Smithsonian Affiliate Calendar

Caribbean Indigenous Resistance / Resistencia indígena del Caribe ¡Taíno Vive!

In 1492, the Indigenous Peoples of the northern Caribbean islands, popularly known as the Taíno, discovered Christopher Columbus. The encounter set in motion an invasion by Spanish soldiers, priests, and colonists that devastated the Taíno civilization and decimated its population. By the 1550s, colonial officials deemed the Taíno extinct. In reality, the Taíno and their culture resisted, survived, and continue to make an impact around the world today.