Haitians: a People on the Move. Haitian Cultural Heritage Resource Guide
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 416 263 UD 032 123 AUTHOR Bernard, Marie Jose; Damas, Christine; Dejoie, Menes; Duval, Joubert; Duval, Micheline; Fouche, Marie; Marcellus, Marie Jose; Paul, Cauvin TITLE Haitians: A People on the Move. Haitian Cultural Heritage Resource Guide. INSTITUTION New York City Board of Education, Brooklyn, NY. Office of Bilingual Education. ISBN ISBN-1-55839-416-8 PUB DATE 1996-00-00 NOTE 176p. AVAILABLE FROM Office of Instructional Publications, 131 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. PUB TYPE Books (010) Guides Classroom Teacher (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Cultural Awareness; Cultural Background; Diversity (Student); Ethnic Groups; Foreign Countries; Haitian Creole; *Haitians; History; *Immigrants; Inservice Teacher Education; *Multicultural Education; Resource Materials; Teaching Guides; Teaching Methods; Urban Schools; *Urban Youth IDENTIFIERS Haiti; New York City Board of Education ABSTRACT This cultural heritage resource guide has been prepared as a tool for teachers to help them understand the cultural heritage of their Haitian students, their families, and their communities in order to serve them better. Although Haiti became an independent country in 1804, the struggle of its people for justice and freedom has never ended. Many Haitians have left Haiti for political, social, and economic reasons, and many have come to the larger cities of the United States, particularly New York City. This guide contains the following sections: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Haiti at a Glance"; (3) "In Search of a Better Life";(4) "Haitian History"; (5) "Haitian Culture"; (6) "Images of Haiti"; and (7)"Bibliography," a 23-item list of works for further reading. (SLD) ******************************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ******************************************************************************** HAITIANS: A PEOPLE ON THE MOVE HAITIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE RESOURCE GUIDE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office ol Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) )1( This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction Quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this dour ment do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY C.G. Burgas ivvr.Boor`c1 Eni khoge..)a.A4THtLDUC IONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK BEST COP/AVAILABLE HAITIANS: A PEOPLE ON THE MOVE 3 BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK William C. Thompson, Jr. President Irene H. Impellizzeri Vice President Jerry Cammarata Carol A. Gresser Sandra E. Lerner Luis 0. Reyes Ninfa Segarra Members Alen Gershkovich Student Advisory Member Rudolph F. Crew Chancellor Copyright © 1996 by the Board of Education of the City ofNew York ISBN 1-55839-416-8 Application for permission to reprint any section of this material should be made to the Chancellor, 110 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201.Reprint of any section of this material shall carry the line,"Haitians: A People on the Move" by permission of the Board of Education of the City of New York." Persons and institutions may obtain copies of this publication from the Publications Sales Center of the Office of Instructional Publications, Room 608, 131 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, New York 11201.See current catalog for price.For information call (718) 935-3990. It is the policy of the Board of Education of the City School District of the City of New York not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, age, disability,maritalstatus,sexualorientation,orsexinitseducationalprograms, activities, and employment policies, and to maintain an environment free of sexual harassment, as required by law.Inquiries regarding compliance with appropriate law may be directed to: Tanya C. Lewis, Director, Office of Equal Opportunity 110 Livingston Street, Room 601, Brooklyn, New York 11201 Telephone: (718) 935-3320. PREFACE The Haitian youngsters who attend New York City's public schools bring with them a rich cultural heritage.As educators, we have a responsibility to all the young people in our schools to understand them and their communities, and to build on the knowledge and experience they bring. This teacher's cultural heritage resource guide has been prepared as a tool which we hope will be used to promote a better understanding of our Haitian students, their families, and their communities in order to serve them better. The guideispart of our effort to offerall youngsters an education of high quality and equity that builds on what they bring to school. lana,yir Lillian Hernandez, Ed.D. Executive Director 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Haitians: A People on the Move, is a publication of the Division of Bilingual Education, Lillian Hernandez, Ed.D., Executive Director. The overall preparation of the guide was under the supervision of Noemi Carrera Herendeen, Director, Office of Bilingual Curriculum and Instructional Services. A group of educators lent their expertise to make this publication possible.They researched and wrote the first draft of the material contained herein: Marie Jose Bernard, Christine Damas, Manes Dejoie, Joubert Duval, Micheline Duval, Marie Fouche, Marie Jose Marcellus, and Cauvin Paul. They deserve our deepest appreciation. The editing and translation of the guide into English was done by Yves Raymond with the collaboration of Merles Dejoie. They worked tirelessly and gave of their own time so that this guide could be in teachers' hands. We thank them for their strong commitment. Anthony J. Armada also offered his support by reading the English versionofthe guide and giving valuable comments and recommendations to improve it.We appreciate his support all along the way. Ana Soto and Peter Wadsworth did the artwork contained in the guide. We thank them for adding their talent to our work. Special thanks must be given to Milagros Gloria, Carmen Rodriguez, Joyce Verney and Wanda E. Ramos for the wordprocessing and formatting of the guide. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION 9 II. HAITI AT A GLANCE 11 Haitian Immigration 15 The Boat People 17 Exile 21 III. IN SEARCH OF A BETTER LIFE 22 Haitians in the Dominican Republic 23 Haitians in the Bahamas 25 My Trials and Tribulations 26 IV. HAITIAN HISTORY 29 The Pre-Columbian Period 31 The Spanish Period 37 Saint-Domingue as a French Colony 49 The Affranchis' Struggle for Political Rights 54 The Fight for Freedom 56 The Revolt of 1791 58 Black Power: The Fight for Independence 62 Haiti An Independent Country 70 The American Occupation of Haiti 78 The Duvalier Era 82 The Struggle for Change and Democracy 86 7 V. HAITIAN CULTURE 93 The Haitian Language 95 Haitian Literature 97 The Language and Literature of the Quisqueyans 99 Haitian Literature after Independance 102 Haitian Literature in Creole 125 Haitian Music 131 Haitian Painting 136 Haitian Cinema 140 Religion in Haiti 142 Holidays Celebrated in Haiti 144 Haitian Heroes/Heroines 151 Haitian Games 160 Haitian Dances 163 Haitian Proverbs 166 Haitian Riddles 169 A Haitian Folktale 171 VI. IMAGES OF HAITI 173 VII. BIBLIOGRAPHY 191 8 INTRODUCTION When Haitiwas known as Saint-Domingue,theslavesfought relentlesslyuntil they won their freedom. Boukman, Toussaint, Dessalines, Petion, Christophe and all the slaves rose up against slavery.On January 1, 1804, Saint-Domingue became Haiti, a free and independent country.But the struggle of the Haitian people for justice and freedom had just begun. Up until today, the Haitian people continue to fight with the same intensity and determination as their ancestors. They are on the move inside the country, demanding their rights through protests and demonstrations whenever necessary. Sometimes, repression, economic hardship, and injustice force them to flee the country, to become maroons like their ancestors.But it is a new form of escape, one that involves boats, planes, andforeign countries. Many Haitians are leaving. From all four corners of the country, There are Haitians leaving. They leave for Nassau. They leave for the Dominican Republic. They leave for Canada. They leave for the United States. Some of them leave by plane. Some of them take to the sea. One by one Haitians are leaving the country. Life has become so expensive Injustice and poverty are so rampant All the poor people have to leave. But the tide is changing, and a brighter future lies ahead. 9 a BEST COPYAVAILABLE HAITI AT A GLANCE Haiti occupies the western third and the Dominican Republic the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola.The border between these two countries can be crossed on foot. Before 1804, Haiti was a French colony named Saint-Domingue. Haitians are descendants of Africans who were the slaves of French colonists during colonial times.After the victory of the slaves over the French army, Haiti became the first black republic in the world. According to the 1990 census, there were five and a half million people living in Haiti.At the time the results of this census were made public, many people did not believe that the figures were accurate. They thought there were more people livinginHaiti. Nonetheless, Haiti's population is increasing rapidly. Some people claim there are seven million people living in Haiti.Two-thirds of the population lives in the countryside. Farming is its primary occupation. In spite of that, agriculture accounts for only 35 percent of the country's Gross National Product (GNP). The service sector employs 23 percent of the workforce, yet it accounts for 42 percent of Haiti's GNP. As for the industrial sector,it employs six percent of the population, and represents 23 percent of the GNP.Haiti's elite, while small in numbers, controls 60 percent of its resources.It is estimated that 40 to 70 percent of the work force is unemployed. Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, has a population of more than a million people.Haiti's other major cities are Cap-Haitien, Gonai'ves, Les Cayes, and Jacmel.