About the Program
Safeguarding Taíno Knowledge Through Indigenous Research and Storywork
The Tribal Archive Project is our community-led effort to document, protect, and revitalize the ancestral knowledge of the Taíno Kokuio Clan. As our Elders (our primary knowledge keepers) age, their teachings, stories, and worldviews risk being lost. This initiative ensures that our narratives remain under our own stewardship, guided by Indigenous methodologies that honour relational accountability, community consent, and cultural continuity.
Grounded in oral history, Indigenous Storywork, sensory ethnography, and digital storytelling, the project weaves together traditional and contemporary practices to preserve knowledge in ways that reflect who we are. Through these approaches, we aim to build a living, evolving archive that centres Kokuio voices, protects our data sovereignty, and strengthens intergenerational connection.
Our archive will serve as a cultural repository, a land-based learning tool, and a foundation for future generations seeking to understand and carry forward Taíno identity, leadership, and ways of being.
Untold Stories
Recording Elders’ Teachings for the Generations to Come
As part of our wider archival vision, we are developing a dedicated oral history project titled Preserving Taíno Knowledge: An Indigenous Oral History and Storywork Initiative. This project focuses on gathering, recording, and safeguarding the life stories, teachings, and cultural knowledge of our Elders.
Land-based knowledge
Teachings tied to our traditional homelands in Hanover, Jamaica: ecological relationships, medicinal practices, environmental stewardship, and seasonal cycles.
Foodways
Stories and traditions related to growing, preparing, and sharing food; ancestral agricultural practices; and the cultural meanings embedded in nourishment and communal eating.
Spirituality
Taíno cosmologies, ceremonial practices, healing knowledge, and the spiritual foundations that guide our community’s relationships to land, ancestors, and each other.
Innovative Technologies for Cultural Continuity
We are embedding Taíno stories into the land using augmented reality (AR), digital storytelling, and interactive media to create immersive cultural experiences. Visitors and future generations can stand on ancestral sites, hear stories tied to those places, and engage with teachings through sensory encounters that reflect traditional learning.
This initiative ensures Taíno heritage remains dynamic, accessible, and evolving, bridging ancestral knowledge with modern innovation. Guided by OCAP principles and Indigenous data governance, all materials stay under the stewardship of Yukayeke Yamaye Kokuio, protecting sovereignty and ethical use.
Our mission goes beyond preservation. It’s about revitalization, cultural continuity, and asserting the sovereign right to tell our own stories.