Indigenous identity in a contested land: A study of the Garifuna of Belize’s Toledo district Alexander Gough This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2018 Lancaster University Law School 1 Declaration This thesis has not been submitted in support of an application for another degree at this or any other university. It is the result of my own work and includes nothing that is the outcome of work done in collaboration except where specifically indicated. Many of the ideas in this thesis were the product of discussion with my supervisors. Alexander Gough, Lancaster University 21st September 2018 2 Abstract The past fifty years has seen a significant shift in the recognition of indigenous peoples within international law. Once conceptualised as the antithesis to European identity, which in turn facilitated colonial ambitions, the recognition of indigenous identity and responding to indigenous peoples’ demands is now a well-established norm within the international legal system. Furthermore, the recognition of this identity can lead to benefits, such as a stake in controlling valuable resources. However, gaining tangible indigenous recognition remains inherently complex. A key reason for this complexity is that gaining successful recognition as being indigenous is highly dependent upon specific regional, national and local circumstances. Belize is an example of a State whose colonial and post-colonial geographies continue to collide, most notably in its southernmost Toledo district. Aside from remaining the subject of a continued territorial claim from the Republic of Guatemala, in recent years Toledo has also been the battleground for the globally renowned indigenous Maya land rights case. As such, Toledo is a contested land both internally and externally. However, another people – the Garifuna – have also resided in Toledo since before British colonisation. Despite their long shared history in the Toledo district, the Garifuna absence from the Maya land rights case was notable. This interdisciplinary thesis places the Garifuna at the centre of the indigenous debate in Toledo, and in doing so, has added new perspectives to the complexity in gaining tangible indigenous recognition, particularly when this leads to control over land and resources. In doing so this thesis has added further perspectives on the Garifuna as a people from both a legal and social anthropological angle, as well as contributing to the indigenous narrative in Belize and the wider Central American and Caribbean region. 3 Acknowledgements (Available on request) 4 Contents 1. Introduction………………………………………pp 16-29 2. Study Aim and Methodology…………………….pp 30-41 2.1 Study Aim pp 30-31 2.1.1 Study Aim 2.1.2 Objectives and structure 2.2 Methodology pp 31-41 2.2.1 Research methods and site selection 2.2.2 Ethics 2.2.3 Note on terminology 3. The evolution of Garifuna identity in the Americas and Caribbean (1492-1945)…………………………...pp 42-80 3.1 Introduction pp 42-43 3.2 Creating the legacy of the Carib pp 43-56 3.3 Last stand in the Caribbean: The Black Carib wars and birth of the Garifuna pp 57-68 3.4 Adapting to new homelands: The Central American dispersal pp 69-79 3.5 Summary pp 79-80 4. The evolution of indigenous recognition in international law (1945-2018)….......................pp 81-155 4.1 Introduction pp 81-87 5 4.2 Identities of recognition: Building a normative understanding of indigeneity within international law pp 87-98 4.3 Instruments of recognition: ILO 169 (1989) and the UNDRIP (2007) pp 98-123 4.4 Spaces of recognition: The role of the Inter American Commission and Inter American Court of Human Rights pp 123-137 4.5 Contestations of recognition: Garifuna recognition in Central America pp 137-154 4.6 Summary pp 154-155 5. Belize: History of a contested land………………pp 156-239 5.1 Introduction pp 156-160 5.2 Establishing a British settlement in the Bay of Honduras (1638-1837) pp 161-180 5.2.1 A British settlement within Spanish Papal sovereignty 5.2.2 Peoples of the Toledo district in the pre-colonial period: Identifying ‘the others’ 5.3 Establishing a British colony (1837-1930) pp 180-207 5.3.1 Facilitating British sovereignty: External and internal developments 5.3.2 Peoples of the Toledo district in the colonial period: ‘Integrating’ the others 5.4 Establishing an independent country (1930-2016) pp 207-237 5.4.1 The decolonisation of British Honduras/Belize 5.4.2 Peoples of the Toledo district in the post-colonial era: ‘Empowering’ the others 6 5.5 Summary pp 237-239 6. Garifuna identity in Belize’s Toledo district……pp 240-324 6.1 Introduction pp 240 6.2 Positioning the Garifuna as indigenous to Belize’s Toledo district pp 241-269 6.2.1 Priority in time, with respect to the occupation and use of a specific territory 6.2.2 The voluntary perpetuation of cultural distinctness 6.2.3 Self-identification, as well as recognition by other groups or by State authorities, as a distinct collective 6.2.4 An experience of subjugation, marginalisation, dispossession, exclusion or discrimination, whether or not these conditions persist 6.3 Investigating Garifuna ability to receive tangible indigenous recognition and benefit from land/resource rights pp 270-297 6.3.1 Inhibitors to recognition: Garifuna de-indigenization 6.3.2 Inhibitors to recognition: Issues in mobilisation and representation 6.3.3 Inhibitors to recognition: The contested land of Toledo 6.4 Summarising Garifuna identity in Belize’s Toledo district pp 297-320 6.4.1 Garifuna identity: Conforming to indigenous legal norms on multiple levels in Belize’s Toledo district 6.4.2 Garifuna identity: The struggle for tangible indigenous recognition, and to benefit from land and resource rights in the post-colonial State of Belize 7 6.5 Aftermath: Developments in Toledo post 2016 (2016-2018) pp 320-324 7. Conclusion pp 325-334 List of Appendices Appendix A1: Field aids Appendix A2: Thematic analysis sample Appendix A3: UREC form Appendix A4: NICH permit Appendix A5: Consent form Appendix A6: P.I.S Appendix A7: Map of Carib settlement List of Figures Figure A1: Map of STNP Figure B1: Map of the Toledo district Figure C1: Map of Caribbean Sea and its islands Figure C2: Map of the Viceroyalty of New Spain and provinces Figure D1: Physical map of Belize Figure D2: Map showing Carib settlement at Punta Gorda, 1837 8 Figure D3: Amendments to UNGA resolutions regarding Belizean independence (1975-1979) Figure D4: Amendments to UNGA Res. A/RES/35/20 (1980) Figure E1: Photographs of Barangu and Peini monuments Figure E2: Excerpt on Barranco lineage Figure E3: Excerpts on management of Saint Vincent Block Figure E4: Saint Vincent block collage Figure E5: Excerpts on the continued confusion surrounding the Saint Vincent block Figure E6: Excerpt on Garifuna settlement in Southern Belize Figure E7: Excerpt on Barranco historical precedence over Midway Figure E8: Excerpt on Barranco historical precedence over Maya villages Figure E9: Excerpt on Garifuna relationship with land and sea Figure E10: Excerpt on Garifuna sustainability Figure E11: Barranco farmers at work Figure E12: Baking cassava bread and Hudut Figure E13: Excerpt on spirituality Figure E14: Barranco temple Figure E15: Barranco residents drumming and dancing Figure E16: Excerpt regarding kinship across Central America Figure E17: Excerpt regarding customary sea travel 9 Figure E18: Excerpt regarding nation across/without borders Figure E19: Excerpt regarding colonial rent impositions Figure E20: Excerpt regarding perceived colonial attitudes towards the Garifuna Figure E21: Excerpt regarding demonization of farming and fishing Figure E22: Excerpt regarding demonization of language and spirituality Figure E23: Excerpt regarding the de-indigenization of the Garifuna Figure E24: Excerpt regarding Garifuna teaching traditions in Belize Figure E25: Excerpt on logging concessions in Barranco Figure E26: Excerpt regarding US Capital Oil Company Figure E27: Excerpt regarding conservation laws Figure E28: Excerpt regarding Cerro water supply Figure E29: Excerpt regarding perceived historical Creole-Garifuna division Figure E30: Excerpt regarding Maya-Garifuna relations Figure E31: Fieldwork excerpts regarding Barranco-Midway issue Figure E32: Excerpt regarding Garifuna-Maya connections through education Figure E33: Excerpt regarding Garifuna not conforming to indigenous narrative Figure E34: Excerpt on Barranco farming history Figure E35: Excerpt on the decline in farming Figure E36: Excerpt on the decline in fishing 10 Figure E37: Excerpt on Garifuna migration Figure E38: Overgrown lot in Barranco Figure E39: Excerpt on Garifuna urbanisation Figure E40: Excerpt on Saint Vincent Block Figure E41: Excerpt on community in Barranco Figure E42: Excerpt on Garifuna language decline Figure E43: Excerpt on the legacy of Garifuna de-indigenization Figure E44: Excerpt regarding the inception of SATIIM Figure E45: Excerpt regarding SATIIM organisational structure Figure E46: Excerpt regarding Barranco-SATIIM tensions Figure E47: Excerpt regarding Barranco-SATIIM relationship Figure E48: Excerpt regarding NGC inactivity in Barranco Figure E49: Excerpt regarding defence of the NGC Figure E50: Excerpt regarding NGC geographical focus Figure E51: Excerpt on Garifuna divisions Figure E52: Excerpt on Garifuna leadership Figure E53: Excerpt regarding Battle of the Drums Figure E54: Excerpt on Garifuna cultural contributions Figure E55: Excerpt regarding community land applications 11 Figure E56: Excerpt regarding Garifuna land rights Figure E57: