The Santa Rosa First Peoples Community is the major organisation of Indigenous people in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. The

Kalinago The Kalinago, also called Island Caribs or simply Caribs, are an Indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. They may have been related to the Mainland Caribs (Kalina) of South America, but they spoke an unrelated language know ...

Arima Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of the ...

are descended from the original

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

inhabitants of Trinidad; Amerindians from the former ''

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish Labour (human activity), labour system that rewarded Conquistador, conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including mil ...

s'' of

Tacarigua Tacarigua (originally San Pablo de Tacarigua) is a town in the East–West Corridor of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located east of Tunapuna, north of Trincity and west of Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago, Arouca. It is on the banks of the Tacarigua Rive ...

and Arauca ( Arouca) were resettled to Arima between 1784 and 1786. The SRCC was incorporated in 1973 to preserve the culture of the Caribs of Arima and maintain their role in the annual Santa Rosa Festival (dedicated to Santa Rosa de Lima, the first

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

canonised in the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

). The SRCC is headed by its President Ricardo Bharath Hernandez and maintains a leadership role among Indigenous organisations in Trinidad. The community is also the base for the

Carib Queen The Carib Queen is the leader of the Indigenous community in Trinidad and Tobago. The Queen, whose title was established in 1875, is based at the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago. The position is a lifetime appoin ...

. The Amerindians were relocated to open their lands for settlement by the influx of French settlers brought in by the ''Cedula of Population'' and to separate the Indigenous people from the newcomers (''see:

History of Trinidad and Tobago The history of Trinidad and Tobago begins with the settlements of the islands by Indigenous First Peoples. Trinidad was visited by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage in 1498, (he never landed in Tobago), and claimed in the name of Spain. ...

''). The Mission was granted 1000 acres (4 km²) of land by Governor

José María Chacón Don José María Chacón (1 January 1749 – 1 January 1833) was the last Spanish Governor of Trinidad, serving from 1783 to 1797. He was responsible for signing the Cedula of Population in 1783, leading to extensive French immigration to Trin ...

, and Governor

Ralph Woodford Sir Ralph James Woodford, 2nd Baronet (1784–17 May 1828), was a British colonial administrator who was the longest-serving governor of Trinidad. Young and energetic, from 1813 he sought to bring order to Trinidad society and greatly improve ...

added 320 acres (1.3 km²). However, as the Mission gradually dissolved, these lands were seized by the state.

External links

* * * {{Authority control Ethnic groups in Trinidad and Tobago Indigenous peoples in Trinidad and Tobago Arima