Borikén Syllabus 2.0 Part 3: Land | Tierra

The 2021 Borikén Syllabus, developed by ASHE's Local and Community Engagement Committee, prepared higher education scholars for what it meant to convene on the island of Puerto Rico. Central to that reflection was the responsibility to think about place, displacement, and what our responsibilities were as visitors on the island. We invite you to revisit the 2021 Borikén Syllabus, in particular the section “Honoring Place: Understanding Place, Space & Displacement”.

This section extends that invitation by asking readers to approach Puerto Rico as land with an existing history of colonial struggle, community resistance, and ongoing reclamation. The readings below provide early accounts of life on the Indigenous island of Borikén, history on the establishment of colonial rule and its enduring effects, and perspectives on how contemporary crises, such as Hurricane Maria, among other political and economic challenges, continue to shape life across the archipelago. The readings also highlight the ways in which land carries the memory of the Taíno people–the living resistance of communities who have fought to remain and to rebuild within a history of territorial dispossession.

Taken together, these texts invite us to think critically about our assumed right to access Puerto Rico and what it means to convene on land that is actively shaped by complex histories.

• Bonilla, Y., LeBrón, M., Molinari, S., Guzzardo Tamargo, I., & Roa, K. (n.d.). Puerto Rico syllabus: Historical Context. https://puertoricosyllabus.com/syllabus/historical-context/

• Marazzi, C. & Vollhardt, J. R. (2025). “When you live in a colony… every act counts”: Exploring engagement in and perceptions of diverse anti‐colonial resistance strategies in Puerto Rico. British Journal of Social Psychology, 64(2), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12808

• Discover Puerto Rico. (2025, June 12). Taíno route: Journey through Puerto Rico’s Indigenous heritage. https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/article/taina-route-indigenous-culture-puerto-rico

Books

• McCoy, K., Tuck, E., & McKenzie, M. (Eds.). (2017). Land education: Rethinking pedagogies of place from Indigenous, postcolonial, and decolonizing perspectives. Routledge.

• Meléndez-Badillo, J. (2024). Puerto Rico: A national history. Princeton University Press. https://history.wisc.edu/publications/Puerto-Rico-a-National-history/

• Haslip-Viera, G. (Ed.). (2001). Taíno revival: Critical perspectives on Puerto Rican identity and cultural politics. Markus Wiener Publishers. https://markuswiener.com/books/taino-revival-3/

• Dias, V. (2016). In the wake of Matapang’s canoe: The Cultural and political possibilities of Indigenous discursive flourish. In A. M. Robinson (Ed.), Critical Indigenous studies: Engagements in first world locations (pp. 119-149). University of Arizona Press.

Videos

• MS Now. (2023, May 15). Indigenous Taíno fight Puerto Rico for visibility and rights [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqX68IxwC7A

• Graulau, B. (2020, October 12). Did the natives of Puerto Rico really go extinct? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBLqRL-8Ah4

San Juan (Anti)colonial: A Solidarity Building (de)tour

• Memoria (De)Colonial (n.d.). San Juan (anti)colonial: A solidarity building (de)tour [Google Doc list of organizations involved in decolonization work]: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JxkHHDa0sd4YqLNzzJ79QC6HilEXaqePdIk4M8SfxnY/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.6w6wvq62n1ik

Reflection Questions

• How do we come to understand the meaning and significance of Borikén?

• What does it mean to build and sustain relationships with Borikén as responsible, respectful, and reciprocal visitors?

• In what ways can we engage thoughtfully with Borikén as higher education scholars, researchers, and practitioners beyond the ASHE 2026 annual conference?