife was angry and he began a search for any souls who might have escaped. He wanted to kill the lost soul.

One of the souls fell to the earth at Fouha Bay on Guam and turned to stone. The rock was near the ocean, and the waves caressed the rock's feet. Over time, the sun shone on the rock, and the rain and wind weathered it and it became a man. The man was so pleased with the beauty of Guam that he took the red earth and mixed it with water. From this clay he made sculptures of humans. Using what he learned from Chaife, he made souls for the statues from the heat of the sun. He named these people the children of the earth.

CUBA & Indigenous Peoples of the Carribean

Cuba's small Native Indigenous population preserve many of the old natural ways, particularly the use of medicinal plants and crop planting systems.

As mountain people, they are keepers of Cuba's oldest musical traditions.The mountain folk culture of Cuba is altogether open and engaging.


Taino Indian Culture

The Taino are a subgrouping within the Ararawak Indian Tribe, indigenous to northeastern South America. However, they have migrated northward to Florida and even as far north as to New Jersey,

The Taino people have inhabited all of the Greater Antilles, which includes

  • Cuba,
  • Jamaica,
  • Haiti,
  • the Dominican Republic, and
  • Puerto Rico.

The Taino constructed there own ball parks to play a ceremonial tribal game that required a rubber ball (rubber came from trees) and was important, even central, to their religious life.

Stone structures around the ballparks looked a little like Stonehenge.

Today, the Tekesta Tribal Band of the Taino is located in Bimini, Florida.

Carrib Church

Samoa: Haka War Dance

Beautiful Samoa


Comments

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Patty Inglish, MS profile image

Patty Inglish, MS  says:
2 years ago

Thanks; I'm glad you like it.

Abhinaya  says:
2 years ago

Patty I am yearning for more information.This is a great series and I would like to have complete information please.I hope you will continue to write without a break in between.

Patty Inglish, MS profile image

Patty Inglish, MS  says:
2 years ago

Yes, I will keep going. I will next write about Mexico.

gabriella05 profile image

gabriella05  says:
2 years ago

I will defiantly want to read the Mexico history.

Another great hub thank you

Patty Inglish, MS profile image

Patty Inglish, MS  says:
2 years ago

Thank you for reading!

luvnlyf profile image

luvnlyf  says:
18 months ago

Interesting hub and glad to see Guam on here. Only thing I'd say is traditionally Samoans don't have a Haka. That is actually from the Maori people (the indigenous people of New Zealand). You'd be surprised how many islanders are themselves mistaken about this. I danced with a Polynesian group (now my in-laws) for years and have brothers from New Zealand and they are really big on educating others about this. You should check out the Maori culture--one of the most beautiful and powerful of the Pacific Island cultures esp when you get to experience it firsthand.

Patty Inglish, MS profile image

Patty Inglish, MS  says:
18 months ago

Thank you very much for this insight. Popularizations are certainly not concurrent with ancestral fact. It is very useful for you to add your input!

luvnlyf, do you have pictures of the dance/patterns, I would live to see them posted on Hubs! I may make a request for you...

latasha  says:
13 months ago

I would like to know more about africans and the native americans that inhabited the caribbean long long ago since most of my family is from the caribbean. I feel like alot is missing about the history of my people and their heritage and it sometimes makes me feel incomplete. There's so many mixtures of races in the caribbean sometimes I feel like I look like a mixture of them all. With that said, every once in a while I look up information about the history of the caribbean so that I can feel some sense of completion. I would like to make some type of documentary of the history of my people BUT there's not really much info. Can you help?

Patty Inglish, MS profile image

Patty Inglish, MS  says:
13 months ago

Lastsha - I will gather together all the information I can find. Our university is doing studies in this area and that should provide some additional materials for you. I have kown people from this area who have been a mixtire of all that you indicate and they have been lovely people, inside and out. This will be enjoyable to find more information for you. Give me a few days to get started.

Christopher Jay  says:
9 months ago

Thank you for this much needed cultural lesson. I am just starting a hub on the Carribeam inclusive vacation, so this gives me a much better insight on the plans for my pages. Keep up the great work.

Patty Inglish, MS profile image

Patty Inglish, MS  says:
9 months ago

I look forward to reading that Hub.

Mukaro  says:
4 months ago

Greetings Patty. Bo'matum (Thank you) for your pages and for remembering the Taino People. Please also visit our site - The United Confederation of Taino People - to get more insight into what we are doing as a people today. Peace and blessings!

Patty Inglish, MS profile image

Patty Inglish, MS  says:
4 months ago

That you Mukaro, I have that link listed above and am glad to be reminded of it. I admire your people and culture and wish you long life.

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