Chief of the Carib Territory

The Chief of the Carib Territory presides over the Carib Council, the local government of the Carib Territory (or Carib Reserve).[1] The position is the equivalent of a village council chairperson elsewhere in Dominica.[2] Beginning in the late 20th century, Carib Chiefs have also acted as a representative of the Carib Territory to other indigenous populations in the Caribbean region, and have worked with organizations including the Caribbean Organization of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations.[3]

Historically, the Chief was the leader of the Caribs or Kalinago, the indigenous inhabitants of Dominica. Under British colonialism, the title was officially recognized as a ceremonial position beginning in 1903, when the Carib Reserve was established. The colonial governor endowed the Carib Chief with a silver-headed staff and a sash embroidered with "The Chief of the Caribs" in gothic lettering.[4] Colonial authorities suspended the position in 1930 after "The Carib War," a brief, but violent, civil disturbance.[5] The position of Chief was finally reinstated in 1953, as part of an island-wide system of local council government.[6]

Name	Period
Thomas "Indian" Warner	1667–74
Petit François	Served sometime in the first half of the 18th century
(Popot) Wakanik	Served in the middle half of the 18th century
Joseph	Served sometime in the period 1850–75
Brunie	Served sometime in the period 1875–1900
Auguiste François	Served during the period when the Carib Reserve was officially established by the British government
Jules Benjamin Corriette	1916–26
Thomas "Jolly" John	1926–30
Simon John	1930 (six months)
Office suspended	1930–52
Whitney Frederick	1953–59
Jermandois Francis	1959–72
Masclem Frederick	1972–75
Faustulus Frederick	1975–79
Hilary Frederick	1979–84, 1994–98
Irvince Auguiste	1984–94
Garnet Joseph	1998–2004
Charles Williams	2004–09
Garnet Joseph	2009–2014
Charles Williams	2014–2019	Lorenzo Sanford 2019-present} Notes Though under the Carib Reserve Act, the area's official name is the Carib Reserve, the Carib people themselves prefer the name Carib Territory, and that name is now in more popular use. See, e.g., Kossek 1994, p. 191 ("The reserve was renamed 'Carib Territory' by the Caribs themselves."); Honychurch 1998, p. 83 ("...the Carib Territory, as it is now popularly called..."). Honychurch 1998, p. 83 ("Except for this title, [the Carib Chief] plays the same role as all the other Village Council chairmen in Dominica.") Kossek 1994, p. 191. Honychurch 1995, p. 161; Honychurch 1998, p. 82. See Honychurch 1995, pp. 161–62 for a detailed account. Honychurch 1995, p. 162; Honychurch 1998, p. 83. References World Statesmen.org Honychurch, Lennox (1995), The Dominica Story: A History of the Island, Oxford: Macmillan Education Ltd, ISBN 978-0-333-62776-1. Honychurch, Lennox (1998), Dominica: Isle of Adventure (Third ed.), Macmillan Education Ltd, ISBN 978-0-333-72065-3. Kossek, Brigitte (1994), "Land Rights, Cultural Identity and Gender Politics in the Carib Territory in Dominica", in Kuppe, René; Potz, Richard (eds.), Law & Anthropology, 7, Martinus Nijhof, pp. 171–202, ISBN 0-7923-3142-7.