Caribbean Indigenous Experiences of Erasure: Movement, Memory and Knowing

Abstract

The Caribbean world has experienced a centuries-long process of European expansion into their territories. This article outlines the dramatic impact and disruption due to colonization and imperialism, and the ways in which these interlocking systems have shaped contemporary Taino understandings. It examines what it means to remem- ber our Taino ancestors, their histories that persist and are embedded in the fabric and landscape of everyday Caribbean memories, their culture, and their lifeways that permeate many Caribbean names, places, and lands. This paper examines memory discourse and knowledge as ways and enactments of embodied Taino presence and contemporary life.