Taino Indians Counted Out Of Existence

There are those who self-identify as Taino Indians today and they are making sure that they are counted in the upcoming 2010 census.

The Taínos were the original indigenous people of the Caribbean islands that include Puerto Rico and have long been considered historically extinct.

Christopher Columbus encountered the Taínos during his maiden voyage to the New World and according to history books the natives were eventually exterminated by the Spaniards through slavery, mass killings and disease.

Present day Taínos argue that they were not entirely killed off and that many of them escaped into the mountains and others intermarried with their conquerors and survived.

The Neo-Taínos also claim that during the 1500s the Spanish colonizers did not use a fixed standard for counting people and that the enumerators intentionally reported inaccurate numbers of the Taínos decline to the Queen of Spain in order to get her permission to seek slaves from Africa to be able to continue their work.

A 1798 census was done by the Spanish and they found more than 2000 inidans in San German, it also mentions another group of about the same numbers in Anasco barrio Miraflores contradicting earlier historical documents that claimed their extermination in the 1500s. In 1898 Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States during the Spanish-American War and the islanders were granted U.S. citizenship in 1917.

As the self-identified Taínos organize for the 2010 census they understand its significance. Proof is in the numbers and they feel that the same way that history tried to count them out of existence they will use the census to count themselves back into existence.

• Category

  Education

[maaagicman]

Agreed. I accept and celebrate the fact that Puerto Rico is far ahead of the curve when it comes to racial and cultural blending. While the US and many other countries struggle with racism, PR for the most part is free from it.

[Shaquille Albertus]

Yeah.

[onthewingsofmaybe]

Did you even watch the video?

[Shaquille Albertus]

Wuuut why the fuck are puerto ricans claiming to be taino? Because they have taino blood in them? They have african blood in them too and european blood, come on bro there are no real taino indians in the carribbean, or arawak. Only few kalinago's are left. I have Amerindian (Arawak, Kalinago) African, and European ancestry, but I'am not claiming to be white or amerindian, you cant be your ancestors.

[William Burgos]

NEWS FLASH !!!! AQUI EN LA BIBLIA ESTAS LA VERDAD !!! TAINO IS AN ENGLISH WORD THAT IS NOT OUR REAL NAMES IN THE BIBLE GOD TELLS US WHO WE ARE

[Boricua Y Latino Flow]

Primero es q ya estoy cansado de la mucha mierda q hablan de nosotros los Boricuas y mayormente por los imbeciles de NY y los sanganos q no quieren hechar para adelante. Yo vengo de un caserio y no me quede hay hice lo mio, me jodo por lo mio no me interesa la migaja de los cupones y menos la mierda de los gobierno. La gente solo habla mierda y ni siquiera saben lo q hay aqui en PR, como se vive, somos un pais q a pesar de los problemas siempre nos la pasamos festejando pero hay unos q me sacan

[aloapaola9]

Pues YO SOY BORICUA y no corto patas ni mucho menos, ese "flow" no es Boricua es de odio y desarmonía. Los bosques y playas, el BORIKÉN de verdad necesita amor y limpieza, hay que limpiar la casa. Son "fuertes" para matar en la calle y ensuciar pero para SEMBRAR y crear una revolución verdadera, no lo son. No me interesa lo que me quieras contestar lleno de coraje hermano, quisiera que leyeras esto varias veces y lo analices.

[BadBoriBoy]

You have a lot to learn yourself.

Puerto Rico has EVERYTHING!!!

[echepr]

if u wanna be educated, u have to stop the tree b, baile botella y baraja and today we can add drugs