April 2016


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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 Curriculum Division 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 the main 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 Indian High 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 with Mona and Cave Hill to organise two cross-campus seminars. We also collaborated with the OWTU to host a centenary symposium on 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 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.

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.