Jean Foggo Simon's essay, Their Voices Are Not Silent: The Legacy of St. David Islanders, Bermuda has all the hallmarks of a classic.

As we noted last week, St. David's Island-born Jean was one of a number of scholars whose works are included in the book The First and the Forced: Essays on the North American and African American Experience.

Before we review her essay, following is more background on her rationale for writing so prolifically about her ancestors.

"I feel it necessary to give further explanation and insight into the heritage of St. David's Islanders that is often still misunderstood in Bermuda. In this year's Black History Month, it is important to understand the heritage of all of us who live in these islands.

"It is not just a matter of black and white. There are many mixtures of which we can all be proud, and of which many stories can be shared, but in this article I wish to speak of the red brothers and sisters who also inhabit these islands.

"We want the respect of an often misunderstood society and of a history that we are quite proud of ¿ that of the true St. David's Islanders, many who are mixed with Native American, Irish, Scottish and other nationalities.

"My grandparents related to me that the chief occupation of St. David's Islanders was making a living by 'keeping body and soul together'. We shared what we had amongst ourselves and our elders had no fear of going hungry for they knew the younger family members would take care of them.

"We did not fit the system in Bermuda; but, as a people unto ourselves who lived by different rules and had different expectations, others could not understand how we have survived.

"We thanked God for the absence of a bridge that eventually joined St. David's to the mainland. We were told as youngsters that our families never wanted to be associated with other inhabitants of the Bermuda islands, for they had suffered with insults and abuse whenever they were in the presence of other people. No one seemed to want to understand us and our way of life.

"People would say to us as students, that we could not learn and if put in a classroom with others, we would not learn the same. It was said that we did not need an education and that we were happy living on St. David's going barefoot, fishing and farming!

"These words were a far cry from what eventually transpired for the people of St. David's Island. We had skills that we acquired in isolation that could not be taken away from us and while these words hurt, it did not change our attitude towards life. We have succeeded far beyond anyone's imagination.

"We built small boats for the sole purpose of fishing. The boats were built with wells in them in which fish were kept alive with the inflow of seawater. Fish were caught by hand lines, brought ashore and transferred to fish ponds and could hold fish for several months. We built glass-bottom boats long before it was popular so we would be able to manoeuvre ourselves over the shoals and also enjoy the beauty of what the sea floor had to offer.

"Fishermen also farmed when time permitted. We had a monopoly over the fishing areas east and south of St. David's. I learned that by 1900 there were 150-200 inhabitants on St. David's Island and fishing was their major occupation. We also made nets for catching fish as well as turtle that were also kept alive in fish ponds until they were needed. Whaling was also a major part of our lifestyle.

"It is well known that piloting was a major part of our occupations as was blockade runners, privateers and rum runners, shipbuilders, sail makers and carpenters. My own father, Oliver (Corker) Foggo was a distinguished, and highly trained, skilled cabinet maker. His cedar work can be seen in many places around Bermuda, although I suspect that since his passing, that will be forgotten except by his family.

"Some of our family members were responsible for the operation of the St. David's Island Lighthouse. Other crops consisted of arrowroot, onions and lily bulbs that were exported to foreign countries.

"Isolation came to an end on May 10, 1934 when the Severn Bridge opened which linked St. David's to the mainland and St. David's Islanders were not happy about it. To us it meant that unwanted outsiders could now come freely to the island. However, some of the islanders did seek employment on the mainland.

"In 1940 Bermuda was requested to grant the US base rights for a period 99 years as a gift in appreciation for its contribution to the war and was a result of Winston Churchill's 'bases for destroyers' deal. It was decided that the base would be built on an already crowded area ¿ that of St. David's Island where it was thought that the number of persons displaced would be far less and less social problems would be encountered.

"To underscore the view that St. David's was considered 'less important' by those on the mainland, shortly after construction begun, there was an article that essentially read, 'Certain areas of cedar trees had been cut down and the hills levelled out, but the only people affected by these undertakings have been the St. David's Islanders themselves'.

"As only a small number of tourists ever visited St. David's, it was felt it did not matter as it was remote and basically who would know or care!

"The Bermuda Government did not show any care as well, as it was announced to the people of St. David's Island in the Daily News on December 24, 1940 (a lovely Christmas gift!), that 'descendants of the oldest inhabitants of Bermuda would have to give up their homes and land for the good of the country'.

"When we first learned we would be forced to leave our land, we were filled with sorrow and anger and many did not give up without a fight. Additionally, the compensation rate of value per acre was different for people of colour or blacks (natives) and the white indentured servants (Irish, Scottish).

"Another article said: 'For centuries St. David's Islanders occupied a unique position in this little colony . . . seafarers they were, born with the taste of salt sea spray in their mouths and a barometer in their brains. They were proud of their homes, built by their forefathers, suspicious of anything new; they clung stubbornly to a tiny island in a changing world. Those people who yesterday were asked to give up their homes, they might just as well have been told they would have to give up their lives. The request, judged by their standards, amounted to the same thing.'

"The Bermuda Government was faced with the serious and urgent problem of resettling the people who had been disposed. A tract of land was purchased outside the base area from the 'Uncrowned King of St. David's Island', Henry Mortimer (Tommy) Fox, who was one of the largest land owners of that area.

"We were forced to live in temporary barracks until suitable homes could be constructed. Our livelihood, as well as our homes, was taken. The base was constructed on land that had been prime farming land. Our lily fields were wiped out by the base as well as farms growing onions, arrowroot and other produce. That area is now the Bermuda International Airport.

"As more and more people moved to St. David's Island, they brought with them a new set of values and actions which were reflective of the tourist environment from which they had come. St. David's Islanders had not been exposed to the constant onslaught of tourists and had no trouble distinguishing between what occurred naturally and what did not. Just as we do today, we are aware of what is natural and what is not, who is related to us and who is not.

"We have never smiled at the tourist as other Bermudians were told to do and never will. We have never felt as if we had to perform for others, as we have a great sense of being and of knowing who we are. To protect our Native American identity, we have, as we have in the past, united ourselves behind a common 'we', in which all outsiders, no matter if they are Bermudian or tourist will always be constituted as a 'they'.

"This way of life is what has sustained us as a close-knit family unit over the centuries and we see no need to make any changes. There has always been strength in our unified front. While we are receptive and respectful to others, we see no need to expose ourselves unnecessarily to the tourist industry.

"We have been mistreated in our own country for far too many years, to now allow our heritage to become a 'come-as-you-are' society. Thus, we will always protect our true identity and respect our ancestors for their long and hard struggle for recognition in their acquired land far from their homeland in New England."