Follow the link below to an essay by Dr. Emanuel Finn, titled "The Indigenous People and Their Place in Dominica", posted on May 31, 2005, at http://www.thedominican.net/articles/caribs.htm.
The following is an extract from the longer piece:
"Not too long ago there was an inherited ideology in Dominica about the backwardness and ‘otherness’ of the Carib Indians. This way of thinking continued unabated for some time. Contributing to this long-standing syndrome is the ‘lip service’, empty promises and disrespect (especially at election time) displayed by elected and powerful politicians of not including Caribs in the decision making process or having any meaningful Carib agenda or policy. In addition, the history books depicted the Caribs in very unfair ways. Of course, we know the reasons for such poor portrayal were because the Indians put up a fierce fight against the Europeans when they were tossed off the fertile lands all over (Waitikubli) Dominica. The European history books saw it fit to portray them as uncivilized, unloving, uncaring, ruthless and rugged. These history books, which are part of our schools curriculum, also taught us that Admiral Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus) discovered Dominica. Some progressive scholars and thinkers hold the view that the Admiral did not discover this island...."
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