At the heart of the Cay Hill Roundabout in St. Maarten stands a figure in motion — One-Tété Lohkay, captured mid-stride, carrying a bundle of sugarcane on her shoulder. But this is not just a statue. It is a story of resistance carved in bronze. A story of a woman who refused to be broken.
Lohkay was an enslaved young woman on St. Maarten, known not for submission, but for defiance. Time and time again, she attempted to escape the brutality of plantation life on the island. Each time she was captured, the punishment grew more severe — until one act of cruelty would define her name forever.
Despite unimaginable punishment, Lohkay was not silenced. She escaped again — this time disappearing into the hills of St. Maarten, surviving and reclaiming her freedom entirely on her own terms.
Lohkay became more than a person — she became a symbol of Caribbean resistance on St. Maarten. A living reminder that even in the face of unimaginable violence, the human spirit can still rise.
The statue at Cay Hill Roundabout captures that exact energy. She is not standing still — she is running forward. Carrying sugarcane — the very crop tied to the system that enslaved her — now transformed into a symbol of survival and strength. Her movement tells us everything: she is not escaping anymore… she is free.
Because freedom was not only fought for by men who broke chains — it was carried, endured, and reclaimed by women like Lohkay. Her story at the Cay Hill Roundabout is one of St. Maarten’s most powerful reminders that the will to be free is unstoppable.
One-Tété Lohkay is one of the Caribbean’s most powerful female resistance figures — her story on St. Maarten echoing across the region as a testament to unbreakable human spirit.
After Hurricane Irma, the One-Tété Lohkay statue at Cay Hill was restored — just as she herself was never truly broken. A symbol of St. Maarten’s own resilience and determination to rise.
