Conclusion

Abstract

I have attempted in this book to give voice to the voiceless by providing a platform for the Jíbaro to educate and tell their story. I have most importantly done this by drawing on alternative sources of oral and written information to shatter a deeply embedded illusion. The story told is largely unknown because it has been suppressed for centuries by dominant Spanish and Puerto Rican institutions. The most important things to say in concluding are that the indigenous peoples of Borikén are still there and still struggling under a two-tiered colonial and neocolonial system. The fact that Puerto Rico has not exercised its international right of self-determination speaks to this point. Thus, this narrative is not one of a “romanticized” past but of an immediate history and presence. The Jíbaro man painfully said that this nation does not have self-control. It is controlled by others who dominate and impose their will. In reference to the Jíbaro, he asked, “Where’s the power for us to challenge?” When the politicians speak out, they tend to be believed because they are the “professionals.” But they do not believe “us,” the people. Whatever the Jíbaro do for themselves the ruling class smashes because they have the power.¹