uMaine.edu Article: Choosing Survival

Choosing Survival

The Native Passamaquoddy tribe is located between the US state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick, they've been petitioning for the preservation of their lands for many years. I was asked to bring this article into the reality of the Puerto Rican culture today. I chose "Choosing Survival" because it reminded me of the 'struggle' many Puerto Rican people used to have in the times of colonization, and even today, when basically the North American culture is being implanted in the country.

The Passamaquoddy fight for their land, for the rights their ancestors had. I believe, the puertorican people still value their ancestors the same way and are trying to preserve their culture way one or another. To me, it doesn't mean that Puerto Rico has to be stuck in another century, but that its people need to protect what's left of a magnificent heritage. We've seen it at great events like "El Grito de Lares" where people opposed to change. I can't compare the Passamaquoddy tribe to the Puerto Rican people at great extents, since this native tribe still preserves everything their ancestors taught them. Puerto Rico has evolved as almost every other country in the world, so it wouldn't be fair to compare the lifestyles.

I really liked a passage on the article that stated the following:

"A lot of Micah's petition was not just about the land, but also about survival. The tribe wanted the bloodline to continue, their rights to always be there. It's not special rights, it's aboriginal rights that our ancestors always had"

I liked this passage a lot because I understand it can relate to the Puerto Rican culture, and how its heritage is being lost due to the many changes. There is not much left of agriculture anymore, which was one of Puerto Rico's greatest way of economy. Another example of the heritage loss, could be the children. Kids nowadays prefer a fastfood restaurant instead of a typical dish, as well as video games over traditional games.

It's clear that this changes have not only gotten to, or affected Puerto Rico individually, as this is today's way of living almost everywhere. This article could not only apply to this country but to many others as well.