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UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 3RD APRIL, 2016
Dr. Claudius Fergus is Head of the Department of History and Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh is Chair of the History Fest Committee, at UWI St. Augustine.
CAMPUS NEWS
The Department of History
held its second annual History Fest
from 24 February to 11 March under the theme “Honouring the
First Peoples of the Caribbean.” We see the First Peoples as the
pioneers of civilization in the region, worthy not only as subjects
of academic study but also as active contributors of knowledge.
The Fest incorporated a rich blend of seminars, symposia, and
workshops for schools, films, and conventional and digital
displays in three locations: the Alma Jordan Library, the School
of Humanities corridor, and the JFK quadrangle.
In order to pay proper respect to the First Peoples, the
first academic session was preceded by an open-air invocation
featuring a traditional smoke ceremony of both the Santa Rosa
First Peoples Community, led jointly by Chief Ricardo Bharath
Hernandez and Pyai (priest) Cristo Adonis; and the Warao, led by
their spokesman, Mr. Rabinar Shar. Also present for this invocation
was Mr. Roger Belix, President for Partners for First Peoples
Development, the third organised community of First Peoples in
Trinidad and Tobago. It was a rare and satisfying moment to bring
the three major leaders together in a public forum to express their
spirituality; it was also the first time that the campus was hosting
such a gathering of First Peoples.
Representatives of the First Peoples participated on equal
terms with our academics in exploring major themes, including
misconceptions that have distorted their cosmology, marred
their identity and history, and blurred their very existence as a
contemporary people.
The first academic panel, “Rethinking the First Peoples’
Identities,” featured Dr. Basil Reid of the History Department,
Prof. Sat Balkaransingh of UTT, and Chief Bharath Hernandez.
A significantly large contingent of First Peoples was certainly not
a passive audience, with robust contributions from Mr. Shar and
Mr. Belix, contesting as well as complementing the two academics
on the panel. This collaboration also saw Shar as one of three
facilitators at a workshop for CSEC students and teachers on the
theme, “The First Peoples: Myths and Realities;” likewise, Garifuna
spokesperson, Ms Nelsia Robinson, was the principal discussant
on Film Night, when two short films were shown, highlighting
the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community and the Garifuna exiles
in Honduras.
The CSEC workshop, a collaborative effort between the
History Department and the CurriculumDivision of the Ministry
of Education, attracted over 215 students and teachers from over
30 schools from every educational district in Trinidad. Dr. Reid
and Dr. Lennox Honychurch, a specialist on the First Peoples
of Dominica, were the other facilitators. Dr. Honychurch also
presented a public lecture at the Arima Town Hall on the topic,
“Interpreting Amerindian Cosmology through Material Culture
and Folklore.”
As with last year’s inaugural event, History Fest 2016
accommodated subjects outside themain theme.The controversial
topic, “They Came before Columbus,” was explored in a CAPE
workshop, which attracted around 110 sixth form students and
teachers from several educational districts. We collaborated with
the IndianHigh Commission to host a multi-disciplinary, one-day
symposium on “Cultural Nationalism.” Among the presenters
in the introductory session were PVC and Campus Principal,
Professor Clement Sankat and H.E. Gauri Shankar Gupta, Indian
High Commissioner to T&T. We collaborated withMona and Cave
Hill to organise two cross-campus seminars. We also collaborated
with the OWTU to host a centenary symposiumon Claudia Jones,
Trinidad-born feminist pioneer and cultural activist.
History Fest 2016 broke new ground in several aspects. It
brought together for the first time postgraduate students registered
in the three main campuses sitting in a common panel to discuss
their research. In order to facilitate maximum interactivity in the
two large workshops, we encouraged participants to use mobile
messaging; we received over 100 texts. History Fest was also the first
time that an undergraduate student, Ms Louise Dover (Final Year),
was welcomed to present a paper on a panel with senior academics
of the Department; she rose to the occasion and received strong
accolades. The first cross-campus seminar was also the first time
HISTORY IN THE PRESENT
Honouring our First Peoples
B Y C L A U D I U S F E R G U S A N D J E R O M E T E E L U C K S I N G H
In front of the Alma Jordan Library for the invocation, “The Smoke Ceremony” of the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community. The main persons
in the photo are Chief Ricardo Bharath Hernandez (centre left) and Cristo Adonis, the Pyai (Priest) of the community (centre right); the two
musicians to the left are visitors from Colombia.
that the three main campuses were linked via IT in a synchronous
history seminar.
We wish to acknowledge the History Fest Committee, the
UWI History Society, and ICCR Visiting Professor Syed Hussain
for the planning and execution of events; we are also indebted to the
following for their patronage and support: the Alma Jordan Library,
the Indian High Commission, the Ministry of Education, the
Mayor of Arima (for the use of the Town Hall free of charge), the
Santa Rosa Community (for providing refreshments) the OWTU
(for providing refreshments), Mrs. Yvette Wilmot (who provided
snacks free of charge), our Campus Principal (who hosted lunch
for the Cultural Nationalism symposium); Ms. Attillah Springer
for participating in the Claudia Jones symposium; Dr. Lennox
Honychurch; the Timetable team of FHE (for their invaluable
assistance in finding venues and equipment, sometimes at very
late notice); the ICT and Film Unit for the use of their facilities;
the Department’s ATS staff; and all other History staff who readily
stepped forward to assist the History Fest committee in various
activities.
The first seminar at the Alma Jordan Library. From left, Archaeologist Dr. Basil Reid of the History Department; Chief Ricardo
Bharath Hernandez of the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community and Dr. Sat Balkaransingh of UTT. Standing is Dr. Claudius Fergus
and hidden is Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh.
PHOTOS: ANEEL KARIM.
