Chief of the Carib Territory

The Chief of the Carib Territory presides over the Carib Council, the local government of 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, Carib Chiefs have also acted as a representative of the Carib 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]

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Historically, the Chief was the leader of the Caribs or 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]

Name Period
Thomas "Indian" Warner 1667–74
Petit François Served sometime in the first half of the 18th century
(Popot) Wakanik Served in the middle half of the 18th century
Joseph Served sometime in the period 1850–75
Brunie Served sometime in the period 1875–1900
Auguiste François Served during the period when the Carib Reserve was officially established by the British government
Jules Benjamin Corriette 1916–26
Thomas "Jolly" John 1926–30
Simon John 1930 (six months)
Office suspended 1930–52
Whitney Frederick 1953–59
Jermandois Francis 1959–72
Masclem Frederick 1972–75
Faustulus Frederick 1975–79
Hilary Frederick 1979–84, 1994–98
Irvince Auguiste 1984–94
Garnet Joseph 1998–2004
Charles Williams 2004–09
Garnet Joseph 2009–2014
Charles Williams 2014–present

Notes
  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.
gollark: Yes.
gollark: Which makes it nightmarishly complex to do anything.
gollark: In some cases you need to unglue the screen or something crazy.
gollark: Yes, it's just much harder and requires expensive equipment/
gollark: It was not "necessary". Maybe it reduced cost slightly, but it really reads more like "planned obsolescence" than "useful change".

References
  • World Statesmen.org
  • Honychurch, Lennox (1995), The Dominica Story: A History of the Island, Oxford: Macmillan Education Ltd, ISBN 978-0-333-62776-1.
  • Honychurch, Lennox (1998), Dominica: Isle of Adventure (Third ed.), Macmillan Education Ltd, ISBN 978-0-333-72065-3.
  • Kossek, Brigitte (1994), "Land Rights, Cultural Identity and Gender Politics in the Carib Territory in Dominica", in Kuppe, René; Potz, Richard (eds.), Law & Anthropology, 7, Martinus Nijhof, pp. 171–202, ISBN 0-7923-3142-7.
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