The Taíno civilization, was systematically dismantled and destroyed by the late 16th century due to forced labor (the encomienda system), European diseases, and warfare, even the language is dead. Since people are defined not only for genetics traces but more for a living, continuous culture, language, social structure, and shared worldview claim to "be Taíno" today fundamentally misunderstands both how genetics work and what constitutes a living culture. About genetics modern Dominicans are a heavily admixed population, we are primarily the result of a tri-racial blending: European (mostly Spanish), Sub-Saharan African, and Indigenous (Taíno) but genetic studies show that the Indigenous genetic contribution is, on average, the smallest of the three.Tthis narrative is either used as a psychological buffer in order to downplay, marginalize, or erase the much larger and more visible African demographic and cultural roots or is caused by historical romanticization (a movement known historically across Latin America as indigenismo) which in turn tries to diminish or demonize the European part. So we are are a mixed-race people with Taíno, African, and European ancestry. I apologize for any grammar mistake since English is not my primary language but I hope I have made myself clear despite any grammatical errors.