On June 29 2021 I volunteered at a summer camp program for children of immigrant workers from Central America to offer a Story-Telling presentation that featured the traditional creation narration of the ancient Maya, the Popol Vuh. The children really got into the fun of it, using the blowgun to "shoot down" Seven Macaw Wukub Kakix, playing the…

Nos reunimos en el sitio ceremonial del CIRCULO ESPIRITUAL INDIGENA CANEY en Verona, Pennsylvania, cerca de Pittsburgh Junio 26  2021. Eramos varios tainos y amigos de nuestro movimiento de restauracion resurgente taina.

We gathered at the Verona, Pennsylvania ceremonial site of the CANEY INDIGENOUS SPIRITUAL CIRCLE near Pittsburgh June…

On Thursday June 10 2021 Indigenous people in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and…

Please join us today in Philadelphia, PA to defend our hard-won victory to change Columbus Day to Indigenous People's Day. Reactionary forces in the city are trying to reverse the victory through a frivolous suit against the Mayor. …

On June 6 1981 I gathered with a number of people living in the Pittsburgh area who were interested in Taino spirituality and we founded a non-profit spiritual organization now known as the CANEY INDIGENOUS SPIRITUAL CIRCLE. Over the next 40 years this spiritual community would flourish and blossom into an entity that now thrives in sites all over the…

Dear Honorable Sirs and Madams and to whom it may concern:My name is José Tureycu Lopez and I am a Chief of one of the many indigenous Taino tribes of Puerto Rico but I also represent in this case many Taino tribes and communities, Chiefs and Medicine people throughout the Caribbean and the world.  I am writing today to seek your assistance, on behalf of our combined indigenous communities as we have been insulted and disrespected by one of the local but rather famous…

There are only a few weeks left. This exbibit is due to close on June 27 of this year. It has been active since December of 2019.

We invite you to click this LINK to access the website of this current Taino exhibit at…

La sagrada ceremonia Sirik del fin de la Primavera fue celebrada en New York City en el mes de Mayo por el behike del Circulo Espiritual Indigena Caney, Tilou Balan (Lil Wolf).

The sacred late Spring Sirik ceremony was celebrated in New York City this past month of May by the Caney Indigenous Spiritual Circle behike…

Celebramos la ceremonia de Luna Llena y Sirik en el sitio de ARCHAIC ROOTS cerca de la comunidad de Lakemont, Georgia. Nuestro behike bajo entrenamiento del Circulo Caney, William Rodriguez dirijio el…

Indigenous people and allies in the city of Philadelphia recently scored a historic victory when they succeeded in having the city officially change the identity of the month of October from Columbus Day to INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' DAY. That victory has been maliciously challenged by a lawsuit that was brought against the Mayor of the city by recalcitrant reactionaries. The people of Philly can use all the help they can get from conscious folks everywhere.

Please click…

I joined this community months ago after doing some research on the Tainos. I've been wanting to make a post but was numb by the fear. I was afraid to share my story in thoughts of being judged because nowadays, more than ever, so many people have become so judgemental on the web. To be honest, I was born in NYC with very little to no knowledge about my family. I never even got to travel to Puerto Rico because my mother was a single mother struggling to take…

I never cease to be amazed at the unexpected discoveries made everyday by archeologists working in the Caribbean which indicate extensive interactions between our Antillean island ancestors and the contemporary people living on the mainland areas of both South America…

My brother Miguel, I love learning about the spirits and ceremonies.  The artwork at the top of the page touches my soul!

The guinea pig is native to the South American mainland continent not the Caribbean

There has always been a certain amount of debate in the Taino Resurgence Movement on the subject of what kinds of animals our Taino ancestors were familiar with. The typical and logical assumption entertained by most modern-day Tainos is that if a certain species of animal was not native to a specific island then the Tainos living on that…

My Relatives, many of you recognize this song as the great chant to Atabey our sacred mother of the earth and the waters which we in the Taino Resurgence movement have been singing since 1982 when I composed it under inspiration of our Taino ancestors. This particular video shows me leading the singing of the song as part of a historic…

This study by researcher Ryan Martin explores the meaning ascribed to higuera gourds by ancient Taino.

Please click on this LINK to download the PDF…

CROSSING OVER CEREMONY

The ancient Taino people perceived the transition of a human soul from the realm of the living to the realm of the dead as a journey to a symbolic land called CoayBay. This place was imaged as being the very womb of the Earth Mother AtaBey, the Cosmic Matriarch, from which all life had emerged and to which all life returned, and it was associated with a number of symbolic objects that represented that womb. Among these objects were specially designed clay…