CHIEF of the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community Ricardo Bharath says it is time for the First Peoples to be given a national holiday. He believes that the one-off national holiday declared by the Prime Minister on October 13, 2016, was a significant first step.
“Indigenous peoples have a unique and inherent right to their land, as opposed to any other settler group that came. This doesn’t mean we are better than anybody else, but we have a special right and protection.”
In 2018, when the First Peoples celebrated International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, they were given 25 acres of land to establish the First Peoples Heritage and Living Museum on the Blanchisseuse Road in Arima. This was facilitated by then-Arima MP Anthony Garcia and agriculture minister Clarence Rambharat.
Since then, there has been ongoing work, described as slow due to “bureaucratic processes,” said Bharath. Works include their own WASA booster station, seen at the entrance of the site when Newsday visited on July 17, along with unfinished drainage work and roads.
Bharath said the one-off national holiday encouraged the nation to focus on First Peoples’ culture and customs but since then they “are back to square one.”
He called for October 14, the group’s Heritage Day to be made a permanent national holiday.
“First Peoples’ history, culture and traditions have contributed to Trinidad and Tobago as much as other ethnic groups.”
Bharath said more history and traditions of the First Peoples are being taught in schools and he thanked the Ministry of Education for its implementation, but he called for more representation of First Peoples on boards, in parliament and in other organisations that can effect change through legislation and other means.
“Students from all over, locally and regionally, visit our offices regularly seeking more information for their studies.”
Speaking at the First Peoples Community Centre, Paul Mitchell Street, Arima, he said the infrastructure work at the site is done through government tender
but the traditional structures are built by First Peoples.
[caption id="attachment_1097549" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The Santa Rosa First Peoples model Amerindian Heritage Village, at 1 1/2 mile, Blanchisseuse Road, Arima. Solar lighting has been installed at the site. - Photo by Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
“We have been planting trees and different food crops. We have built some huts. There is road work still ongoing, but the roads have greatly improved. We have electricity on-site, and the development is ongoing.”
He hopes the site will be completed in five years but also expressed doubt, saying:
“We hoped it would have already been completed. We continue to work on this site little by little with the resources available. There are important buildings still needed, like the cassava factory and washrooms. When funds become available, we will start these projects.”
Bharath said they are given a “small allocation” every year in the budget but says it is never enough to cover the cost of pro
