Mabrika! (Welcome) ​ The Arawak Taino Still Live! (1492 - Present) ​ "The Tribe of First Contact"

We are an indigenous community that established our Yucayeke in Boriken in 1992 and whose members are proven to be Island Arawak Taino or a descendant. Our Boricua Taino people are native to the United States Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Being a territory of the U.S., tribal recognition is different than the rest of the country. However, If you have proven indigenous Taino ancestry to Puerto Rico, we invite you to join our Yucayeke.
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There are many Taino Yucayeke groups, but none require their members to prove they are Taino or a descendant. Hence, anyone can join them with self-identification. Our yukayeke, a term for “tribe/village” in the Taino language, has strict requirements to ensure all members are truly indigenous to our ancestral island of Boriken aka Puerto Rico.
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This is an essential aspect if we are to achieve formal recognition, which is one of our goals. Scientific studies on the genetic makeup of Puerto Ricans have revealed that approximately 62% of the Puerto Rican population has Indigenous roots to the first people of Boriken. Accordingly, vital statistics, church documents, and militia records from the General Archives of Puerto Rico reflect that an Indigenous population still existed in Puerto Rico after the 1800s and well into the 20th Century.
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Therefore, a relatively large population of Puerto Ricans are listed as Indio, Mestizo, and De Color in older government records. This paper trail, genetic studies, and recent support from the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic bolster our collective history as Taino. Lastly, our yukayeke is doing its part to set the record straight about our resistance and existence.

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Our right to self-determination is supported under Article 36 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). As the only Taino Yucayeke that requires the same proof of indigenous claims for tribal enrollment as our brothers and sisters on the mainland, we also hold to the following United Nations standards:
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• Article 3 (general self-determination) “Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”
   

• Article 4 “Indigenous peoples, in exercising their right to self-determination, have the right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their internal and local affairs…”
   

• U.S. legal precedent recognizing the inherent sovereignty of Indigenous peoples, even those not federally recognized (Montoya v. United States, 180 U.S. 261 (1901)
   

• Article 9 “Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right to belong to an indigenous community or nation, in accordance with the traditions and customs of the community or nation concerned. No discrimination of any kind may arise from the exercise of such a right.” This explicitly recognizes the right of Indigenous nations to determine their own membership/citizenship criteria.
   

• Article 33 “Indigenous peoples have the right to determine their own identity or membership in accordance with their customs and traditions…“Indigenous peoples have the right to determine the structures and to select the membership of their institutions in accordance with their own procedures.” Crystal-clear affirmation of self-determination over membership.
   

• Article 37 “Indigenous peoples have the right to the recognition, observance and enforcement of treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements concluded with States or their successors and to have States honour and respect such treaties…”
   

• Article XIII 3 of The American Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People. "Indigenous people have the right to recognition and respect for all their ways of life, cosmovisions, spirituality, uses, customs, norms, traditions, forms of social, economic, and political organization; forms of transmission of knowledge, institutions, practices, beliefs, values, dress, and languages, recognizing their inter-relationship as established in this Declaration."
   

We are still here. We were never extinct!
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Join the Arawak Taino Tribe of Puerto Rico, the only Taino yucayeke requiring proof of native ancestry. We are engaged in our ancestral Island Arawak language restoration efforts and in our communities. We are also seeking recognition under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990. This is so we can repatriate ancestral remains and artifacts held in museums and stop the grave robbing that is bringing our ancestors' items to the market. NAGPRA doesn't protection doesnt cover our island or the sacred places of our ancestors. We need to protect our sacred grounds for future generations.

Seneco cacona (Many blessings)

The Arawak Taino Tribe of Puerto Rico

Our motto… Where the Eagle and the Condor meet​
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(Formerly known as Descendants of Puerto Rico’s First Nations)