Nashia Graneau: Research project brings her home to Dominica and the Kalinago

BY ANTHONY BAXTER, JR.

Those who are not familiar with the Caribbean region typically think of the Dominican Republic when someone mentions Dominica. However, the Commonwealth of Dominica is a country in the Caribbean that has its own unique history, culture, people, and traditions. MALAS student Nashia Graneau not only comes from Dominica, she is a Kalinago woman from the island. The Kalinago have inhabited the country long before European imperialism and colonialism. Despite the ramifications of these historical atrocities, the Kalinago are still very much alive and present.

Nashia is currently working on a research project centered on conveying the stories of her people through oral history. As a member of the community who speaks Dominican Creole fluently, she has been able to cultivate relationships and create work that is conducive not only to her career and community, but the fields of Caribbean studies, history, Indigenous studies, and beyond. Documenting and telling the stories of her people serves as a light to shine on issues affecting the Kalinago, and stories that have been undermined or ignored. Nashia shares more about her research, interests, and her future endeavors:

Q: So, tell me a bit about your research topic.

A: My research topic is an ethnography of gender relations within the community of Sineku, in the Kalinago Territory, with more attention to Kalinago women. I have specifically looked at education, motherhood and relationships.

Q: Have you had any unforeseen challenges where you had to adapt while conducting fieldwork?

A: One of the main challenges encountered whilst carrying out fieldwork is the resistance of Kalinago women to even begin having a recorded conversation with me about their life. Some aspects of the lives of Kalinago women include very personal experiences such as memories of domestic violence, as well as other forms of abuse that I am aware is not the easiest of experiences to speak on. Though this was not an unforeseen challenge, it was still difficult to persuade some of the women of the importance of their voices, and stories being documented. I constantly reassured them, throughout the conversations, that their names and any evident identifying marker will be removed.

Another huge challenge, again, not unforeseen, was the restrictions that came with COVID-19. Dominica had a curfew in effect which limited the number of hours that I could be out in the field, as well as how close to the respondents I could get, without fear of becoming infected, or infecting each other. I wore a mask, always, and kept my distance whilst collecting my recordings.

Q: Where do you see this research taking you in the future?

A: This research has thus far proven to fuel my interest in documenting the histories of my community. There are many aspects of Kalinago life that my research will not explore extensively, such as the lives of Kalinago men; hence, I intend on doing much more work associated with my people.

Q: Any particular goals or intentions in mind while you are conducting research about your people?

A: The main goal of this research is to have the actual voices of Kalinago women heard. Many times whilst reading history books on the Caribbean, as well as history books written on Dominica, I come across general histories of Kalinago people. Specifically, the information written on Kalinago women are very limited with huge gaps from colonial history, and current history. My goal is not to fill all those gaps, but to contribute to a better understanding of the lives of Kalinago women. Above all, I simply want to document our silenced histories, from our perspectives. ◆