structural:summarization, stylistic:tone
Culture

Dominica was historically occupied by the Arawaks (Tainos) and Carib (Kalinago) tribes at the time European settlers reached the island. " Massacre " is a name of a river dedicated to the mass murder of the native villagers by English settlers on St. Kitts -the survivors were forced into exile on Dominica. Both the French and British claimed the island and imported slaves from Africa for labour. The remaining Kalinago live on a 3,700-acre (15 km) territory on the east coast of the island. They elect their own chief. This has produced the modern cultural mix.

Music and dance are important facets of Dominican culture. The annual independence celebrations display a variety of traditional song and dance. Since 1997, there have also been weeks of Creole festivals, such as "Creole in the Park" and the " World Creole Music Festival ".

Dominica gained prominence on the international music stage when in 1973, Gordon Henderson founded the group Exile One and an original musical genre, which he called " Cadence-lypso ". This paved the way for modern Creole music. Other musical genres include " Jing ping " and " Cadence ". Jing ping features the accordion and is native to the island. Dominica's music is a mélange of Haitian, Afro-Cuban, African and European traditions. Popular artists over the years included Chubby and the Midnight Groovers, Bells Combo, the Gaylords (Dominican band), WCK, and Triple Kay.

The 11th annual World Creole Music Festival was held in 2007, part of the island's celebration of independence from Great Britain on 3 November. A year-long reunion celebration began in January 2008, marking 30 years of independence.

Dominica is often seen as a society that is migrating from collectivism to individualism. The economy is a developing one that previously depended on agriculture. Signs of collectivism are evident in the small towns and villages which are spread across the island.

The novelist Jean Rhys was born and raised in Dominica. The island is obliquely depicted in her best-known book, Wide Sargasso Sea. Rhys's friend, the political activist and writer Phyllis Shand Allfrey, set her 1954 novel, The Orchid House, in Dominica.

Much of the Walt Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (the second in the series, released in 2006), was shot on location on Dominica (though in the film it was known as "Pelegosto", a fictional island), along with some shooting for the third film in the series, At World's End (2007).