On December 13, 2025, the Fondation Clément in Le François opened the doors to an exhibition that goes beyond the museum. “Aux origines de la Caraïbe: Taïnos & Kalinagos” brings together for the first time 330 works retracing 6,000 years of Amerindian history, from 30 international institutions. Until March 15, 2026, Martinique and Dominica will come together to celebrate a common heritage that has united the archipelago for thousands of years. This unprecedented partnership between the Fondation Clément and the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac illustrates a new-found Caribbean unity.
Unprecedented Caribbean cooperation
The exhibition is the fruit of a historic partnership between the Fondation Clément and the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. But it also embodies a symbolic meeting point: Martinique welcomes the President and Chief Kalinago of Dominica, an independent English-speaking country. Beyond borders and political status, the two islands share a common Amerindian heritage that predates European divisions by several millennia.
For Bernard Hayot, President of the Fondation Clément, the stakes are clear: “It’s about offering our young people, our visitors, our researchers, the opportunity to discover here, at home, heritage collections that tell our story.” The Habitation Clément, which welcomed over 250,000 visitors in 2024, is thus asserting its role as a major cultural player in the region.
Curated by André Delpuech, General Curator of Heritage, this exhibition brings together, for the first time in the Caribbean, pieces from the Vatican, Berlin, London and Santo Domingo, alongside collections from Martinique, Guadeloupe and the Dominican Republic.
Works include the Taino ceremonial seat (duho) from the Musée du Quai Branly, ceramics from the two-thousand-year-old Saladero culture, and recent archaeological discoveries from the Sainte-Anne excavations in Martinique.
“For the first time, these works are returning to their basin of origin since their creation”, emphasized Martinique Prefect Étienne Desplanques at the inauguration.
A symbolic return that illustrates the desire of Emmanuel Kasarhérou, President of the Musée du Quai Branly, to circulate works of art to their homelands rather than keeping them locked up in European capitals. The 600-square-meter tour traces 6,000 years of history, from the first hunter-gatherers of the 5th millennium to the living communities of today.
Two Kalinago women at the forefront of history
“I never thought that in 2023 we would have the first female president of the Republic of Dominica, a Kalinago woman,” confides Sylvanie Burton. “It’s an honor to represent my people. The first peoples of Dominica, the first peoples of the Caribbean, were recognized in this way.” For her, this exhibition goes beyond the museum setting: “It gives us a source of strength: other people internationally recognize our heritage, our cultural identity, and give us the impetus to continue working and living as a people.”
Anette Sanford, who recalled in her speech that her ancestors “mastered horticulture and ceramics in the Orinoco Valley”, insists on Kalinago resilience: “What followed in 1492 was a collision that brought wars, massacres and epidemics, almost wiping out our populations. But today, we have endured.”
Deconstructing myths, restoring truth
One of the major challenges of the exhibition is to correct distorted historical accounts. “People say a lot of wrong things about indigenous peoples, and this needs to be corrected,” insists Anette Sanford. She cites a specific example: “The island of Dominica is actually called Waitukubuli, named by the indigenous peoples. And the Kalinagos were never cannibals. We had spiritual practices that people have misinterpreted.”
Étienne Desplanques praised the work of archaeologists who, “from one discovery to the next, are shattering misconceptions”. Recent excavations at Sainte-Anne, whose results have been described as exceptional, contribute to this renewed understanding of Amerindian settlement. The exhibition does not shy away from colonial violence: it tackles head-on the massacres, epidemics and exploitation structures that wiped out entire populations. But it rejects the narrative of total disappearance.
The tour also incorporates the documentary “Kalinago Voices”, which captures the living memory of the Dominique community. “I’m particularly proud of this documentary, which ensures that these stories are told by us and for us,” stresses Anette Sanford. A paradigm shift: Kalinagos are no longer objects of study, but subjects of their own narrative.
Rediscovering Caribbean unity
“This exhibition reminds us that the Caribbean is not a fragmented collection of islands divided by colonial borders, but a forgotten cultural unity,” says Anette Sanford. “From the coasts of Venezuela to the shores of Cuba, we were peoples of the sea. The seas were not barriers, but paths that united us.”
This meeting between Martinique and Dominica around the exhibition is a concrete illustration of this vision. Two neighboring islands, separated by colonial history – one French, the other English-speaking and independent – but linked by a common memory that goes back thousands of years.
Sylvanie Burton sees this as a model for the region’s future: “If Caribbean leaders understand that our civilization began with these indigenous peoples, we can all accept and work together as one Caribbean people. It’s a perfect example of how we can work together.”
The vernissage was attended by almost 1,500 people, testifying to the anticipation surrounding this heritage recognition.
Bernard Hayot reminds us that “culture is a formidable vector for development” and that “access to culture enables us to transcend borders and meet the world in an enriching confrontation that our island situation makes even more necessary”.
Exhibition “At the origins of the Caribbean: Taïnos & Kalinagos”.
Fondation Clément, Le François, Martinique
From December 14, 2025 to March 15, 2026
Free admission | 9 am – 6.30 pm, daily
Over 330 works | 30 partner institutions | 6000 years of history
For Anette Sanford, the message is clear: “I want to encourage the people of Martinique, the people of the Caribbean, to respect indigenous peoples and their rights. Come and visit the Kalinago territory, come and interact with us to see that we are still alive.”
Sylvanie Burton, for her part, sees the exhibition as a model for the future: “We can all come together to understand that our heritage, our origin, the civilization of the Caribbean began with these indigenous peoples. We can all accept and work together as one Caribbean people.”
The presence of these two Kalinago women in the highest positions at this historic opening illustrates that history is written in acts of recognition that shape the future of the Caribbean.
FAQ
The exhibition “At the Origins of the Caribbean: Taïnos & Kalinagos”, presented at the Fondation Clément in Le François, retraces 6,000 years of Amerindian history through more than 330 works from 30 international institutions. It highlights the Taino and Kalinago peoples, their knowledge, their migrations and their living heritage in the contemporary Caribbean.
The joint presence of Silvanie Burton, President of the Republic of Dominica, and Annette Sanford, Chief of the Kalinago Territory, marks a strong institutional recognition of Caribbean indigenous peoples. This is the first time that Kalinago leaders have played a central role in an exhibition of this scale in Martinique, affirming a living memory that is not static.
The exhibition “At the origins of the Caribbean: Taïnos & Kalinagos” is open free of charge at the Fondation Clément, in Le François (Martinique), from December 14, 2025 to March 15, 2026. Open daily from 9am to 6:30pm, the exhibition features a 600 m² immersive journey through the earliest civilizations of the Caribbean.
