Caribbean Seminar Series - Resistance, Refuge, Revival: The Indigenous Kalinagos of Dominica

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Abstract: Dominica is the only place in the Caribbean where the Kalinagos – the indigenous people of the region – were able to secure a portion of their own land after all the rest had been taken from them. In this talk, distinguished Dominican historian and anthropologist Lennox Honychurch will discuss his latest book Resistance, Refuge, Revival: The Indigenous Kalinagos of Dominica, which tells their remarkable story. The book sheds new light on the Kalinagos and the shifts in their identities from the early years of resistance to European colonisation, through tactical withdrawal, to a revival of traditions and respect in the 21st century. Emphasising a Kalinago perspective, Honychurch shows the important role they have played in the complex social and cultural evolution of Dominica.

Biography: Lennox Honychurch is a distinguished Dominican historian and anthropologist. He has published numerous academic papers and books on the history of Dominica and the Caribbean region. Awarded his PhD from the University of Oxford on the material culture of the Kalinagos, he is an expert on all aspects of Dominica’s history and culture, and his book The Dominica Story was the first history of the island. His most recent book, In the Forests of Freedom: the Fighting Maroons of Dominica, was published by Papillote Press in 2017. He was responsible for the restoration of Fort Shirley, at the Cabrits National Park, Dominica. In 2011, Honychurch was awarded the Anthony N. Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence. He is also an artist and lives in Dominica, his birthplace.