Chief of the Kalinago Territory

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The Chief of the Kalinago Territory presides over the Kalinago Council, the local government of the Kalinago Territory (formerly known as the Carib Territory or Carib Reserve).[1] The position is the equivalent of a village council chairperson elsewhere in Dominica.[2] Beginning in the late 20th century, Kalinago Chiefs have also acted as a representative of the Kalinago Territory to other indigenous populations in the Caribbean region, and have worked with organizations including the Caribbean Organization of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations.[3]

Historically, the Chief was the leader of the Kalinago, the indigenous inhabitants of Dominica. Under British colonialism, the title was officially recognized as a ceremonial position beginning in 1903, when the Carib Reserve was established. The colonial governor endowed the Carib Chief with a silver-headed staff and a sash embroidered with "The Chief of the Caribs" in gothic lettering.[4] Colonial authorities suspended the position in 1930 after "The Carib War," a brief, but violent, civil disturbance.[5] The position of Chief was finally reinstated in 1953, as part of an island-wide system of local council government.[6] The territory name was changed from "Carib Reserve" to "Kalinago Territory" by an act of the House of Assembly in 2015.[7]

  1. ^ Though under the Carib Reserve Act, the area's official name is the Carib Reserve, the Carib people themselves prefer the name Carib Territory, and that name is now in more popular use. See, e.g., Kossek 1994, p. 191 ("The reserve was renamed 'Carib Territory' by the Caribs themselves."); Honychurch 1998, p. 83 ("...the Carib Territory, as it is now popularly called...").
  2. ^ Honychurch 1998, p. 83 ("Except for this title, [the Carib Chief] plays the same role as all the other Village Council chairmen in Dominica.")
  3. ^ Kossek 1994, p. 191.
  4. ^ Honychurch 1995, p. 161; Honychurch 1998, p. 82.
  5. ^ See Honychurch 1995, pp. 161–62 for a detailed account.
  6. ^ Honychurch 1995, p. 162; Honychurch 1998, p. 83.
  7. ^ "Change from Carib to Kalinago now official". Dominica News Online. 2015-02-22. Retrieved 2021-07-21.