Covering geography in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Florida, and much of Amazonia, the Arawak people maintain continuous culture, identity and ethnicity in diaspora. Arawakan is the largest linguistic family in South American & the Caribbean.

The Arawak are a group of Indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. The term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to different Indigenous groups, from the Lokono of South America to the Taíno (Island Arawaks), who lived in the Greater Antilles and northern Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean.

Apr 2, 2025 · Arawak, American Indians of the Greater Antilles and South America. The Taino, an Arawak subgroup, were the first native peoples encountered by Christopher Columbus on Hispaniola. The island Arawak were virtually wiped out by the combination of Old World diseases and Spanish violence and oppression.

Feb 11, 2021 · Arawak: Indigenous Caribbeans Whilst 62% of Puerto Ricans are the direct maternal descendants of the Arawaks’, little is known about the longest running ancestry of indigenous Caribbeans to date.

Jun 19, 2019 · Since many of them lived in the Caribbean islands, members of an Arawak tribe learned to swim and fish from an early age. They relied on the land and sea for sustenance.

Mar 23, 2023 · The Arawak people were a group of indigenous people who once inhabited large parts of South America and the Caribbean. Their culture and way of life were shaped by their relationship with the natural world, as well as their complex social structures and religious beliefs.

Within half a century of Spanish arrival, the Antillean Arawak Taino faced virtual extinction, with survivors assimilating into Spanish or African communities, hastening the destruction of Arawak-Taino culture in the Caribbean.

The group that self-identified as the Arawak, also known as the Lokono, settled the coastal areas of Guyana, Suriname, Grenada, Jamaica, and parts of the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The Spaniards arrived in the Americas in 1492 and later in Puerto Rico but did not bring women on their first expeditions.

Explore the rich history & resilience of the Arawak people in the Caribbean. Discover their diversity, colonial impact, and ongoing cultural revival movements. Learn about Taíno, Kalinago, Lokono, and more!

Information about the Arawak Indians for students and teachers. Facts about Arawak Indian food, clothing, houses, villages, art and crafts, weapons and tools, and customs of the Arawak people.