THE LAST 100 YEARS OF DIASPORA EAGLE CLAN LOKONO-ARAWAK HISTORY & SUCCESS 1923-2023
When our ruling class descendant 'exile community' founding Matriarch Princess Marian (daughter of the last Hereditary Chief of our Eagle Clan of the Lokono-Arawak Tribal Nation) first came to Barbados from Guyana in 1925 - THIS is the house she lived in (sadly destroyed now) with her 6 children. Vidi Arnold DeWever (who later moved to Cuba), David Arnold DeWever (who later moved to England), Ruth DeWever (married James Serrao & stayed in Barbados), Martha DeWever (married Keith Chandler & stayed in Barbados), Hannah DeWever (married George Corbin & stayed in Barbados) and Joshua Arnold DeWever (who's only child - a son 'Tony Byer' - later moved to Canada).
These 6 children moved the surviving number of exiled ruling class descendants from 7 (Marian & her 6 children who represented the living 1st & 2nd generation) - to just over 300 of us alive today who represent the still living 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th generation descendants.
Marian was the LAST full-blood in our clan, also the last to grow up traditionally naked & barefooted in the jungle, last to daily wear the minimalist traditional post-pubescent cotton Weraka (loincloth) and be topless, last (before my son Hatuey in 1993) to have a traditional Lokono-Arawak name (Shoko Laliwa/'Little Yellow Butterfly'), last to have hair that reached to her ankles, last to undergo the traditional 9 day long puberty rite of passage (until my daughter Sabantho in 2012), last to wear traditional Lokono-Arawak regalia and temporary body tatoos (until I re-established it among us - her descendants), last to survive the measles & smallpox epidemics that almost exterminated her village and her own ruling family traditional nobility, last to grow up in our ancient Palisaded Chiefdom (only one of two in Guyana) of which the principal village occupied 20 acres of land itself (stated on a legal document we retain that her father left for Marian so the government would not evict our last people living there in the 1960's) - it was over 140 years ago when she was born free in the rain-forest.
She was also the FIRST in our clan to be Christianised (I still have her Bible) though she maintained her tribal spirituality and practiced it in secret unknown to her non-native husband (as witnessed by my grandmother who told me), first to be given a non-native name (by the Anglican Bishop Austin of Guyana who adopted her after her puberty rite), first to receive a western education, first to be invited to a Ball to meet a member of the British Royal Family (the Abdicated King Edward VIII when he was visiting Guyana as the then Prince of Wales - and where she was first called an Arawak 'Princess' by the British Governor of Guiana as he introduced her to HRH ), first to live a middle-class urban life, and the first to travel into exile - and die never having seen or set foot on her tribal homeland in Guyana ever again.
Great grandmother Marian (daughter of our last ruling Hereditary Eagle Clan Chief in Guyana) who founded our 300 Eagle Clan person exiled diaspora when she left Guyana in 1925 - was the first exiled Clan family member of note, as from 1900-1925 - the first quarter-century of the 20th century, she was in fact - the richest Amerindian woman in Guyana, with a two-story house, maids and man-servants in Colonial Georgetown, and a massive collection of precious metal and gem jewelry including diamonds, rubies, emeralds etc - from around the world, estimated to be worth in excess of US$125,000.00 (or 25 Million Guyana dollars) in today's money (unfortunately her Dutch husband squandered all his inherited fortune to accomplish this), but she is more remembered for being the only indigenous person invited by the then Brittish Governor of Guyana (who was the one that introduced her to the British Prince as being 'An Arawak Princess' (hence we in the family lovingly refer to her ever since as 'Princess Marian', because in reality there is no word in the Lokono-Arawak language for ‘Prince’ or ‘Princess’, one would simply be known as the son or daughter of the hereditary Chief) to a Ball held to honor the then visiting HRH the Prince of Wales to Colonial Georgetown, Guyana - that the Prince asked to dance with, and HRH moved her and her mixed race European & Ethiopian Creole husband Vivian Arnold DeWever (owner of the Argosy Newspaper in Guyana) - to sit next to him (her husband must have been honored yet intimidated at the same time I reckon). for the remainder of the night, however in death - her grave in Westbury cemetery in Barbados is a minor tourist attraction for Indigenous history aficionados - because it is the ONLY known grave of a both an Lokono-Arawak royal - and a great grandson of an Ethiopian Emperor (as well as the Greatest Kalinago Chief - 'Carib Warner' and Sir Thomas Warner - the first English settler in the Caribbean) - in the entire Caribbean - AND it is the only Lokono-Arawak gravestone in the world written in both the Lokono-Arawak and English languages.
As you read the following pages and get a snippet of the efforts of just 20 of our 300 members - you will get a better understanding of our personal contributions to the history and fabric of human society that adds to the reason why, in the grand scheme of things, our Eagle Clan wider family of the Lokono Arawak Tribal Nation, is the most powerful and internationally influential of all Lokono-Arawak clans on earth today.
EAGLE CLAN LOKONO-ARAWAK CONTRIBUTION TO SPORTS:
VOLLEYBALL:
The ‘Maxwell Maulers (women)’’ was the first-ever ladies Volleyball Team in Barbados in 1975 - that Barbados-born fellow Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak Audrey Corrie created, it once played the Barbados Defence Force (Army) Men's team (because there were no other women's volleyball teams in Barbados at that time for them to play against since they were the first)...and our ladies Volleyball Team was multiracial - but there were Barbadian men in the audience for that game saying insulting things like "What do girls know about playing volleyball - ya'll better go back home"...then the match was played - and OUR ladies Team defeated the Barbados Defence Force (Army) men's team! President Kenmore Bynoe of the Barbados Volleyball Association was very kind to officially recognize and publicly thank my parents for being pillars of the development of the sport of Volleyball in Barbados. NB - Fellow Eagle clan Lokono-Arawak Russel Corrie also played on the Barbados National Men's Volleyball Team as the shortest and one of the best setters ever - and he does not have space in his office to display all of his trophies from those days. Additionally, our men's team of the same name ‘Maxwell Maulers (men) was ranked in the top three on the island at that time.
ATHLETICS:
Barbados-born fellow Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member cousin Andrew Serrao broke sprint records at the National Stadium in Barbados from 1974-1979 - and was the first and ONLY runner to win national sprint races by such a lead that he was able to cheekily turn around and cross the finish line backwards
WE CREATED & SPONSORED THE FIRST CARICOM INTER-TRIBAL GAMES IN 2012 & 2015
We were the first to create and sponsor the first CARICOM Inter-Tribal Games - which brought Kalinago athletes to Guyana to compete against Lokono and Makushi Athletes from Barbados and Guyana since we had no external financial support and had to raise the budget from our own pockets it was limited in scope to only athletes from 3 tribes from 3 different countries competing, and never reached its full potential of becoming a truly CARICOM-wide indigenous sporting event.
We invited the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs in Guyana to view our 2015 CARICOM Inter-Tribal Games and present medals to our winning athletes - and they were impressed with the idea, so much so that in 2017 the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs in Guyana started the Guyana National Indigenous Games.
EAGLE CLAN LOKONO-ARAWAK CONTRIBUTION TO MILITARY HISTORY:
OUR ROLE IN WORLD WAR 2:
Guyana-born fellow Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak Great Uncle David Arnold Dewever, who in World War II was in the Atlantic theatre of war (where he - as a trained anti-aircraft gunner - was the only native from Latin America and the Caribbean - to ever shoot down a Nazi warplane), the allied Invasion of North Africa, and the Allied invasion of Sicily, and later worked as a spy for MI6 (SIS) monitoring Nazi collaborators in Quebec.
Little did I know when I created a medal named after him and his bravery - to honor other indigenous heroes, that it would so quickly become an Internationally accepted Revolutionary honor by Governments as well as private citizen combat veterans, on 18th December 2021 President Commander Hugo Chávez (who was half Amerindian) was posthumously awarded this medal at the Venezuelan Embassy to Barbados with the Indigenous David Arnold DeWever Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak Medal for Valor (the only Indigenous made combat honor medal of its kind in existence), the Medal was received by Venezuelan Charge D’Affaires, Álvaro Sánchez Cordero, who will see that it is sent to His Excellency Adán Chávez, the surviving brother of Hugo Chávez – and current Venezuelan Ambassador to Cuba.
OUR ROLE IN THE CUBAN REVOLUTION:
Cuban-born fellow Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member cousin Aurelio ('Yiyo') Delfino Columbie (who died at age 80) who was a rebel Soldier in the Guerrilla Army of Fidel and Che under regional Commander Zapata in Guantanamo Province, that helped to win the Cuban Revolution, he was highly decorated by Fidel for his acts of bravery during the revolutionary war in the Sierra Maestra.
OUR ROLE IN THE WAR IN ANGOLA:
Cuban-born fellow Eagle clan Lokono-Arawak family members cousins Eugenio Delfino Felico (who died at age 50), and cousin Aurelio Jaime Delfino Pellicer (still alive), served as young soldiers in the Cuban Army in the War in Angola against the Apartheid regime of South Africa, and last but not least - the late great grandfather Eusebio de la Cruz Columbie - former Trainer of the Cuban 'Vespas Negras' Special Forces Battalion in his 30’s - who was sent to Angola by Fidel on the first Cubana plane that refueled in Barbados en route to Angola, and it was this GREAT man's reports back to Fidel saying that the Angolan forces could not defeat the mighty Racist South African war machine (which was then the most powerful Army in Africa) - without greater Cuban military help. Casto read this report and 3 others from the Elite trainers he sent there and trusted, and decided to commit the entire might of the Cuban Armed Forces - to liberating black Angola from White South African rule (despite the Soviet Union thinking it was a bad idea and NOT supporting Castro's decision - because they did not think any Latin American Troops could defeat the South African Army - which is EXACTLY what the Cubans did to the shock of the USA & UK.
OTHER NOTABLE EAGLE CLAN GENERAL CIVIL SOCIETY CONTRIBUTIONS:
CONSTRUCTION:
Barbados-born Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member Murray Chandler jr (aka ‘Ray’) - was the first person whose company performed a controlled demolition (implosion) of a building in Barbados when he destroyed the old 5 stories 200 room Hilton Hotel in Barbados.
Jamaica-born fellow Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member Andrew Lashley has an Architectural design firm in the UK, with many projects completed in the UK and Caribbean. His Barbados-born father Civil Engineer David Lashley is well known for many successful mega projects throughout the Caribbean (including Barbados St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Guyana & Jamaica) over 40 years - including airports & seaports.
EDUCATION & LITERARY:
Barbados-born Eage Clan Lokono-Arawak family member Dr. Jonothan Lashley is a Professor at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus and the author of several books on Economics.
Barbados-born Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member Damon Gerard Corrie was the first Lokono-Arawak to write books about Lokono-Arawak Folkloric Mythical & Legendary creatures and to author the first and only book on traditional pre-to-post-Columbian Lokono-Arawak culture and traditional cosmovision spirituality, and the first Lokono-Arawak to author a Phonetic Dictionary of the Lokono-Arawak language, also the first Lokono-Arawak author to have print & electronic books (10 in all) available on Amazon.com, Apple & Barnes & Nobles).
LEGAL:
Barbados-born Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member cousin Phillip Serrao was the first Lokono-Arawak Knighted by the Queen in history, and also the first Lokono-Arawak QC attorney & Law Firm owner in history.
THOROUGHBRED HORSE RACING:
Even in the ‘Sport of Kings’ in the Caribbean, two Barbados-born Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family members have earned fame by being among the best horse trainers and consistent race winners in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean - Jean-Marc Cozier, and John Chandler.
MUSIC:
UK-born Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member Oakley Neil H.T. Ceasat-Sue - is the most popular young Rapper in the UK as of 2023 - he goes by the professional stage name ‘Central Cee’, with a net worth estimated at US$5 million dollars.
ENTERTAINMENT:
Barbados-born Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member Craig Corrie has earned a well-deserved reputation for being one of the top special events companies in the entire Caribbean, with the Barbados wedding of famous Golfer Tiger Woods being among his numerous celebrity clients. Craig also created the first Techo/House Music Festival in Barbados and brought in many of the world's top DJs including Carl Cox.
LANDSCAPING:
Barbados-born Eagle Clan Arawak family member Russel Corrie (owner/Managing Director of the Nature Group Limited group of businesses) has the largest Landscaping Company in the Lesser Antilles with over 200 employees, and branches in Barbados, St. Vincent, and other places. Among his celebrity clients are Mick Jagger, Tommy Hilfiger, and Bryan Adams - who played at Russell's wedding reception in Mustique.
HUMAN RIGHTS:
Barbados born Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member Damon Corrie - was the first Lokono-Arawak to be a member (2000-2016) of the Organization of American States/OAS Indigenous Working Group that created the Declaration of the Americas - the second most important Indigenous Rights declaration on Earth, the first Lokono-Arawak to graduate (in 2008) from the Tribal Link program at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issies/UNPFII, and the first person to create a multi-racial pan-tribal International Indigenous NGO (the Indigenous Democracy Defense Organization/IDDO), creator of the Caribbean Amerindian Development Organization - which is the largest and most active regional Indigenous NGO currently, with membership in Cuba, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, St. Vincent, and Dominica; and the first Caribbean Indigenous person to be involved in the volatile indigenous affairs of the Middle East (Northern Iraq) in a leadership capacity under appointment of the leadership of the late Baba Sheik of the 500,000 member Yazidi Tribal Nation - having helped to write part of the proposed Constitution for the Yazidi Autonomous Region in Northern Iraq. Damon was also the first Indigenous person from Latin America & the Caribbean to be appointed ‘Ambassador At Large’ to the UNPFII.
FASHION:
Barbados-born Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member Lisa Corrie-St. John was the first High fashioned trained (in Italy) model in Barbados & first Lokono one as well), she also created the first Indigenous owned Modeling School to train aspiring models in the Caribbean, and held the largest Modelling shows in Barbados throughout the decade of the 1980s.
Barbados-born Eagle Can Lokono-Arawak Audrey Corrie also created the first Indigenous fashion design company (Corrie Fashions) in 1975.
CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Barbados-born Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member Damon Corrie created the first grassroots Caribbean Indigenous owned, operated, acted & produced - Film Company ‘First Nations Productions - in September 2021.
His first documentary film called ‘The Last Arawak Girl Born In Barbados - A 17th Century Tale’ can be viewed freely on Youtube if you search for it by name. It challenges the English Colonial version of the history of the island of Barbados - in a way no other effort has ever hitherto done.
His second film ‘Guama - Last Great Taino Chief of Cuba’ was completed in 2022, it was the first film ever made about that famous Taino Chief in Cuba who successfully resisted the Spanish conquistadores of Cuba for 10 years, waging a Guerrilla campaign in the same Sierra Maestra Mountains that Fidel & Che would later use to successfully wage another Guerrilla war 0ver 400 years later.
Many other films about famous Caribbean Indigenous hero leaders of yesteryear can be made, but lack of funding has been the only hindrance.
INDIGENOUS OWNED & OPERATED ECO-TOURISM IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION:
Barbados-born Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member Damon Corrie was the first Lokono-Arawak to create a 100% Indigenous owned, operated, and marketed Guided combined Adventure, Culture & Nature Eco-Tourism product, commencing on the 240 square miles Pakuri Lokono-Arawak Territory in Guyana since 1993, and now expanded to include Panama (with the Embera Tribe), and Cuba.
HIGH-LEVEL INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL RECOGNITION:
Barbados-born Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member & Faithkeeper - Damon Corrie became the first Indigenous leader in history - to be invited by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela for a private meeting, it lasted 2 hours and was attended by other senior Venezuela Government Officials, and occurred in Barbados in November 2021 - with then Minister Felix Plasencia.
On the 26th of November 2022, Barbados-born Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member & Faithkeeper - Damon Corrie, became the first non-Cuban in history to ever receive this award.
Also in 2022, Barbados-born Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member & Faithkeeper - Damon Corrie, along with well-known Taino leader Chief Roberto Mukaro Borrero, and Taino Chief Maekiaphan Phillips of St. Thomas in the USVI, became the first Caribbean Indigenous leaders in history to ever be requested to a meeting with a United States Secretary of the Interior, in this case, it was the first Indigenous person to ever hold that office in the USA - Mrs. Deb Haaland.
WE NEGOTIATED THE FIRST EVER 50-50 PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WITH A PRIVATE SECTOR ALCOHOL MANUFACTURER & AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE WORLDWIDE:
In 2022 Barbados-born Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawak family member Damon Corrie was the first indigenous person to successfully negotiate an unprecedented 50-50 profit sharing agreement between a private sector Alcohol producer (TAMOSI) and an Indigenous People.
Anyone interested and willing to donate to any of our regional native charitable projects can peruse our website at www.eagleclanarawaks.com and see what we have already done in native communities around the Caribbean, and contact us via our email at eagleclanarawaks@gmail.com
I invite everyone with a kind heart and a dollar or two to spare - to join me and become part of the solution - to the many problems that exist in human society, don't just talk - ACT.