KRISTY RAMANRINE
Kristy.ramnarine@cnc3.co.tt
They number nearly half a billion across 90 countries, yet Indigenous Peoples remain among the most marginalised communities in the world. The United Nations estimates that while they make up less than six per cent of the global population, they account for 15 per cent of its poorest. Still, their resilience is woven into the fabric of humanity: they speak the vast majority of the world’s 7,000 languages and embody some 5,000 distinct cultures.
It is this diversity — and their shared struggles for recognition and rights — that Australia, Canada and Mexico sought to honour last week in Port-of-Spain.
On August 21, the embassies of the three countries came together at the Mexican Embassy on Hayes Street, St Clair, to mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples with a short film screening. The intimate gathering brought the global conversation on Indigenous visibility and empowerment into a local space, where history and memory are deeply tied to T&T’s own First Peoples.
Mexican Ambassador Víctor Hugo Morales Meléndez described the occasion as a chance to reflect, connect and commit to action.
“President Claudia Sheinbaum has encouraged actions to highlight and guarantee the rights of Indigenous women and to support their empowerment,” he told attendees.
“Mexico implements a Feminist Foreign Policy and as a result, last March 8 we organised a commemorative event in support of women, during which we promoted today’s activity, along with the possibility of holding a dialogue forum in October. Indigenous women are at the heart of preserving Indigenous culture, traditions and languages. They are essential to the life of their communities.”
For T&T, the event was also a reminder of an ancient past. Historical records show that Amerindian Peoples lived on the islands for as many as 6,000 years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. NALIS estimates that at the time of Spanish settlement in 1592, some 40,000 Amerindians inhabited Trinidad. The island, a hub within the wider Caribbean trade and exchange network, was home to multiple tribes.
Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs, Kiva Clarke, drew parallels between the global effort to empower Indigenous Peoples and T&T’s own responsibility to safeguard its First Peoples.
“The Government of Trinidad and Tobago was pleased to learn that the respective Governments of Australia, Canada and Mexico have undertaken to repair and strengthen relations with their Indigenous communities,” Clarke said.
She praised Mexico’s declaration of 2025 as “the Year of the Indigenous Woman” and highlighted the historic appointment of Hugo Aguilar Ortiz, an Indigenous lawyer, as the incoming Chief Justice of Mexico’s Supreme Court.
“Similarly, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago is proud to have Indigenous communities led by women, at a time when the country itself is led by three strong women,” Clarke added. “It is envisaged that this will help address the challenges faced by the First Peoples of Trinidad and Tobago, promote togetherness among the various Indigenous communities, and educate the wider public on the history, traditions and contributions of Indigenous Peoples here at home.”
Clarke pointed to October’s Heritage Week celebrations as an opportunity to deepen these connections, honouring the cultural continuity of the Caribs, Arawaks and other tribes who shaped the country’s earliest societies.
While the United Nations officially observed the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9, the collaboration among the embassies of Australia, Canada and Mexico gave the day renewed resonance in T&T — a reminder that the stories of Indigenous Peoples are not relics of the past, but living narratives of resilience, identity and belonging.
