Inter-Tribal Winter Solstice Celebration at Taino Towers

Borikua Taino Foundation Joins Grinding Stone Collective for a Community Potluck

On Saturday, December 16th, the Borikua Taino Foundation co-sponsored an Inter-Tribal Winter Solstice event at the historic Taino Towers in NYC with our friends at Grinding Stone Collective. This celebration brought together the indigenous community for a day of cultural sharing and learning.

Our event featured a series of demonstrations showcasing traditional Caribbean food practices. Brandon Ruiz from Yucayeke Farms led a hands-on demo on making Cassava bread and preparing a hearty root vegetable stew. Attendees also enjoyed another demonstration from Taino Elder Natalia Gonzalez, who taught the group how to make sofrito from fresh, local ingredients. Participants were able to take samples home to cook with.

Following the food presentations, an inter-tribal prayer united participants in a shared moment of gratitude. Live music from the Andean community filled the space, creating a warm and joyful atmosphere. Folks were invited to an open mic to share words and wisdom. The evening concluded with a community potluck, where local members contributed homemade dishes to share.

This gathering highlighted the richness of indigenous traditions, food, and music while fostering a spirit of unity among different tribal communities.

Learn more about our partners:

Grinding Stone Collective Inc.

Grinding Stone Collective Inc. is a grassroots 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to creating meaningful events, workshops, classes, and databases for Indigenous communities. Our core mission is to build strong, self-sufficient Indigenous communities and to build connections between urban and rural natives. We are committed to creating innovative, impactful, and sustainable solutions to the challenges facing us as Indigenous people today. We accomplish this by working with both Tech and TEK to promote Indigenous culture and knowledge through education, collaboration, and innovation. We strive to create new opportunities for Indigenous people to share their stories, values, and history with the larger inter-tribal community and allies. Through our initiatives, we hope to unite Indigenous people from all parts of Turtle Island and Abya Yala to foster empowered inter-tribal connections. 

Taino Towers

Taino Towers is a historic housing complex in NYC, comprised of four 35-story towers built with federal funding from HUD in 1979. It remains a vital space for the local indigenous and inter-tribal community to come together.

Yucayeke Farms

Yucayeke Farms, led by Brandon Ruiz, is committed to cultivating Caribbean crops using sustainable, indigenous practices while educating communities about traditional foodways.