Like plenty of individuals growing up within the United States there were many times were I felt unrepresented as a young girl of color, especially within history class. I often learned about our founding fathers and inventors that contributes something significant to our society and nation. Unfortunately, these figures were frequently white men in positions of power who I could not associate with, creating this constant feeling of isolated. Knowing I was missing a part of my personal history I began searching for anything that referred to my Puerto Rican and Dominican origins. That’s when I came across Cotubanamá.

Located to the southeast of the Dominican Republic, Cotubanamá represents one of the largest and greats protected areas within the country. Recognized as a natural reserve in the mid-1970s Cotubanamá (also referred to as the East National Park) is broken down into three different weather areas consisting of a tropical rainforest, subtropical dry frost, and transition woodlands. The park is home to more than five hundred flowers as well as different species of birds, dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, and other sea creators. While the park acts as major part of the ocean’s ecosystem it also protects important archaeological sites in a system of more than twenty ceremonial plazas, eight indigenous cemeteries, and twenty-seven reported caves. The caves store one of the most interesting and to me amazing ancient rock paintings produced by the indigenous population that inhabited the island more the five hundred years ago.

Throughout the cave one is bombarded with hundreds of images preserved form the native Taíno who were the principle inhabitants of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and Puerto Rico prior to European contact in the late fifteenth century. Within the cave one can feel the dominance the Taíno’s had over their environment. The caves were temples for the Taínos, a mystical place of worship in which they went to in order to experience a spiritual connection/encounter with the gods. Sadly, there is very little known about the Taíno people and their way of life. These caves hold one of the few artifacts available. However, the caves are not only valued for the art work, but they are also the gate keepers to lagoons with fresh drinking water. Water essential for the near by villages that are sustained by this resource. This simply shows how fundamental the wildness is to our survival, Barbra Kingsolver said it best “what we lose in our great human exodus from the land is a rooted sense, as deep and intangible as religious faith, of why we need to hold on to the wild and beautiful places that once surrounded us.” For most city dwellers or even individuals like myself living outside of their country of origin it is hard to feel connected at times to the earth and our history. However, it is not impossible especially when we realize the pride, well-being, and personal power associated with our ancestor’s connection to the land.

Unfortunately, within the past month Cotubanamá has come under attack by a Spanish corporation. The corporation with the help of a corrupt administrator  has obtained an illegal permit that has allowed 244,791.94 meters of greenery and foliage to be cleared within the protected area of the national park in order to start the work on the resort Leaf Bayahibe. This is a perfect example of what William refers to as a bedrock of democracy within his piece Home Work. Cotubanamá has become a battle field in which public and private use of the land is being disputed. It is obvious that the government views the land as proper that can be sold, yet as William argues the land has its own autonomy and it is our job to protect it, “it is a local community engaged in its own self-determination in choosing how to live in place, struggling to ‘create a society to match the scenery'” (William 15). Therefore, in order to persevere the pride and history of our ancestors it is our job to protect places like Cotubanamá that are a part of us whether we live directly in touch with the wilderness or not. Within Bell Hooks Touching the Earth essay the she describes the necessity of loving the earth because, “when we love the Earth, we are able to love ourselves more fully” (Hook 363). I completely agree with this statement due to the fact that without this protected land not only would a large part of who I am be lost forever, but also every Dominican and Puerto Rican throughout the world.

Sources:

transcript_smallwonder_print.html

http://www.nuestropatrimonio.gob.do/index.php/parque-nacional-del-este

Taíno: Indigenous Caribbeans

http://jdyck.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/1/5/19153179/touching_the_earth.pdf

https://umassd.umassonline.net/bbcswebdav/pid-1486055-dt-content-rid-14847058_1/courses/D2930-12314_MASTER/Scanned%20from%20a%20Xerox%20multifunction%20device001%283%29.pdf