The Miskito Indians of Nicaragua

For more than 30 years, Robert Anthony Nolan of Virginia Beach, VA, has served as a pilot and flight instructor. Fluent in Spanish and Miskito Indian, Robert Nolan grew up in the jungle of Nicaragua, living among the Miskito Indians, albeit he was born in the USA. When the Cuban and Russian military invaded Nicaragua, Robert and family were caught, arrested, charged with being American spies, sentenced to be executed and 13 days later broken out by the Miskito Indians were they ran across the country on foot for 9 days through the jungle until they swam across the Rio Coco, crossing into the neighboring country of Honduras reaching an emergency refugee camp set up by the Red Cross.

The Miskito Indians primarily reside on the northeast coast of Nicaragua as well as in Honduras. The Miskito people formed as a result of Native American, European, and African populations coming together. Miskitos were beleaguered during the 1700s and 1800s, caught in the middle of conflicts between British and Spanish forces until the British formed a protectorate over them between 1824 and 1860.

However, the Miskitos later suffered at the hands of U.S. forces seeking to unify Nicaragua with the justification of the Monroe Doctrine. In 1960, Nicaragua took over “Mosquito Reserve” under the Treaty of Managua. Today, the Miskitos exercise a certain level of autonomy as a result of the autonomy law passed in 1987, but the fight for independence continues. In 2009, a group of Miskitos called for recognition of their complete independence as a nation.

The Miskito people speak Miskito, Spanish, and Creole-English. One of their main sources of labor is the fishing industry, specifically the lobster trade.