New Institute of Maroon and Indigenous Studies Proposed for the UWI

In a bid to expand the University of the West Indies (UWI) catalogue, stakeholders have proposed the establishment of a new Maroon Institute at the institution.
UWI Vice-Chancellor and Chair, CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, welcomed the recommendation from Jamaica’s Maroon community, to establish a new institute to research, document and share the rich history, culture and contribution of Maroon and Indigenous people.
The CRC Chair shared this with a large gathering at the opening of the historic symposium on Maroons, held at The UWI West Indies Regional Headquarters.
The Maroon Institute would lead a collaborative research, advocacy and policy agenda with the Maroon communities and be positioned as a regional and global centre for Indigenous and Maroon knowledge, culture and history.

“The UWI has a moral duty to facilitate not just resilience but the opportunity for the Jamaica Maroons to thrive, and that is exactly what we will do”, Professor Beckles said. “An Institute for Maroon Studies should be established… The most precious thing that ever came out of the Caribbean is the Maroons… Everywhere there was slavery, there was marronage. This University is an expression of marronage today,” the professor outlined.
He further declared, “Everything we need to know about the future can be found in the study of our past… There can be no discussion about the future of this Region without the Maroons. Maroon philosophy, politics and ideology must be at the centre. We are all Maroons.”
Maroon Women’s Network Chair Gaamaa Gloria Simms sated. “I have been looking forward to seeing Maroon Studies at the UWI, it is full time. It is in accordance with The UWI mission statement which includes uplifting culture, and the University should have Maroon people coming in to speak.”
Programme Manager, Culture and Community Development, CARICOM Secretariat Dr Hilary Brown highlighted that the Symposium was part of an initiative by the CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) to increase advocacy for Reparatory Justice and the rights of the Maroons and other indigenous groups.
“The Maroons are among the indigenous people of the Region who are due reparatory justice and have a right to development. Their issues, concerns and rights must be respected and amplified within the regional movement for reparatory justice,” Dr Brown stated.

The CARICOM Reparations Commission organised the event in collaboration with The UWI Centre for Reparation Research, the Maroon communities of Jamaica, AIDO Network International, the Global African Diaspora Kingdom and Omanye Royal Kingdom. It amplified the authentic voices of the Maroon Colonels and Chiefs, telling their historical stories and truths, dispelling myths and misconceptions and strengthening their unity and reconciliation efforts, which was on full display at the Symposium.
The Symposium ended on a high note with a commitment to commence work on establishing the Institute for Maroon and Indigenous Studies, which will be informed by the priorities identified by the Maroons in the Symposium. The Institute will have branches in the Maroon communities for collaboration and inclusivity. There was also a commitment to advancing the discussion on constitutional reform and the inclusivity of Indigenous people in the process.
According to the Migration Mobilities Bristol (MMB), a research institute at the University of Bristol, dictionary definitions of “marronage” describe it as the process of extricating oneself from slavery, and connect it to the histories of enslaved people who ran away and formed “maroon” or “quilombo” communities in the Americas. However, as political theorist Neil Roberts has argued, “marronage” can also be more broadly understood as action from slavery and toward freedom, and we approach marronage as a concept that can encompass many different ways in which enslaved people sought to practice freedom.
Dictionary definitions of “marronage” describe it as the process of extricating oneself from slavery, and connect it to the histories of enslaved people who ran away and formed “maroon” or “quilombo” communities in the Americas. However, as political theorist Neil Roberts has argued, “marronage” can also be more broadly understood as action from slavery and toward freedom, and we approach marronage as a concept that can encompass many different ways in which enslaved people sought to practice freedom.