(drums thump) I remember at my mom's memorial, one of my older cousins walked up to me and he said, "You know, cousin, we are not Caribs."

I remember having this feeling that, if I'm not Carib, what could I possibly be?

And he said a word that I never heard before.

He said, "We are Taino."

(drums thump) (pensive music) I am here at the library at the University of the Virgin Islands.

This was one of my first stops 12 years ago when I started my research on the Taino people.

The US Virgin Islands is known as America's Paradise, but there is such a greater history beneath the surface of the natives that were here long before colonization.

After my cousin told me that I was a Taino, that got me even more curious to find out, what was this Taino that I'd never heard about?

The Taino and Caribs were very distinct indigenous groups in the Caribbean.

Geographically, the Taino primarily inhabited the Greater Antilles and were the most in number, while the Caribs inhabited the Lesser Antilles.

The Taino are the original inhabitants of these here islands that are now called the Virgin Islands.

Growing up, my family always took part in a carnival celebration.

My grandmother's sister started the troupe known as the Traditional Indians.

From then, I had only ever heard that we were representing the Carib Indians, so I lived 48 years of my life with this belief.

Confirming that I was Taino opened up a whole new world, so I started to search online.

The first thing that popped up was the United Confederation of Taino people, so I wrote a letter to the President of the United Confederation of Taino people, which was Roberto Mukaro.

(gentle serene music) I'm Roberto Mukaro Borrero.

I'm a kasike of the Guainia Taino Tribe of Boriken, or what we know today as Puerto Rico.

Back in about 2011, I received a contact.

She talked about affiliation with the Taino people, with the community.

Up until this point, we've signed the treaty between our peoples, between our communities, we've come together as family.

(Mukaro singing in foreign language) (horn blares) So the significance of this day, why this day is so powerful, this is also October 12th, and this is the day that Columbus is known to having come in to this side of the world to begin a cycle of genocide against our people.

So for us, you know, Columbus is not a day, it's a symbol of genocide and oppression, but we, standing here, are a symbol of the resilience of our people, and how our people still confront the forces of colonialism every day just to be who we are, so that we're not only surviving, but at the end of the day, we're thriving.

Now that I became a member of the United Confederation of Taino people, of course, now, you know, I wanted to share with everybody, look at me, I'm a Taino.

Today, they call us tribes, but in actuality, we were nations.

When Columbus came in 1492, there were 5 million Tainos throughout the Caribbean.

27 years later, when he left, there were only 50,000.

I'm going to tell you the story of two of the Taino queens.

I remember the first presentation I went to, everyone was telling their stories, and I introduced myself, and when I told my story, Myron Jackson said to me, "You were chosen by your ancestors to do this work."

So I started to question and find out how I can share this knowledge with our students especially, because if my DNA says that I'm here, then I'm not extinct.

(gentle serene music) Columbus's journals painted a story that all the Taino were dead, and it was adapted as the truth.

This is why it has taken so many years to try to undo the myth of our extinction.

So how did I get here?

Let's go back to the beginning.

As far as I know, my great-grandmother Francisca Almestica.

(gentle serene music) (waves crashing) History have a funny way of repeating itself.

My great-grandmother Francisca Almestica was taken unwillingly to Salt Island, and here we are today, willingly going to Salt Island.

(gentle serene music) (people conversing faintly) When I first stepped foot on Salt Island, I had mixed feelings.

I felt accomplished having returned to the place where my ancestors lived, but my heart was filled with sadness knowing that a 14-year-old girl, my great-grandmother, who was kidnapped like many other young Taino women at the time, was left to fend for herself and later for her six daughters.

Knowing her stories, knowing her struggles, now it is for me to tell her story.

It is for us to carry on her legacy.

(gentle percussive music) [Mukaro] What's happening here is that we know, because of the history of the Virgin Islands and other islands in the Caribbean, that many of our leadership was broken down.

Because there was no kasike in many hundreds of years here, the community came together to affirm the title of kasike to Maekiaphan.

(gentle percussive music) (gentle percussive music continues) - I was given the honor of becoming the first female kasike in over a hundred years.

(members singing in foreign language) (members continue singing in foreign language) With this newfound knowledge, I wanted somebody to be able to tell me, okay, this is your next step, so that led me to the Office of Historic Preservation.

- Kasike Phillips, welcome.

- Thank you.

- Glad to have you.

- Kasike Phillips came to see me about her interest in wanting to be recognized as a tribe and a nation tribe, and at the time, you know, it struck me like, whoa, that's a big ask, you know?

When she made the request, you know, the first thing I did was I turned to our expert, and I charged her with the efforts to do the research to help Mrs. Phillips seek this goal of trying to get the Taino, you know, members of this community to be recognized as a federal tribe.

So, after a whole decade had passed, I remember, 11 o'clock one night, I opened this email, and I was, I was so overjoyed, I couldn't even scream.

I opened the email, and it says the recognition of the Taino People.

The recognition of the Guainia Taino Tribe of the Virgin Islands.

I was in awe, because after 10 years, here comes this recognition.

Now that the community has been recognized, the tribe has been recognized here, is that the government really needs to step up.

So the idea of land back is really the next step.

We now have to teach our children where they came from, where we are with the recognition, and where we need to go.

Having land back would mean that we can develop a Taino village where we can teach our children the true history of the Taino, past, present and future.

[Mukaro] We have to look at these things, the investiture, the idea of land back, as part of a whole, a whole system, a whole structure.

(pensive music) [Maekiaphan] We're heading down to Magens Bay to meet Deputy Krigger to look at one of the potential sites for a village.

(pensive music) [Krigger] Yeah, I mean, it is, you know, archeologically appropriate, 'cause this was a Native American site, and we know from the archeological evidence that it was in fact Taino, so you definitely have, you know, historic precedence there for that.

(pensive music) Looking at the map, your proposal for the demonstration village would look like it will be like somewhere in this area right here.

[Maekiaphan] Right, because we talk about doing the batey in here.

[Krigger] Yeah.

- And then just three huts.

So what would be my next step into making this a reality?

So your next step, you already have identified that, and that is to dust off your original proposal.

Yes.

Get that submitted to the board.

I will be happy as the director for SHPO to provide a letter of support.

It definitely falls in line with, you know, our mandate to protect and promote our archeological history, promote our Native American history, so you're on the right track.

It's important for all Taino people as a whole to see this thrive, to see this vision thrive and manifest into the reality that it's shaping into.

When you think of what a Taino should look like, what do you see?

You can no longer think about a specific color, skin tone.

You can no longer think of a specific hair type.

You can no longer think of a specific feature.

I want my children and their children to know without a shadow of a doubt that they are Taino, and I want them to acknowledge the creator in everything that they do.

I want them to be proud of their heritage and the fact that they now carry the bloodline of their ancestors.

Lastly, I want all of my children to be knowledgeable enough so that one day, I can pass down the honor of being Kasike to one of them.

Hahom.

(pensive music) (no audio) (no audio)