Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park helped facilitate a gathering of indigenous Caribbean leaders who met here on St. John on July 8, 2025. The group which included leaders from the Kalinago Nation of Dominica, and the Guainia Taino of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico visited significant cultural heritage sites in Virgin Islands National Park including traveling to the Taino petroglyph site in Reef Bay. Together the chiefs signed a Declaration of Unity at Cinnamon Bay for all to witness and honor. The gathering was small and powerful, in particular for the National Park Service youth trail crew (YCC) members who signed the Declaration as official witnesses.
The Chiefs visit to St. John included a showing of the PBS documentary, We Are Taino at Bajo El Sol Gallery. The documentary explores the story of Maekiaphan Phillips, a Taino woman from the U.S. Virgin Islands, who is actively working to reclaim her heritage and lead her tribe.
