History was made on Wednesday when Annette Sanford, 41, became the first woman to be inaugurated as Kalinago Chief in the Commonwealth of Dominica.
Sanford, a native of the island’s Kalinago Territory, was formally invested and presented with her staff of office by Dominica’s President Sylvanie Burton, who herself is the country’s first female president and of Kalinago descent.
In her inaugural address, Sanford paid tribute to her ancestors, highlighting the resilience of the Kalinago people in their fight against European colonizers.
“They fought not just with weapons but with wisdom, passing down stories that hold the essence of who we are. It is because of their sacrifice that we are here today, a people with an unbroken spirit and a story still unfolding,” Sanford said. “These are the shoulders on which I now stand as your Kalinago Chief.”
Sanford, a nurse and former senator who served in Dominica’s House of Assembly from 2020 to 2022, emphasized the need for regional collaboration in supporting the Kalinago people, who form the only living Indigenous community in the eastern Caribbean. She called for greater efforts from leaders across the region to aid in their development.
Sanford’s historic inauguration follows that of Lorenzo Sanford, the youngest person to ever hold the position, who served as Kalinago Chief from 2019 until Sanford’s appointment.