The Last Puerto Rican Indian

By Bobby Gonzalez

The "Last Puerto Rican Indian" by Bobby Gonzalez, was published in 2006 and is a collection of poems and short stories about the native Taíno people of the Caribbean, it is an indispensable addition to the literature of the indigenous people of the Caribbean.

Comments about the book:
The Last Puerto Rican Indian is a great contribution to the rising Indigenous Caribbean/Diaspora literature. Mr. Gonzalez who pulls no punches, takes us on a unique and engaging journey, intertwined between past and present. I especially enjoyed "Thank you, Mr. Columbus" and "Voice of a Hero." The varying poems will appeal to Natives and Non-Natives alike.
—Jorge Estevez, National Museum of the American Indian

The Last Puerto Rican Indian is beautifully written with a multiplicity of voices that capture both profound sadness and passionate defiance. Rich with spiritual meaning, Bobby Gonzalez brings us closer to the indigenous men, women and children of the Americas as he harmonizes between the past and the present, traveling great distances in time from before the conquest, through mass genocide and the resistance, to the contemporary and beyond. Affirming the enduring strength of our heritage, Gonzalez declares, 'The last Puerto Rican Indian has not yet been born.' ”
—Iris Morales, former minister of information for the Young Lords Party, a New York-based Puerto Rican political/social action group.

The Last Puerto Rican Indian is written for young adults and those who are new to the study of the indigenous cultures of the Caribbean. Included in the book is a reading list for further research.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cemi Press LLC
• Release date: Jan 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311548450

Bobby Gonzalez

Bobby González is a nationally known multicultural motivational speaker, storyteller and poet. Born and raised in raised in the South Bronx, New York City, he grew up in a bicultural environment. Bobby draws on his Native American (Taino) and Latino (Puerto Rican) roots to offer a unique repertoire of discourses, readings and performances that celebrates his indigenous heritage.Bobby has lectured at many institutions including Yale University, the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and the University of Alabama-Huntsville. As a storyteller he’s had the privilege of performing at Carnegie Hall, the Museum of Television & Radio and the Detroit Institute of Arts. He has given poetry readings at the National Museum of the American Indian, the University of North Dakota and the Nuyorican Poets Café.

Book preview

The Last

Puerto

Rican

Indian

A Collection of Dangerous Poetry

by Bobby González

Published by Cemi Press at Smashwords

Copyright 2006 Cemi Press

Other books by Bobby González:

Puerto Rican Indian Wars: Part II

Song of the American Holocaust: Native Poetry from the South Bronx Reservation

All Rights Reserved

Second Printing: October 2010

Cover Design: Luis Cordero Santoni

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher and/or author.

The graphics contained in this book, unless otherwise indicated, are reproduced from the rare books collection of the Huntington Free Library, New York.

ISBN 0-9785106-0-7

Library of Congress Control Number: 2006927293

Cemí Press

www.cemipress.com is a division of www.GaleriaCemí.com

Bobby González

www.bobbygonzalez.com

www.facebook.com/bronxtaino

This book is dedicated

to all the

Puerto Rican

Dominican

Cuban

Haitian

Jamaican

And

Lucayan

Indians

of the Taino Diaspora

who are still alive and well today.

Table of Contents

THANK YOU, MR. COLUMBUS

ANACAONA

GETTING BACK ON TRACK

EUPHEMISMS

THEY CAN STILL HEAR THE GUNFIRE

FICTION/FRICTION

TÍO GUAMO UNCLE GUAMO

A GOOD DAY TO DIE

MYSTERY TO MAN

OLD COYOTE

LITTLE BETSY

ABOVE THE FIRE

DEATH SONG

PRIMARY SOURCE

HIGH DRAMA

TIME HONORED TRADITIONS

THOUGHTS AT DAYBREAK

WINDS OF CHANGE

LOST IN A DREAM

VOICE OF A HERO

SONG MOST WELCOME

REBUTTAL

HOMAGE TO THE INDIAN WOMAN

STEREOTYPES

BREATH OF LIFE

BENEATH THIS EARTH

THE LAST PUERTO RICAN INDIAN

SUGGESTED TAINO READING LIST

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

THANK YOU, MR. COLUMBUS

Thank you, Mr. Columbus.

Thank you, all his colleagues

and all of your descendants

who carry on his mission.

Thank you for blessing us with:

Termination

Relocation

Subjugation

Assimilation

Acculturation

and

Detribalization.

Thank you, Mr. Columbus for blessing us with:

Regulation

Retaliation

Reorganization

Reclamation

Taxation

and

Alienation.

Thank you, Mr. Columbus for blessing us with:

Domination

Decimation

Resignation

Confiscation

Desecration

And

Elimination.

Thank you, Mr. Columbus for blessing us with:

Castration

Decapitation

Penetration

Sterilization

Exploitation

and

Dehumanization.

Thank you, Mr. Columbus for