A preliminary proposal to construct a small Taino demonstration village in the arboretum at Magens Bay on St. Thomas received a warm reception Friday during a meeting of the authority that governs the park, but much work remains before it could become reality.
Under the proposal, a small village of three different types of huts the Taino traditionally used would be built in the forested part of the park to educate both locals and visitors about the life and culture of the indigenous people who first occupied the land, said Maekiaphan Phillips, kasike of the Guainia Taino Tribe of the Virgin Islands and president of the group Opia Taino International.
“We would be able to teach the community more about our heritage and educate the community about the Taino that is supposed to be extinct. I think it would be a wonderful learning teaching platform for the community,” she said.
Phillips was joined by her son Emmanuel, secretary of Opai Taino International, Roberto Mukaro Borreror, kasike of the Guainia Taino Tribe of Boriken, and Sean Krigger, director of the State Historic Preservation Office under the Department of Planning and Natural Resources.
“We worked on this proposal together” after a visit to the oldest functioning Taino village in Cuba, said Emmanual Phillips. “We got to meet with the chief in Cuba. And after we saw how they are living, because they still live in an actual village, we thought that a great place to start would be having a demonstration village here — a smaller version of a full-size village just so that as people go through the path they would be able to understand the culture that was there and they would be able to be educated,” he said.
While acknowledging that details need to be ironed out, Krigger told the board that his office supports the general concept, given that Magens Bay “is a significant Native American site. There are a number of documented village sites there,” so it is in keeping with the history of the area, he said. “I have seen similar village sites in Puerto Rico, so the concept is not foreign to me.”
Borreror noted that there are indigenous interpretive education centers in parks “all over the Americas” and having one at Magens Bay would not only educate people about their history but also let them know “that this is a culture that has perhaps changed over the decades, but it still exists in the Virgin Islands and throughout the Caribbean.”
Barbara Petersen, chairperson of the authority, said they are “open to having a conversation, 100%,” but that the proposal is in the very early stages and details would need to be worked out, including whether they would be selling tours and whether the proposal is permitted under the deed for the park, which was given to the people of the Virgin Islands by philanthropist Arthur Fairchild in 1947.
“There’s several things that would be required because what I envision, based on what you presented, is sort of like an MOU — a memorandum of an understanding between us,” said Petersen. “There’s a whole lot that we have to talk about, and speak with lawyers, obviously.”
Board member Jason Charles, who also sits on the West Indian Company board, was enthusiastic in his support of the project, including as a driver of cultural tourism.
“I think it’s a really, really good idea. I sit on the WICO bord as well, and I speak to the cruise lines and to their partners — we’re always talking about what could we do to enhance the offerings of the Virgin Islands. I think this would be an excellent value add to what we offer. It would give us the opportunity to be able to say, ‘This is a part of our culture. This is who the Virgin Islands is.’ And I think this is something very beautiful,” Charles said.
“It is also important that we take care of not just the colonial side of our history, but also the Caribbean side, the Native American side of our history, and hold it with the same level of reverence and esteem, because that’s a beautiful culture, and we need to be able to showcase not just our colonial DNA, but also our true natives who came here, who were the first people here, to the Virgin Islands,” he said. “So, I support their projects. If it’s designed in the right way, and we get the numbers correct, I think this would be a good value ad,” he said.
Petersen directed General Manager Monique Simon to keep in touch with the Phillips family about the proposal and said the board would aim to have a meeting to further discuss the proposal in August.
Board member Katina Coulianos added that in the meantime, her colleagues should refamiliarize themselves with a 2003 study of the arboretum by Vaccarino Associates that included in-depth historical research, a tree inventory and site analysis, “so we can really have a good understanding of what’s going on on that site. Some of us are not really very familiar with it and we need to educate ourselves,” she said.
In other business:
- Board member Robert Moron, who heads the physical plant committee, said 10 companies requested RFP packages for the rebuild of Bathhouse 1, which was heavily damaged in hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. The bid deadline has been extended from June 27 to July 3.
- Moron said he has received several estimates and is working with a contractor on drawings for Shed 1, which urgently requires column repairs.
- The board voted unanimously to pay for shipping of a 2024 jet ski that was donated to the authority by organizers of the Stars and Stripes Poker Run for use by the park’s lifeguards. While it will cost about $3,900 to ship to St. Thomas from Florida, the jet ski is brand new and has a retail value of about $19,000 and will enhance rescue capabilities.
- Voted unanimously to raise the check-signing limit of the general manager without board approval or a second signature to $9,999.
- Voted to write off $2.3 million owed by Smith Bay Park, which the authority also manages, to the Magens Bay Authority and classify any future amounts as “intracompany” expenses rather than loans. Member Charles abstained.
- Petersen reported that RFPs have been issued for both the taxi and watersports concessions.
Attending Friday’s meeting were members Petersen, Charles, Coulianos, Moron, Cecile de Jongh and Kevin Rodriquez. Dayle Barry had an excused absence.
St. Croix Source
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