The Last True Indigenous [Reflection & Commentary]
In Aruba, it is commonly believed that the last true [pure blood] Indigenous died in the 1800s. This assertion is derived from a point of view that measures identity, especially indigenous identity, through blood quantum measurements. It reduces the identity of indigenous people down to the differentiation of genetic material or blood analysis. Seldom are the traditions, rites, and teachings of the Elders, which were passed down from generation to generation, accounted for as what it means to be indigenous; but most of all, one's own sense of Self, and Intuition. We have many traditions that we have carried on to this day. We are simply unaware of them. They exist in many forms and require our devotion and protection from malevolence, appropriation, and erasure. We have permitted others to tell us who we are on basis of how they understand themselves, which is from a reductionist point of view. This "permission" came from the Self-alienation that resulted from colonialis...