by Bobby González
When most people hear the term ‘Native American’ they associate it with peoples of North America, i.e. nations such as the Cherokee, Apache, Navajo, etc. Most folks are stunned to learn that more than forty million indigenous peoples originate from Latin America. More than 90% of ‘Native Americans’ come from Central and South America and the Caribbean. The majority of the populations of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Guatemala are aboriginal. In Mexico more than fifty languages are spoken. One of these languages happens to be Spanish. The remainder are Native.
The Aztec, Maya, Inca, Taino and many other groups built complex civilizations that have made major contributions to modern society.
The Aztecs of central Mexico constructed hospitals, courts of law, schools and libraries whose many volumes of scholarly writings and commercial records were tragically lost in a massive book burning. The Maya and the Aztec (who called themselves Mexica) gave us the gifts of corn, chocolate, tomatoes and chewing gum. They were brilliant mathematicians who developed the concept of zero many centuries before the Europeans. The city of Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City) was a marvel of advanced architecture and engineering. There were a number of great urban centers in Central America with over 200,000 inhabitants. Oral traditions indicate that that Mexican Native traders traveled as far north as Michigan in their economic enterprises. In addition, they created a calendar that was more accurate than the one which guided their contemporaries in Europe. Mayan and Aztec astronomers followed the movements of the stars and were able to forecast solar eclipses far into the future.
The Inca empire in South America was almost as long as the Roman empire. It included the modern-day countries of Peru and Ecuador and parts of Bolivia, Columbia, Chile and Argentina. They built the largest highway system in the world at the time. Inca surgeons performed successful brain surgery. The agricultural technology may have been the most advanced in the world. They perfected terrace farming, inventing the process of freeze/drying potatoes and erected a network of aqueducts to provide water for irrigation and baths.
The Taino of the Caribbean islands gave the outside world their first glimpse of rubber, their first taste of pineapples and peanuts and their first experience with tobacco. Many words in English and Spanish are of Taino origin. These include hurricane, canoe, barbeque, savanna and hammock. Some of their ceremonial religious practices have merged with African and Christian elements to form what is today called Santeria and Espiritismo. There has been a Taino cultural revival in the Caribbean and the United States.
Pharmaceutical companies are sending scientists into the Amazon. These PhD’s literally sit at the feet of Native shamans to draw from their wealth of medical knowledge. These indigenous healers possess a profound insight in the healing properties of jungle plants that are rapidly disappearing every day.
Latinos should be proud of their indigenous ancestry. The accomplishments of our Native forebears should motivate us to reach heights of accomplishments in all fields of endeavors. We should be proud and grateful.
Bobby González is a multicultural motivational speaker and storyteller of Native American/Latino heritage. You can visit his website at www.BobbyGonzalez.com or write to him at BronxTaino@aol.com
