Jennifer Cassar

Jennifer Cassar (August 4, 1951 – July 19, 2018) was a Trinidadian cultural activist and civil servant. Cassar served as the Carib Queen, a leader of the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community and the indigenous community in Trinidad and Tobago, from 2011 until her death in 2018. Cassar, a career civil servant and the sixth Carib Queen since the title's creation in 1875, was the first Carib Queen to hold a secular job.

Biography Early and personal life Cassar, the eldest of five children, was born Jennifer Pile in Malabar, Arima, Trinidad and Tobago, on August 4, 1951. An election was held in early July 2011 to name a new Queen. Her inauguration was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism and the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community.

Shortly after her inauguration in August 2011, Cassar spoke to the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian concerning her new status as Carib Queen and her responsibilities for her first festival and street procession, telling the newspaper, "I am humbled. I am honoured to be able to represent the Carib community. I am a proud Arimian. I am of Carib stock...We are continuing the celebration which has been ongoing for 200 years. It began in the 1700s. It is one of the few indigenous festivals that have thrived."

In 2018, Cassar led a delegation to pay a courtesy call on the new President of Trinidad and Tobago, Paula-Mae Weekes. Prior to the Catholic funeral mass, Cassar's body was laid in state at Arima Town Hall. She was buried in Santa Rosa Cemetery, a Catholic cemetery, following her funeral and indigenous rites held by members of the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community.