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  - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 09/Aug 04:42

Moving Columbus to make space for healing

DARA E HEALY “Once land had been sighted, and Columbus noticed gold rings in the noses of the inhabitants of the Bahamas, his voyage became a search for gold mines…A Spanish historian writing in 1587, stated that the treasure which entered Spain from the New World was sufficient to ‘pave the streets of Seville with blocks of gold and silver’.” –­ From Columbus to Castro, Dr Eric Williams CENTURIES ago, ancient peoples walked, rowed and travelled across the mountains and rivers of what we now call home, what they called Iere and Tabaco. I imagine they lived as all humans do – hunting, fishing, building families, sharing love and disagreements. Spanish colonisers literally smashed through their lives. They vandalised advanced civilisations, destroying centuries-old manuscripts holding religious, cultural and other knowledge. On this International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, it is fitting that a statue honouring Columbus is no longer openly displayed in our capital city. Now that this offensive monument is moved, what are the next steps in repairing the tremendous injustices faced by our indigenous community? Many online comments about the removal of the statue were predictably trivial. From “how about changing the name Trinidad too” to “life for us will be so much better now,” such statements reflect an education system that eliminated civics and critical thinking. The typical banal nature of public discourse concerns me, because it limits our ability as a nation to effectively advocate for accountability by our leaders and solutions that improve quality of life for everyone. The removal of the Columbus statue makes a statement about our maturity as an independent society, striving for decolonisation. Sadly, since we failed to make public spaces sites of empowerment and reflection, citizens have no frame of reference to discuss the statue. We have too few green community spaces, and the ones that do exist are generally not named for citizens who contributed as creatives, scientists or sporting legends. Similarly, we missed a powerful nation-building opportunity to appropriately name our schools, government institutions and places of learning. Thus, there is no context for either placing or removing the statue from the capital. As such, few people connect the statue with the brutality with which Spain and other European nations pursued the wealth that they craved. Not many will care that from the Maya civilisation to the Inca empire, from the Taino to Nepuyo and Kalinago in the Caribbean, the Europeans plundered. It would not matter that the 1493 Papal Doctrine of Discovery belittled indigenous beliefs and decreed that "the Catholic faith and the Christian religion be exalted and be everywhere increased and spread…that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself." Even less will understand why I am distressed over actions that happened centuries ago. We have real challenges today they will say. Cry for the babies who are raped, elders who are beaten and robbed, entire families killed by drunk drivers, the rampant murder of women, and the generations of young people lost to crime. But you see, until our collective histories become part of well-informed, introspective national conversation, we will all find it difficult to move forward. This year, the UN has chosen the theme Indigenous Peoples and AI: Defending Rights, Shaping Futures. Technology can play a crucial role in preserving indigenous culture. However, it can also expose indigenous communities to abuse of information about their heritage. The world is still working out how to manage AI and other forms of digital innovation. This week, researchers posing as teenagers discovered that ChatGPT will quite willingly tell 13-year-olds how to access drugs, alcohol or even write a suicide note. The UN is encouraging indigenous peoples to ensure their voices are represented in the development and use of AI to avoid reproducing “historical patterns of exclusion, marginalisation, and appropriation.” But how do indigenous peoples heal from the past and grasp their future? The Columbus statue represents the taking of indigenous land, lack of true representation in the public sphere, and the ongoing struggle for identity. Removing it clears a path for the stories, the smoke ceremony, the language, and healing herbs. It opens a space to reclaim the names that matter – Hyarima, Lokono, Nabarima, Hatuey, Garifuna, Warao and more. Removing Columbus will not fix our nation, but it will ease the pain of the ancestors who suffered his tyranny. Another step towards healing. Another step towards we. Dara E Healy is a performing artist and founder of the Idakeda Group, a cultural organisation dedicated to empowering communities through the arts The post Moving Columbus to make space for healing appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.

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