Indigenous Archives of Puerto Rico

The Story of the Indigenous Archives of Puerto Rico

Across Puerto Rico, the memories of our ancestors live in fragile or hidden places: old parish books, fading census pages, family Bibles, forgotten government ledgers, and the stories passed down in kitchens, fields, and living rooms. For generations, Borikua Taíno families have protected these memories quietly, carrying them through hurricanes, displacement, poverty, and the colonial erasure that tried to declare we no longer existed.

But today, our memories are at risk: elders pass, cemeteries crumble, documents decay or become endangered. On October 14, 2025, the US Senate passed Senate Bill 63 (SB 63), which would impact the Transparency and Expedited Procedure for Access to Public Information Act (Act 141–2019) by restricting access to public information, making it significantly harder for citizens, journalists, and organizations to obtain government documents. Every time a record disappears or is destroyed, a piece of our history disappears with it. Yet, our people are still here, and we are rising.

From this need, the Indigenous Archives of Puerto Rico was created, not as a museum project, not as an academic experiment, but as a movement of return and self-determination that can heal colonial wounds of erasure and displacement.

Reclaiming What Was Taken

The Indigenous Archives of Puerto Rico is the first community-led effort to digitize, transcribe, and protect the genealogical and cultural records of Borikua Taíno families. For generations, our ancestors were systematically mislabeled in official records and documents to erase their identity; they were marked as indio, mestizo, trigueño, or pardo, disparate categories meant to blur who they truly were: First Nations citizens of Boriken, the ancestral name of our island. 

By analyzing these records, we can trace the origin these labels tried to hide: the continuity of the Borikua Taíno people's history once deemed extinct. Every name we recover, every lineage we confirm, every family we reconnect, is an act of sovereignty and healing.

Why This Matters

Puerto Rico’s Indigenous history has been denied, buried, or rewritten by systems that were never built for us and instead justified the forced removal and obfuscation of our origins. Our ancestors lived, married, farmed, resisted, and raised families whose descendants walk the island and the diaspora today. But without a protected archive, this truth risks being lost or further obfuscated.

. This work ensures that:

• Families can trace their roots

• Youth have access to their history

• Elders’ knowledge is preserved

• Data remains in Indigenous hands

• Our story is no longer told by outsiders, but by us

Beyond preserving documents, we are building the foundation for a tribally governed digital ecosystem, including a secure data center and the Yucayekeno Connect App, our forthcoming one-stop hub for enrollment, cultural resources, community data, and archival access. For decades, the work of cultural revitalization has remained in the hands of social media groups and chats owned and governed by private entities. We are practicing our sovereignty by governing our own digital ecosystem. 

We are building a doorway to the past that affirms our identity, our rights, and restores dignity to our ancestors.

Why We Need Your Support

To grow and protect the Indigenous Archives, we need:

• Digitization equipment & archival storage materials

• Travel funds to reach rural pueblos

• Staff and volunteer management

• Secure more servers & software for transcription and verification

• Long-term infrastructure for a Tribal Data Center

Your contribution helps us save a story before it disappears. It helps a family reconnect with their ancestors. It supports data sovereignty for future generations.

Join Us

Your generous support of the Indigenous Archives of Puerto Rico initiative represents a commitment to the restoration of our sovereignty as the descendants of Boriken, helping us rewrite history with truth and dignity. Together, we can protect our past, strengthen our present, and build a future where Borikua Taíno identity is honored.

Donate today and help us safeguard the living memory of Borikén’s first people.