During a convention for the People’s National Movement on Sunday, Prime Minister Keith Rowley announced that Trinidad and Tobago will update its coat of arms by late September, a decision that received a standing ovation.

“This marks a significant step towards removing the colonial remnants embedded in our constitution,” Rowley stated.

The current coat of arms, featuring hummingbirds, a palm tree, and Trinidad’s national bird, the scarlet ibis, has remained unchanged since the island gained independence from the UK in 1962. This redesign represents the first major change to the symbol. Additionally, the country will soon hold public hearings to consider removing statues, signs, and monuments with colonial ties.

Rowley is also advocating for the country to sever ties with the UK’s Privy Council as its highest court of appeal, a legal connection still maintained by several Commonwealth nations, including Trinidad and Tobago. He expressed his desire for the country to no longer be “squatters on the steps of the Privy Council,” as reported by local media.

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As part of this broader move to shed colonial influences, the new coat of arms will replace the image of Christopher Columbus’s three ships—the Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria—with the steelpan, a percussion instrument that originated on the island and holds significant cultural importance. This change has been widely praised across the eastern Caribbean nation.