This is the second and final of a two-part series article on the indigenous people of the Virgin Islands. At the end of the first article, I mentioned that there were no such names as Arawaks and Caribs Indians. According to historians, Arawak is a language not a people. Thus, what is known as Arawakan is a family of languages. These languages were widely spoken by indigenous people throughout the Amazon River Basin, the Orinoco Valley, Guianas, and in Columbus’s time and throughout the Caribbean region as well.

Graduates of the University of the Virgin Islands Orville Kean Campus heard words of praise and reassurance at commencement exercises held Friday on St. Thomas. They heard inspiring words from their guest speaker and shared a sigh of relief from the student chosen from among them to address the crowd.