VIRTUAL: Revitalization and Reconstruction of the Taino Language

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Join us on Zoom to learn about current efforts to revive the Taino language. Kasike Jorge Baracutay Estevez will speak on the challenges of reviving the Indigenous Taino Arawak language/s of the Caribbean, as well as his work on Hiwatahia: Hekexi Taino Language Dictionary, a new 20,000-word dictionary. Dr. Darlene Flores, a founding member of Indigenous Peoples Day Newton, will introduce this program.

Kasike Jorge Baracutay Estevez is a Taíno activist & avid researcher on Caribbean Indigeneity. He worked at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian for 25 years as an Education/Workshops Program Specialist. Kasike (Chief) Jorge Baracutay has been providing educational, cultural and linguistic resources to all those seeking to connect with their Indigenous Caribbean Ancestry. He is the founder of Higuayagua: Taíno of the Caribbean & creator of the Hiwatahia-Hekexi Taíno language.

Dr. Darlene Flores, Arahi'abo (Medicine hand) and Chiropractic Physician, is a mother of three children, Munah (12), Zamir (10), and Aminah (8). Born of Borikua parents, she was raised in Newton, Massachusetts. Dr. Flores is a traditional Medicine Keeper for her Taíno Higuayagua Caribbean Tribe. She is also a United States Veteran who is highly decorated for her participation in the War In Iraq. Dr. Flores also owns and operates a Wellness business in Brookline, Massachusetts called Karaya Wellness Clinic. Known for her activism and advocacy for more holistic medicine to be taught and practiced in the BIPOC community, Dr. Flores prides herself in preserving the ancestral ways to raise her children and serve Native/Indigenous communities. She is one of the founding members of Indigenous Peoples Day Newton, and a current resident of Newton..

This program is sponsored by the Newton Free Library.