Afrikan Burial Grounds St. Eustatius recognized by UNESCO

ST. EUSTATIUS --The Golden Rock and Godet Afrikan burial sites in St. Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean, will be recognized by UNESCO as significant sites tied to the legacies of enslavement.

The St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance initiated an application for nomination with UNESCO in February 2022. On Wednesday, October 9th, UNESCO Paris headquarters will officially announce the nomination in a ceremony. A livestream of the ceremony will be available at UNESCO’s website.

Restore the dignity of our ancestors

Kenneth Cuvalay, President of the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance (in short: Alliance), expressed his profound appreciation for the recent designation of the Golden Rock and Godet Afrikan burial grounds as part of the UNESCO Routes of Enslaved Peoples:  

This is incredible news for our community. We have consistently strived to restore the dignity of our ancestors and increase awareness about long-marginalized and neglected sacred sites”.

He acknowledged Annina Van Neel and Peggy King Jorde's invaluable contributions throughout this vital process. “Annina initially brought this idea to our attention while advocating for the respectful reburial of the ‘Liberated’ Afrikans on St. Helena, a British overseas territory”, Cuvalay added. Peggy, a key advocate for the New York African Burial Ground and a driving force behind the national memorial for enslaved and free Afrikans, remarked, “This is an empowering moment for the Statia community as we confront historical erasure and cultural devaluation.” Annina and Peggy are featured protagonists in the documentary A Story of Bones. 

The Golden Rock and Godet Afrikan burial ground 

In 2021, the Golden Rock burial ground drew significant media attention due to its location in an area marked for sand excavation to facilitate airport development. Unfortunately, questionable archaeological practices led to an outcry by the Statia community, resulting in a halt to excavation efforts. 69 ancestral remains were excavated, which are currently in a depot on the island.

The UNESCO application also includes the Godet site, located on the southwest coast of St. Eustatius, in addition to Golden Rock. Godet has long been a focal point for archeological research and exploration, without community consent or adequate meaningful engagement. The site was left in deplorable condition in 2022 after fieldwork by the Research Experiences for Undergraduates Archaeology program initiated by Texas State University and sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the US.

30th Anniversary of UNESCO's Routes of Enslaved Peoples Program

The Routes of Enslaved Peoples UNESCO recognition is a significant step towards acknowledging the historical injustices of the transatlantic trafficking in enslaved Afrikans and promoting universal values of tolerance, respect, and dignity. By focusing on research, education, and the documentation of memorial sites, this initiative aims to raise awareness about the lasting global impact of slavery.

The application, initiated by the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance in February 2022 and submitted by the UNESCO Committee Netherlands on November 11, 2022, seeks to break the silence surrounding this dark chapter in history. 

Obstacles to the reburial of the ancestral remains

Cuvalay continues to voice strong concerns regarding the local archaeological center SECAR (St. Eustatius Center for Archaeological Research), the organization in charge of the contentious airport excavations: “The reburial of our ancestors cannot proceed until SECAR provides the essential archaeological report, which includes details about the excavation and the burial artifacts associated with the ancestral remains. Despite multiple requests, the report is not provided. SECAR's assertion that no human remains were removed from the island is further cause for worry, as samples of the ancestral remains are known to be at Leiden University in the Netherlands.” Leiden University, a major player in Caribbean archaeology, was in the news last year for serious misconduct by Dutch archaeology professor Corinne Hofman, who has since been fired".

In response to this ongoing situation, the Alliance is planning a series of community events in November 2024. These gatherings aim to foster discussion about the reburial process and to collaborate on a design for a memorial honoring those ancestors. Fostering reconnection to ancestral communities on the Afrikan continent is another key objective. The events are seen as a vital opportunity for the community to come together, share perspectives, and advocate for the respectful treatment of their heritage.

About the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance (SE-ABG Alliance)

The SE-ABG Alliance came about as a result of the protests against the excavations on the 18th-century burial ground of enslaved Afrikans Golden Rock that were started by a team of international archaeologists in June 2021 in St. Eustatius (see https://www.change.org/LeaveOurAncestorsInPeace). The protests were initially led by the political party Ubuntu Connected Front Caribbean. Located in St. Eustatius and with allies around the world, the St. Eustatius Afrikan Burial Ground Alliance broadened the scope of the struggle focusing on other Afrikan burial grounds in St. Eustatius such as the Afrikan Burial Ground Godet Plantation St. Eustatius (Godet/Fort Amsterdam). One of the aims is to further broaden the scope of our struggle to the Pan-Afrikanist level, connecting with and working with Afrikan-centered organizations and movements that are also fighting for the preservation of our Ancestors’ endangered Afrikan burial grounds around the world and taking control of our narrative that has been distorted. Among them are Annina van Neel, CEO of the Tiekie Box Project, and protagonist of the awarded documentary “A Story of Bones,” and Peggy King Jorde, consultant and defender of marginalized histories and Afrikan burial grounds.

Why we spell Afrika with a ‘k’

For the Alliance is Afrika spelled with a “k” instead of a “c” based on the following insights:

-         It is a Pan-Afrikan spelling which relates both to the Afrikan continent and to the Diaspora.

-         It reflects the spelling of “Afrika” in all Afrikan languages.

-         It includes the concept of “ka,” the vital energy which both sustains and creates.