Project Remember Statia: Tracing Our Origins
PROGRAM
- March 28 – Introduction Meeting ‘Retaking Our History & Rewriting Our Narrative’
- April 2 – 4 – Searching the Archives
- April 2: Understanding Archival Resources
- April 3: Searching the Archives
- April 4: Summarizing & sharing results
- April 10 & 17 – Writing Your Family History
- April 10: Introduction and Strategy
- April 17: Crafting a Personal Story
- August 7-24 – Artist-in-Residence program with artist Frederick Calmes
- October 13 – Presentation AFRO Magazine, the REMEMBER STATIA Edition in Weesp, NL
- November 11 – Presentation AFRO Magazine, the REMEMBER STATIA Edition in the Lions Den, Statia
- November 12 – Exhibition artworks Frederick Calmes (GJB Public Library St. Eustatius)
RESULTS
In terms of content, the project achieved much beyond expectations:
- An overview of genealogical sources relevant to St. Eustatius (and the Eastern Caribbean region) set up by the Center for Family History (CBG) team and supplemented by sources collected by the training participants.
- Course materials for a de train-the-trainer program on “Searching for your ancestors in the archives” specifically for St. Eustatius and the Eastern Caribbean region compiled by the Center for Family History (CBG) team.
- The writing workshops taught participants how to use the information found in the archives to write a compelling story about the lives of their African ancestors. The workshops also focused on decolonizing terminology, interpreting colonial sources and how to deal with “gaps” in your ancestors’ genealogical research in order to nevertheless be able to record their story.
- A 64-page full-color special edition of AFRO Magazine titled “The Remember Statia Edition.” included in the magzine are:
- 12 never-before-told stories by the participants about their Ancestors.
- 2 poems. A poem by a participant from St. Eustatius and one by Annina van Neel, protagonist of the documentary “A Story of Bones,” which she recited during the reburial ceremony of the 325 “liberated Africans” from St. Helena in August 2022.
- Editorials by the two project leaders and by the artist.
- Explanations of the artist’s 12 works of art.
- Contribution by the chair of the Statia Cultural Heritage and Implementation Committee on the process of reburial of the Golden Rock ancestors, realizing a memorial moment and involving the residents of St. Eustatius in this process.
- 10 stories about persons, objects or events that have been important in the African Diaspora history of St. Eustatius including the history of a number of African cemeteries (Golden Rock, Godet, Congo and that of the Lazaretto leper colony).
- Twelve works of art also featured in the Magazine by artist and designer Frederick Calmes.
- Two exhibitions, one in St. Eustatius and one in Weesp, of Frederick Calmes’ artworks (the exhibition in Weesp is scheduled for the first quarter in 2025).
- Webinar ‘Preserving Endangered & Marginalized Afrikan Cultural Heritage’ met Prof. Dr. Nemata Blyden, Associate Professor Dr. Kimani Nehusi en Dr. Artwell Cain
GENEALOGICAL SOURCES
- Names of the Golden Rock Ancestors at emancipation in 1863 (YouTube)
- Manumissions St. Eustatius in Wiewaswie database (volunteer project)
- Information portal of all 1012 Ancestors at emancipation in 1863, created by Ronald Lieuw
- Geni genealogical portal for St. Eustatius
-> READ MORE on the AFRO Magazine platform
Project ‘Reclaiming Our Stories: Restoring Our Ties’
Community engagement project from the Faro program
Results:
- 3 Community Gatherings
- Podcast series dedicated to the month of activities in November 2024 (go to the Alliance’s YouTube Channel)
- Guidelines for Descendant Community Engagement (in progress)
- Walk to the Afrikan burial grounds Godet, Congo, and Golden Rock for a libation and to place flowers and candles.
UNESCO label for Afrikan burial grounds Golden Rock and Godet
ST. EUSTATIUS / 9 October 2024 The Golden Rock and Godet Afrikan burial sites in St. Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean, have been recognized by UNESCO as significant sites tied to the legacies of enslavement. The St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance initiated an application for nomination with UNESCO in February 2022.
Organized by the Statia Cultural Heritage and Implementation Committee (SCHIC)
- February 16 and 17: Remembering The Golden Rock Ancestors Community Gathering
- June 29: Community engagement event “Telling Our Stories” at The Heritage House
- July 4: Radio program ‘The Ancestral Remains’ on Radio Statia 92.3 FM
- August 31: Designing the reburial & memorial space for the Ancestral remains with the community
- October 26: Our Voice, Their Legacy -> presenting the design of the Golden Rock Memorial
- October/November: The Casket Building Ceremony YouTube
- November: Start of the St. Eustatius Cultural Heritage Film Project
About the SCHIC: https://www.statiagovernment.com/news-and-tenders/news/2022/10/19/statia-installs-cultural-heritage-implementation-committee Installed in October 2022 by the St. Eustatius government to engage the community in the recommendations of the Statia Heritage Research Commission (SHRC) and to explore funding opportunities to carry out these recommendations. The Alliance is represented in this committee.