Caribbean Indigenous Resistance / Resistencia indígena del Caribe ¡Taíno Vive!

Karshan Center of Graphic Art
Open May 13, 2023 through August 6, 2023

In 1492, the Indigenous peoples of the northern Caribbean islands, popularly known as the Taíno, discovered Christopher Columbus. The encounter set in motion an invasion by Spanish soldiers, priests, and colonists that devastated the Taíno civilization and decimated its population. By the 1550s, colonial officials deemed the Taíno extinct. In reality, the Taíno and their culture resisted, survived, and continue to make an impact around the world today.

The bilingual exhibition Caribbean Indigenous Resistance / Resistencia indígena del Caribe ¡Taíno Vive! tells the captivating story of the endurance and courage of these Caribbean peoples. The exhibition examines the history of these Spanish and English-speaking islands, and the impact and legacy of Caribbean Indigenous knowledge throughout the world.

Visitors will learn about the Caribbean Indigenous survival journey through stories, contemporary crafts, musical instruments, and utilitarian objects. The exhibition will include video content and more than 60 striking images and graphics on freestanding structures. It will explore the rich and enduring cultural legacies of the region, the value and impact of the culture’s knowledge on the world, and the complicated questions around heritage, ancestry, and race that emerge from Taíno identities today.

Caribbean Indigenous Resistance / Resistencia indígena del Caribe ¡Taíno Vive! is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of the American Latino.

This exhibition received federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the National Museum of the American Latino.

Image caption: Boynayel Mota of the Taino group Yukayeke Kiskeya overlooking the mountains of this indigenous ancestors in Maguana Arriba, Dominican Republic. August 17th, 2021. Image Credit: Photo by Delvin Ortega, Ortega Films, Dominican Republic