By Orlando Pulido (Freelance Writer)
SANTA ELENA TOWN, Cayo District, Thurs. Oct. 30, 2025
The National Heritage Library in Belmopan opened its doors on October 29 at 10:00 a.m. for the unveiling of a new cultural exhibit titled, “From Enslavement and Indigeneity to Kalinago and Garifuna.” The exhibit had already been featured at the Leo Bradley Library in Belize City, San Ignacio, and Punta Gorda Town.
At the beginning of the exhibit, there was drumming by Joshua Arana, owner of the Úaraü Drumming School.
“We also want to invite our ancestors to this gathering,” said Arana.
Emely Martinez Palacio, president of the Belmopan branch of the National Garifuna Council, greeted members of the audience and said, “We always have to remember the people who came before us in our struggle.” Palacio also said that the story of the Garifuna was one of perseverance and “refusing our story to be erased.”
The exhibit features infographics on five topical areas: Advocacy; De-colonize Your Language; Genocide; A People’s Story; and Contributions to Nation-Building.
“But this is strictly on the history and highlighting the new things that we have unearthed and are now telling the public. This is what our history is, which has never been told to us because we don’t write our own history. I am a Garifuna. I researched and wrote my story,” remarked Myrtle Palacio, the main organizer of the exhibit, along with the National Heritage Library and the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH).
According to Rolando Cocom, the Director of the Institute for Social and Cultural Research of NICH, the partnership on Wednesday started more than a year ago with Myrtle Palacio, Dr. Jeremy Valentine and others, “to bring to the public that there are big questions that need to be answered in public spaces like the National Heritage Library on the Garifuna culture and history.”
Cocom stated that “the weight of colonialism distorted our understanding of history.” He took the opportunity to thank all those involved in “this wonderful intercultural dialogue.”
Also featured on Wednesday was the distribution of a booklet written by Myrtle Palacio and entitled, “The Primer on the People Called Garifuna”. The print edition is a history of the Garifuna people of Belize, from the departure from the Bering Strait to Independence, and is now available as a download on Belize’s official online educational platform, 501 Academy.
As October draws to a close, preparations have begun in earnest to celebrate this year’s Garifuna Settlement Day. The theme for this year’s November 19th is, “Garifuna Moving Forward: Honoring Tradition, Embracing Change, Strengthening Identity.”
In other events, the National Garifuna Council in San Ignacio and Santa Elena has invited the public to a re-enactment of the Yurumein by the Macal River on November 19 at6:00 a.m. This event will be followed by a Garifuna mass at Sacred Heart Church at 8:00 a.m. On the same day, an official ceremony will take place at the Cayo Welcome Center at 1:00 p.m.
The exhibit at the National Heritage Library is more than a display of historical facts—it is a call to remembrance, resistance, and reclamation. As Belize prepares to celebrate Garifuna Settlement Day, the initiative affirms the enduring legacy of a people who have refused to be forgotten.
