Slide One

Building a greater sense of national cultural identity and self-esteem among the
Dominican populace and to harness and employ skills and talents to further
develop arts and culture

Slide One

Building a greater sense of national cultural identity and self-esteem among the
Dominican populace and to harness and employ skills and talents to further
develop arts and culture

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Our Mission

To promote, develop and preserve Dominica’s culture and to encourage a greater awareness of the culture of the Caribbean and that of the wider world

Mr. Earlson Matthew
Chief Cultural Officer

Our Responsibilities

  • Preservation and promotion of Dominica’s cultural heritage and all its various expressions
  • Provision of support for Dominica’s cultural industries’ sector
  • Encouragement of cultural exchange with other countries
  • Assistance with poverty alleviation through arts and culture
  • Building of the institutional capacity of the Division of Culture
  • Management and maintenance of Dominica’s arts centers
Honorable Roselyn Paul
Minister

on the recommendations of Governor Heskeith Belle, reside the last surviving descendants of the Kalinago People, who inhabited the Lesser Antilles at the coming of the first Europeans.

The opening up of the Carib Territory led to major improvements in agriculture. The area is now one of the most productive areas on the island. Bananas, coconuts, copra, passion fruit and root crops are abundantly produced by Carib farmers.

The present Carib population is approximately 3,500. They are represented in parliament by a representative (elected along party lines) and in the Territory by a Chief and six councilors who are elected by the people every five years. The retention of a Chief is one of the cultural traditions that has survived to this day.

Many visitors to the Carib Territory are terribly disappointed in that they expect the people to be living in their traditional ways. However, the Carib people lost most of their traditional way of life during colonization. Basket weaving and boat making are two of the few aspects of their culture that have survived.

The Kalinago Barana Aute is a recently established institution in the Carib Territory which aims to promote the traditional ways of life of the Kalinago people. Visitors to this heritage site can see traditional Kalinago structures craft making and traditional cultural performances.

There has been rapid integration of the Carib people into mainstream Dominican life. As the world moves into the twenty-first century, the Carib world is under relentless pressure to give up the last vestiges of their culture. The most crucial threat to the survival of the people as a race is their land. The Carib Territory is quite unique in that the land is communally owned. This is the only area in the entire Caribbean with such status. As with other indigenous people together as a family, but the advocates of "modern development" are calling for the privatization of Carib lands.

There is a great call for the preservation of culture. The Carib people should be taken into consideration also as this call is being made.

There is the need for progressive thinking within the Carib Territory itself. The Carib Council should come up with proposals that will fully harness and utilize the potential and resources of the Territory for the development of the Territory in conjunction with Government and NGO’s working in the area. The Carib people have always been a proactive people, therefore they should initiate their own development in the future.

Article by Garnette Joseph

Cultural Institutions and Groups

Arawak House of Culture

The refurbished Arawak House of Culture has been opened to the general public since 1994. It is located on Kennedy Avenue, opposite the new Financial Centre in Roseau...

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Dominica Festivals Committee

The Dominica Festivals Committee (DFC), a Division of the Discover Dominica Authority (DDA), has special responsibility to ...

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Kalinago Barana Autê

Kalinago Barana Autê, the Carib Cultural Village by the Sea, honors the diversity, history and heritage of the Kalinago people by presenting ...

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The Dominica Institute for the Arts

The Dominica Institute for the Arts is a premier arts training institution serving Dominica and the Eastern Caribbean...

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The Dominica Pan Association

The Pan Association was set up in the early 1980’s by the Cultural Division and is the umbrella body...

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The Dominica Writers' Guild

The Writers’ Guild was established by the Cultural Division to strengthen efforts geared at encouraging writers in Dominica ...

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The National Cultural Council

The National Cultural Council is a semi-autonomous cultural body set up by in 1981 to formulate cultural policies ...

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The Old Mill Cultural Centre

The Old Mill Cultural Centre was officially established in 1985 to provide facilities for the administration of the arts ...

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Books For Sale

Heritage Dominica—A Collection of Old Dominican Photographs Vol 1 $50.00 $20.00
Heritage Dominica—A Collection of Old Dominican Photographs Vol 2 $50.00 $20.00
National Dress of Dominica
By Aileen Burton
$40.00 $15.00

View All Books For Sale

CD's For Sale

Sound of Dominica Vol 1 $30.00 $12.00
Sound of Dominica Vol 2 $30.00 $12.00
Sound of Dominica Vol 5
(Mabel Cissie Caudeiron’s—Kairi Artistic Troupe)
$30.00 $12.00
Sound of Dominica Vol 6
(Lawonn—Ring Games of Dominica)
$30.00 $12.00

View All CDs For Sale

DVD's For Sale

DVD of Dominica's Traditional Dances

$60.00

$24.00 

DVD of The Bele Dance of Dominica

$30.00

$12.00

DVD of The National Wear of Dominica

$30.00

$12.00

View All DVDs For Sale

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