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Native American Tribes of Guadeloupe

This is an index to the Native American language and cultural information on our website pertaining to Guadeloupean Indian tribes. Some pages contain more information than others. If you belong to an indigenous tribe from Guadeloupe that is not currently listed on this page and you would like to see it here, please contact us about contributing information to our site.

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According to early colonial records, the indigenous Arawak name of Guadeloupe was Karukera (also rendered as Kalukaera, Kalucaera, Karukeyra, Kwarys, Kwarike.) The meaning of this name is not certain, but it may have meant the isle of gum-trees or incense. The indigenous Cariban and Arawakan speaking peoples of the Caribbean Islands were disastrously impacted by colonization. By the 1600's more than 90% of their population had been destroyed by genocide and disease. Many of the indigenous people who did survive intermarried with Afro-Caribbeans, so although there are no official Native American tribes remaining on Guadeloupe, nor have any of the indigenous languages survived in this region, there are still people of indigenous ancestry living on the island and their culture has had an influence on Guadeloupean culture over time.

The original inhabitants of the area that is now Guadeloupe included:

The Arawak Indians

The Iñeri Indians

The Kalina Indians

Other resources about American Indian history, culture and society in Guadeloupe:

Map of Guadeloupe:

Language Map of the Caribbean:

Tribes of the Lesser Antilles:
Maps showing the location of Guadeloupe and where the Arawakan and Cariban languages were most spoken.

Indigenous Languages of the Caribbean
Collection of materials about the lost and endangered Indian languages of the Caribbean region.

Review of the Indigenous Caribbean
Online journal of cultural information about the Native inhabitants of Guadeloupe and the Caribbean.

Edgar Clerc Caribbean Heritage Center
Homepage of Guadeloupe's national archaeology museum, with pictures of Native rock art and carvings.

An island where rocks have faces
Photo-essay about the ancient indigenous petroglyphs of Guadeloupe.

Artifacts of Guadeloupe:

Taino burial sites in Guadeloupe:
Websites about the archaeology of pre-Columbian Guadeloupe.

Martinique and Guadeloupe:

La France en Amerique: The Treaty of Paris:

1763 Treaty of Paris:
The history of European colonialsim in Guadeloupe.

Les amérindiens de Guadeloupe:

La période précolombienne:

Arawaks et Caraibes en Guadeloupe:
Information about the original tribes of Guadeloupe in French.

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