Taino Revival

Taino Revival: Critical Perspectives on Puerto Rican Identity and Cultural Politics is one of those vital reads on Taino revivalism or reclamation that we devoured several years ago. Now, after a reread, we see how problematic the collection of essays here really are. With the exception of Davila, none of the academic contributors actually interviewed so-called neo-Tainos. Moreover, these essays were originally written before genetic evidence clearly confirmed the "Amerindian" component of the Puerto Rican population. While there are certainly problems with the idea of "Native American DNA" and the ways in which racial essentialism have resurfaced, today it is hard to deny that some degree of cultural and biological continuity from the pre-Columbian period to the present can be found in Puerto Rico. 

For that reason, Davila's essay is the only one that has aged well. Her interest is not in refuting or challenging the way an individual identifies, but understanding the role of memory and cultural institutions in indigeneity in Puerto Rico. Her approach rejects racial essentialism and she even shares her moments of discomfort with being perceived as Taino based on her phenotype. One Puerto Rican even asked to inspect her teeth for evidence of shovel-shaped incisors! Regardless of attempts from others to emphasize phenotype or race as a permanent biological trait, Davila's approach contextualizes Taino revivalism and might offer clues as to why "Indians" resurfaced and disappeared multiple times throughout Puerto Rican history. After all, if the past is actively deployed in the present through several process, and related to cultural authority and memory, then the disappearance and reappearance of "Indians" across the history of Puerto Rico can be analyzed without relying on the problematic category of race. 

Unlike the Taino revivalists, we are personally inclined to view the process as part of a "mestizo" Creole culture in which Africans, Europeans, and those of indigenous descent formed the population of Puerto Rico. Sued Badillo's work persuasively demonstrates this process in the Spanish Caribbean. Moreover, as the final essay in the book suggests, in what way are "neo-Taino" Puerto Ricans less indigenous than "tri-racial" Native American groups in the continental US who have received federal recognition? If indigeneity should not hinge on phenotype or assumptions of unchanging cultural expression, then we cannot dismiss this movement so easily. And for the contributors to Taino Revival who see the movement as an escape from blackness, an engagement with black Puerto Rican and Afro-Caribbean claims on Taino identity or history would be a fruitful comparative study. We cannot name the number of times people from non-Hispanic Caribbean backgrounds have asserted an indigenous ancestry. 

It also would be useful to study the landscape of Taino revivalism today, in 2023, to better assess the degree to which it really represents an attempt to make Indians out of blacks and the changes in the relationship of the Diaspora to the island and the US (colonial) state. For example, Haslip-Viera's essay was far too harsh and lumped the neo-Tainos into the same category as reactionary, pseudoscientific and frequently ridiculous fringe black groups in the US like the Black Israelites, various strands of Afrocentrism and the Nation of Islam. Such a comparison is unfair and almost certainly inaccurate for all Taino revivalists. After all, there is evidence of descent from the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean in their case. And surely not all indigenous revivalists are so obsessed with stereotypical "Indian" phenotypes or influenced by New Age and Hollywood caricatures of indigeneity. Some certainly acknowledge their African ancestry. And we are sure a few of them must be working on more historically and anthropologically informed analysis than what we have seen so far from scholars like Castanha. Perhaps Puerto Ricans need someone like Roberto Valcárcel Rojas to tackle the complex history of "Indians" in the colonial era. Anything that could add nuance and depth to our historical understanding of indigenous survival beyond the 16th century and expand our understanding of indigeneity, race, and sovereignty in a colonized region will help tremendously. 

Puerto Rico in the American Century: A History Since 1898

Sometimes the best thing to do when dedicated to the study of a specific nation is to take some time to read works on the nearby countries or places. Taking a little distance (but not too much) can assist with contextualizing your area of interest in a broader way, or perhaps make one think on a larger scale. It may also aid in your research by forcing you to not arbitrarily accept disciplinary or national divisions as written in stone. Recently, Puerto Rico and its diaspora has fulfilled that function for this blogger. Although remaining firmly attached to Haiti and its history, literature, and challenges, Puerto Rico's similar but different place in the world has been useful and interesting to explore. 

While still nothing more than a beginner in the history, literature, and economics of this nearby island, Puerto Rico in the American Century: A History Since 1898 answers many questions in a detailed, systematic manner. Focusing on political, social, cultural, and economic aspects of Puerto Rican history since 1898, Ayala and Bernabe successfully demonstrate the continuity of US imperialism across different phases. Moreover, they integrate the history of the diaspora in New York and the continental US, which is something that should be pursued in future general histories or 20th century histories of Haiti, too. 

While both Bernabe and Ayala are leftists and favor independence, they endeavor to explore the contradictions and nuances of autonomists, independentists, the rise of PPD, and the conflicts around class, proletarianization, US capitalist enterprises, Operation Bootstraps, labor, race, and gender. They do not hide their biases, but are objective enough to consider the works of various intellectuals, political figures, and literary figures on the nature of Puerto Rican identity, development, culture, and nationalism. Strangely, they do not engage with the legacy of Sidney Mintz, whose work undoubtedly shaped the scholarship of the rural proletariat and sugar in Puerto Rico. Nor do they consider religion, but the towering legacy of Mintz or a Gordon K. Lewis demands their critical insight. 

However, the most useful aspect of the book lies in its bibliographic essay and footnotes. A treasure trove of sources can be found, which facilitates future reading on specific themes, historical figures, or topics. Since this blogger is mainly interested in Puerto Rican history after 1898, and this incredibly detailed overview covers most aspects of the period, I now know where to look for other sources. Moreover, it has shaped my larger understanding of the question of sovereignty, nationalism, interwar intellectual discourse in Haiti, and the meaning of a Puerto Rican model as Operation Bootstrap supposedly exemplified. All in all, a very accessible history of an island that is distinct yet reminiscent of "home."