The Native Caribbean Heritage Preservation Project
Exhibition Opening Today!
Friday, March 23 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm through Friday March 30, 2018
A note from the artist,
The only true history comes from the experiences of descendants who filter "official history", revealing the facade and the truth. Pre-colonial traditions, artistry, and technology of the Ní'Tiñaos decorate Loisaida's entrance. Lines reveal the inherent interconnected nature of Indigenous Caribbean peoples. Impossible to comprehend a creolized culture through a colonial lens, this altar honors the creolization that refutes all categorical and stereotypical claims made by eurocolonizers and euro-centric historians. My ancestors were not divided, nor did they go extinct. This exhibition is proof.
Ní'Tiñao means "relative; friend; progenitor" in Kalinago, and is eponymous with the Taíno peoples of the Caribbean. My work focuses on historical, indigenous Caribbean definitions of identity and the influence of their values, spirituality, horticulture, and language today, as well as our relation to these definitions right here in Loisaida. Through this exhibition I aim to refute eurocolonial claims that the Ní'Tiñao were a divided peoples who went extinct. Via art and storytelling, We Exist! (Corrected text)
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