Group Reflection #3

The Second People aka Group 6 consists of nine (9) members in total. At present the membership consist of the following persons:

1. Adrian Best - 816040766 

2. Debra Paponette-Rochford - 808010984

3. Jevon Francois - 813004473

4. Chriselle Benjamin ‐ 816040761 

5. Jared Blackmann - 816041792  

6. Lytrell Pujadas - 816016031

7. Aaqil Felix - 816041791 

8. Anastazia Andrews - 816042719

9. Mishak Peters - 816023343

Group Presentation on the First Peoples

Friday 17th November 2023 was “D’ Day” … We; The Second Peoples went with the intent to make a statement and a statement indeed we made! Our presentation was an eloquent sequence of moving parts that when put together produces a very high-quality presentation.

 

Presentation Overview

It begins with a brief group introduction, then flows into an intro trailer produced by Adrian.

Immediately after the trailer ends, we moved into a spoken word piece produced by Debra, her presentation was highlighted with special effects lighting and fog for dramatic effect, this was controlled by Jevon. The spoken word piece was complimented by a slideshow created by Mishak, that depicted the ideas expressed in the spoken word piece, which was underlaid with background music for dramatic effect. Along side the delivery of the spoken word our three Visual Arts members produced stunning pieces of art, telling the story of the first peoples. Lytrell produced a portrait of the present Queen in all her regalia, Chriselle produced two stunningly beautiful artist renditions of a Taino woman, the attention to detail was awesome and Jared produced a model of the housing compound/village. Each of these were presented at the end of the spoken word piece by the artists who explained their concepts. Following this we closed off the presentation with some audience participation in the form of a game show styled question and answer segment. The class was split in two, the Tainos and the Kalinagos. It was a burst of fun getting the full class involved. The winning team was gifted their prize – a cassava pone, a fitting reward!

Group members Presentation Feedback

Anastazia’s view - 

Our presentation went well. We had a trailer, a slideshow, spoken word, and our artists each did a piece of work and spoke on it. It was interactive towards the end with a competitive Q and A session. Due to the different forms of sharing information, such as videos, pictures, poetry and art, the class was more likely to pay attention and absorb information. We had a few hiccups with the projector, but we recovered quickly and silently.

Aaqil’s view;

After our ‘mock presentation’, I was very excited and confident about the spectacle we were about to deliver. Our presentation really expressed our “Call to Action” and showed that once you put in the work and really come together, we can achieve great things. The package included every facet of who are the First People, their history and how important it is to know where we came from in order to determine where we’re going as a people. We managed to fit various entities relating to the First People, from their foods, their religious beliefs, their craftsmanship and gifts. It was truly a pleasure being a part of this awesome collaborative research project.

Jevon’s View

It has been a wonderful yet nerve-racking experience, especially learning that after we had the mocked presentation Miss Tarfer indicated that we were going to be the first group to present. I could not wait for it to be done and over with, we had tried to meet up to have a test run of the presentation but persons were unavailable. I started to get worried because we hardly heard from some people. But on the day of presentation everyone came together with all of their information and ideas on the first people and how we should go about presenting. It is so interesting how we partake in the food, dance and religious belief of the first people and never knew where it originated. I must say it was a great pleasure working along these wonderful groups of persons from different disciplines to put together this awesome presentation. 

Lytrell's view -

The Carib Queen

Nona Lopez Cal-de-ron Ga-le-ra Moreno Aquan is the 7th Carib Queen to date. I choose to create a portrait of her because I was drawn to her beauty and lively spirit.  From the reference image I used there was this sense of regalia and vibrancy that I wanted to capture. So I choose to emphasise the beautiful colours that were already present in the reference.

Chriselle’s view

I'm usually very intimidated by group assignments or presentations but despite my anxiety I trusted that there was great a sense of cohesion among us, tying in each discipline from all aspects of art together for a seamless portrayal of our topic and further findings on the first people.

                

 My work portrays portraits of Taino women along with their religious symbolism with influences from Puerto Rican indigenous culture. From their folklore of the golden flower to the symbols of their gods and goddesses. I was inspired by the sun god, a god that provides great strength and longevity to both crops and people and átabey the goddess of moon fertility and freshwater. These symbols are shown on her right and left arm which influenced the environment both subjects were placed to give a sense of cohesion between them.

Debra's View

I was extremely nervous for our presentation. I have never written poetry in my life but wanted to present something different from the obvious dance and drama. Our team worked so effortless together and integrated well. We pulled on persons strengths and trusted each other. Persons gave their word on what they can commit to and each did not disappoint. We came together and we executed. My hope is that the presentation not only entertained but educated our peers about our origin and value the building blocks of our Caribbean culture

Final Thoughts

Many of us were a bit hesitant at the beginning of the journey especially from past experiences where group work is challenging. We did have some communication issues at the beginning as we settled in and navigated but as the project progressed we were able to gather pertinent information for the presentation as well as the dialogue between us became better. We have learnt so much about the First Peoples but we also learnt about ourselves, our hidden talents, our creativity and how to work together as a team. Overall it was a good, if a bit taxing experience. We all gained a lot of knowledge, about the first people and researching as a whole, while also forming connections with one another and got to showcase our talents.

GROUP REFLECTION #2

INTRODUCING... THE SECOND PEOPLE :)

Group Name Rationale

GROUP 6 henceforth known as "The Second People" 😄is the name the group collectively agreed on. The name first started off as a joke but soon grew on us. We know that we are a callaloo of our history and definitely not the true second people that came to Trinidad and Tobago. However we are a representation of our forefathers that came via slavery, migration, indentureship and colonialism. We are the people that occupy our land that continue to keep our history alive and form our own. We act as the voice of the first people in this space (Caribbean Lab) to appreciate, educate and inform our peers the rich history that the First people left behind and what exist today.

Findings

 

Friday 27th October, 2023 worked perfectly in our favor! When everything aligns and all that you need just drops in your lap, that’s a beautiful feeling, some call it luck, others would simply say that you were prepared for the opportunity and capitalized on it. However, no matter how you view it, on Friday 27th October our guest speaker was no other than Chief Ricardo Barath Hernandez of the Santa Rosa First Peoples’ Organization. Why is this perfect, because as you know our group assignment is about the First Peoples of Trinidad & Tobago.

Every single sub topic was covered during this discourse, we were able to ask questions thus turning the speech into an interview. We now have quality, pertinent information directly from the head and a person with undoubted ancestral links. Every team member is now operating with liquid gold, and as the time draws closer to the end, we are very sure that we will produce a high quality product.

The story is both a beautiful one and a sad one. The injustices faced by the rich indigenous culture is numerous, but the legacy lives on and today we can still appreciate a section of history that has undoubtedly shaped our society for the better. We have already begun to compile our various topics into a single document, and have been brainstorming creative ways of presenting our findings to the class. Since most of us have completed our research, all that seems to be left is discussion and working on our presentation.

Adrian was able to complete his Historical Overview and this was submitted and pretty soon everyone will be uploading theirs for final edits. We plan to utilise the skill set of our richly talented group members to bring this presentation to life.

Anastazia has been able to collect a heavy amount of information despite her previous struggles, and is satisfied with her work. All she is doing is some last editing before she adds her piece to the main document.

 

 Aaqil searched high and low to establish the early locations of the First People but was able to gather some intel on their early inhabitance. Now is just to put it together and insert it into our main document. Our presentation will definitely be a unique experience for all.

Debra is almost complete in her research area- music and dance influence of the First People. There was once concern on where the topic should focus on the influence as it pertains to Trinidad and Tobago or the Caribbean. However it was decided that given that this is Caribbean Lab then the research will encompass other islands where information was found such as Guyana and Dominican Republic

Next Steps

The group been regularly interacting on whatsApp however we would like to have a google meet to plan our presentation. Our next step is to pull the information together and determine how we would present it to our classmates. We also need to understand what is the time limit for the presentation so that we can manage our time and determine from the wealth of information we collected, what is pertinent

Final thoughts

The group feels positive about the project and this course as a whole. We have been able to gain a greater appreciation for our culture and this project has also helped us to better lean to work together as a team despite being from different art forms.

Group Reflection #1

Project Kick Off

Group 6 consist of nine (9) members in total, however we are suspecting that one of the members is no longer a part of the class. At present the membership consist of the following persons:

1. Adrian Best - 816040766, 
2. Debra Paponette-Rochford- 808010984,
3. Jevon Francois - 813004473
4. Chriselle Benjamin, 
5. Jared Blackmann, 
6. Lytrell Pujadas - 816016031
7. Aaqil Felix - 816041791 
8. Anastazia Andrews-816042719.
9. Mishak Peters - 816023343

By method of voting the group has chosen to research the topic: The First People. We chose First People’s because it is both a location, festival, and technically people, so there is a lot that can be gained from researching about it, and it would without a doubt have a lot of intriguing material. We agreed to divide the reseach into focus areas for each person to pursue.

• Mishak will research their food,
• Anastazia will research the religious practices
• Debra will look at the cultural influences in our music and dance
• Chriselle will explore their leadership structure
• Aaqil will be researching their geographical locations
• Lytrell will be looking into their influences into art
• Adrian will be looking into their history as well as sharing on the official First Peoples Day.
• Jevon will be covering the First People's Day

Mode of communication: WhatsApp, In person meeting, group call (google meet/whatsApp)

Research methods: For gathering credible information on the groups’ history we would be engaging the use of the National reference library, citing scholarly works and maybe, if things go well we are aiming to a conversation with a descendant. This will give us access to the heart and mind which on most occasions cannot always be captured or appreciated through pen and paper.

Findings

Luckily, this month is Santa Rosa's First Peoples Hertiage Week in Arima. Miskhak was in the area in Saturday 14th October, 2023 to capture some images and ground research. One interesting thing about our research is exploring the history of the First Peoples; a conversation most of us would have ended in secondary school. Adrian shared that the very first "Trinidadians" included Amerindians of the Kalina, Warao, Kalipuna, Nepuyo, Taino, Aruaca and Carib peoples. They in fact shaped who we are and influenced many everyday activities we take for granted, from foods that are seasonal favorites to music and even the names of the towns and villages we reside in. Jevon was able to make some headway into his research area. He confessed that  this is the first time he heard about the first people, and while he doesn’t  like doing research this topic was interesting to  venture into, its funny how there are some much cultural history right here in Trinidad and Tobago and yet still some of us know nothing about it’s existence, his  research is still on going and we hope that this experience encourages him to do some more research on our rich cultural history. On another note Mishak investigated the food of our First people. The food of our ancestors of Trinidad and Tobago are no secret, they are still very common to this day and show no signs of going anywhere. We hope to uncover not only where the food came from, but how it was prepared since back then there were no fancy modern kitchen tools and utensils to prepare dishes. Research so far is going great, there are lots of articles online and elders that Mishak will be speaking with to help with extrapolating the information. There is so much richness in the information we have gathered to date. It truly gives us a different view on our current lives; the way we speak, what we eat, where we live...all inspired by our forefathers and in some ways our First People. Aaqil is venturing into the vast geographical location of the First People within our cultural pride of Trinidad and Tobago. This has been a journey thus far and it continues to be very interesting to uncover how much of our land in the early history of Trinidad and Tobago was inhabited by the First People’s. Lastly we have seen some similarity in the MayPole dance and our first people dance. One can ague that there is quite a resemblance in the MayPole dance and one of the amerindian dance. Did the colonisers take this dance and made it their own?

Relevance to the Arts

We have begun to appreciate this assignment as it has exposed how much of our arts embody elements handed down to us. It is in the fabric of our cloth the steps in our dance the music that we listen to. While it can be agued that the authenticity of the heritage is lost we do see this group fighting to keep it alive and as future artist it should be our desire to keep it alive as best we can by paying homage to the first people in painting, drawing, melody, song or dance

Challenges

Some areas of research are proving difficult to acquire information. Anastazia is challenged in finding information on the religious practices. However she will visit the libraries in the coming weeks to investigate further. Aaqil also shared the same concern where there is a challenge to gathering sufficient information on the First People. There isn’t much written records on them but he’s committed to discovering as much info as he can and learn all that he can about our foundation heritage in Trinidad and Tobago. As a group we face the obvious challenge of planning and coordinating our efforts as we work together.  The fact is that we have Caribbean Lab once a week thus as a group we may only engage with each other during that class as we come from different disciplines. We do have a group chat but we would have to decide on additional meeting times so that we can ensure we keep track of out project timelines and its deliverables. 

Next Steps

• Set a weekly touchpoint to gauge where we are and what we have to complete
• Continue researching our relevant focus areas for the topic chosen
• Plan trip to capture images for research
• Discuss what our final presentation will comprise off

Overall, we are on the road to success, and look forward to see what we can produce together!!