Topic: 2024-Indigenous Languages
Country: Cuba
Delegate Name: James Warner
Globally indigenous cultures and lifestyles are currently and have been fading out of existence very quietly due to their languages dying and caused most notably in the past by colonization and in more recent decades globalization and cultural syncretism and blending. In the case of language, unfortunately historically there are winners and losers so to speak as nations that had dominated the world through colonization enforced their will and customs upon whomever they colonized. In fostering dominant languages in a rapidly globalizing world it becomes problematic to languages and dialects that are very small in usage which makes them vulnerable to losing them. Often the more small and tight knitted cultures reside in rural and lower income areas of their country and in the modern world as children are born they have better opportunities presented to them but in order to attain or pursue them they need to leave often to cities and universities or larger institutions. Since countries tend to have one or two national languages, those are the ones typically needed in order to succeed in an academic or career environment. This creates the main issue that if the younger generations and/or non naturalized people are not learning and understanding an indigenous language it will go extinct.
Historically Cuba has been ignorant of any indigenous traces that may be still living and the Cuban people were led to believe that there was no significant native Cuban peoples or culture still alive. However, after a small study by the name of the Cuba Indigena Project conducted by photographers, geneticists, and sociologists in the Baracoa region, a relatively remote and wild area of the island of Cuba small but rich communities were found. These communities have maintained relatively strong ties to their Amerindian pasts and although they have struggled with their identities being shunned and unrecognized by the larger Cuban society they have been able to hold on to their traditions and portions of their dialects.
Even still the Cuban government has done no outreach in order to protect these communities or revitalize their past and language.
Cuba believes that it shall begin to move forward by recognizing native past on the island and no longer ignore and downplay native especially Taino existence. Museums dedicated to precolonial life on the island by utilizing anecdotes and indigenous traditions and research to form a proper relationship with descendants of Amerindians. Also emphasis on Museums as an effort to preserve aspects of Indo-Cuban/Amerindian history on the island of Cuba. The hope is to rekindle a connection between the main societal identity of cubanness and Amerindian descent.
