DPRFN Board Members

A Taino Native American descendant and a former Taino ambassador and chief, and Deputy Chief for the Supreme Inter-Tribal Council of Kalinago and Taino under Paramount Chief Hilary Frederick of the Carib Territory. He led as President of the Native American and Alaskan Native Association under President Bill Clinton’s Administration.

Currently, Dr. Porrata is the Paramount Chief and Chairman of the Descendants of Puerto Rico’s First Nation and a doctorate fellow from Walden University, a retired associate professor from the Multilingual and Cultural Institute Division of Continuing Education at the University of Puerto Rico and a retired army colonel who served as a language instructor for the United States Army. Dr. Porrata holds a certificate of 120 hours of teacher training in Native American languages from the Northwest Indian Language Institute at the University of Oregon where he acquired linguistic techniques toward awakening sleeping languages. Dr. Porrata is the author of several books on the Taino culture and the Taino language and is the recipient of the Citizen of the Year Award for Puerto Rico in 2007and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988 for his service with the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces.

Mrs. Carmen Nieves Hernández, has a Bachelor Degree in Secretarial Science from the Inter-American University in San German, Puerto Rico.  She is retired from US Navy Lodging where she performed an array of administrative duties.  Her Taino roots come from both parents with a genetic history to Puerto Rico going back some 4,000 years ago.  Her love for her Taino heritage led her to study prehistoric ArcheoCeramics technology for three consecutive summers, which consisted of workshops on how to construct traditional Native American pottery.  She was taught by the world renowned professor Gregory Wood, ArcheoCeramist and founder of Ancient Arts. 

Joseph “AmaHura” RiverWind is a documented Arawak Taino from his home island of Boriken (Puerto  Rico). He has served internationally as a Peace Chief and is the Ambassador of the Descendants of Puerto Rico’s First Nation, including, representing DPRFN at the National Congress of American Indians in Washington D.C.

Joseph graduated from Mercer University earning a BA in Social Sciences with honors, a Masters Degree in Biblical Studies, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Emergency Response. He and his wife were nominated for eight Native American Music Awards, winning one as well as being awarded a Taino Musician of the Year Award. He is an honorably discharged U.S. Army, Active Duty and National Guard, veteran with deployments on humanitarian missions. 

A retired teacher from the Puerto Rico Department of Education having 30 years of teaching experience.  She has taught numerous subjects but her most passionate one has been Puerto Rico history with emphasis on its  indigenous culture.  She graduated from the Catholic University of Puerto Rico with both Bachelor and Master degrees in Education.  Her Taino roots come from both parents with a genetic history to Puerto Rico going back some 4,000 years to the first settlers.    

A Registered Nurse with over 34 years of nursing experience in the healthcare industry.  She acquired her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing Science from the Inter-American University in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.  Her nursing experience ranges from Emergency Room Rapid Response, Pediatric Care, and other clinical duties such as conducting physical examinations.  Her Taino roots come from both parents with a genetic history to Puerto Rico going back some 4,000 years ago. 

Has a genetic maternal lineage that dates back to Puerto Rico to as early 430 BC.  He is a graduate from the University of Puerto Rico and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting.   He is a full time accountant during the workweek and volunteers his expertise during his free time for the Descendants of Puerto Rico’s First Nation.

Has over 40 years as a Christian evangelist and has studied Judeo-Christian theology.  He is a retired prison guard with 30 years of prison experience with the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections.  There he ministered to prisoners bringing many of them to Christ changing their lives in a positive direction.  He visits hospitals and prays with the sick and broken-hearted.  He performs invocations at activities and ceremonies.  His genetic roots have been proven through DNA analysis going back to Ciboney/Taino and to Puerto Rico some 4,000 years ago.

A documented Taino descendant indigenous to Puerto Rico, is a realtor advisor and consultant, businesswoman, author, and professional genealogist. She is a second-generation San Francisco, Californian of Puerto Rican descent. Her grandparents were the first Puerto Ricans to migrate to Hawaii in the 1900s to work on the plantations.

After 3 years they migrated to California where they raised a family. Her father had a strong desire to know what happened to the rest of his family who remained in Puerto Rico and Hawaii, that he had heard many stories about. This desire and curiosity passed down to Cathy, which has been her passion for over 50 years and what led her to become a professional genealogist. Using her genealogical skills she has traced her roots 35 generations back to Europe and to Puerto Rico since the 1500s. This passion and history of Puerto Rico, soon became her new career. It is her ambition to see the Descendants of Puerto Rico’s First Nation to be included in the history books so that future generations will know that the Taino still lives.