“On September 19, 1762… our ancestors, the Saamaka maroons, signed a peace treaty with the Dutch Crown…acknowledging their territorial rights and trading privileges…It still goes on.”

Miquella Soemar-Huur (mee-gwell-lah so-mahr hyour)

Surinam National Assembly

IMAGE SOURCE: “On September 19, 1762 …” ABOP. Facebook. 19 Sept. 2020. | TEXT SOURCE: “On September 19, 1762 …” ABOP. Facebook. 19 Sept. 2020.

IMAGE SOURCE: “On September 19, 1762 …” ABOP. Facebook. 19 Sept. 2020. | TEXT SOURCE: “On September 19, 1762 …” ABOP. Facebook. 19 Sept. 2020.

QUOTE CONTEXT: Posted on the website of ABOP, Surinam’s General Liberation and Development Party. “ABOP stands for liberation from poverty and strives for sustainable development of our people and the state of Suriname.”

QUOTE QUESTION: What ancestral legacies do you carry forward?


IMAGE CONTEXT: September 19 in Surinam is Saamaka Daka or Saamaka Day. It marks the date in 1762 when the peace accords between the Dutch government and the Saamaka were signed.

IMAGE QUESTION: What do you wear on special days to mark your People’s independence?


MEDIA LITERACY CONTEXT: The quote and photo are from a political party’s Facebook page.

MEDIA LITERACY QUESTION: How do you use social media to support the survivance of your People?


READ ABOUT THE SAAMAKA’S SOVEREIGNTY: https://www.forestpeoples.org/sites/default/files/publication/2010/09/surinameiachr12saramakaclansmar06eng.pdf

DOWNLOAD THE SAAMAKA MAROONS SLIDE DECK FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES:

Previous
Previous

“When our ancestors fled…they did not carry anything with them. They learned how to live – what plants to eat, how to deal with subsistence needs once they got to the forest. It is our whole life.”

Next
Next

“The work to heal the island will heal the soul of our people. Each time we pick up a stone to restore a cultural site… we pick up ourselves, as Hawaiians.”