Yurumein (Homeland)

The story of the indigenous populations of the Caribbean who have struggled to survive over the centuries is one of the great tragedies in the Western hemisphere. Filmmaker Andrea E. Leland's compelling documentary examines a historical chapter that is largely unknown in the United States: the history of the Carib people on St. Vincent. Also known as “Garifuna,” they were disenfranchised and slaughtered by British colonial powers, with many sent into enslavement-exile in Central America. Leland follows Dr. Cadrin Gill, a St. Vincent–born physician based in Los Angeles, who returns to his homeland to help reclaim Carib heritage. A Carib dance group from Honduras also visits, bringing back traditions not seen on St. Vincent in two centuries. But the harshness of the past is difficult to erase. Today, St. Vincent's Caribs (roughly 2 percent of the population) face hostility, including being stereotyped as cannibals and idiots. Although efforts to erase all traces of Carib identity on St. Vincent were almost successful, word-of-mouth stories passed down by generations—coupled with online research conducted by today's Caribs—have helped to restore a sense of pride and self-determination. And even St. Vincent's prime minster, Ralph Gonsalves, has embraced this new understanding: in a ceremony honoring 18th-century Carib leader Joseph Chatoyer, Gonsalves clearly identifies the treatment of the Caribs by the British as an act of genocide. Offering an important look at a long-forgotten history, this powerful film is also a marvelous tribute to the indefatigable spirit of a people who refused to disappear. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)