This is a study of the Garifuna, an ethnic group of mixed African and Afro-American ancestry in Central America (where they were exiled in the 18th century from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent), and in the US (to which many voluntarily emigrate). They maintain their ethnic identity by their language; by a characteristic set of religious beliefs, foods, and occupations; and by non-Garifuna perceptions of them as an ethnic group. This book shows how Garifuna history, culture, and adaptations-especially migration-have shaped contemporary ethnicity and economic development.