Indigenous Heritage Month in retrospect

JUST as September passed by, so too, did the activities that were held in commemoration of Indigenous Heritage Month. There were lots of sharing of the indigenous culture and lots, lots more of the tuma pot and fly.

In 1995, President Cheddi Jagan declared September as the month to honour the contributions of the nation’s First Peoples. This year’s observance was held under the theme, “Proud of our Indigenous identity – celebrating in unity.” At the launch of the activities for the month, Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock stressed how important it was for the Indigenous people to connect to their roots while contending with the adaptation needed to benefit in a rapidly changing Guyanese landscape.

Two very important things jumped out at me during the celebrations for Heritage Month, both of which seem to be hindrances to the development of the indigenous people. The first is that though the standard, ‘across the board’ education system is aimed at fostering equality throughout the country, many indigenous communities contend with a system that is impractical to their culture and livelihood. And the second is that the growth of small and micro enterprises has also spread to indigenous communities but there remains a gap in streamlining and legitimising these businesses.

Now, navigating both of these topics has been tricky for me.

The month of September usually brings two fields into great focus: Education and Indigenous Heritage. Unfortunately, the activities scheduled for Education Month were largely overshadowed by the teachers’ protest and negotiations between the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU). But it would be nearly impossible to talk about the development of the indigenous people without factoring in education.

Now in all the indigenous communities I’ve visited for this period, I have always been told by the people that the education system is majorly impractical. For some, having to navigate between their native language and English is tricky; and for others, the subjects they pursue bear no connection to what jobs they will go on to assume in their communities.

There are the select few who are able to harness education and elevate themselves but they are far too little for my liking. But how do I make the call to say that having a specialised curriculum tailored specifically to the culture and needs of indigenous people is better than having a standard curriculum for all Guyanese? And who will answer my call?

On the other side of this year’s learning experience was the disconnect between small businesses and streamlining these.

For businesses in the outlying areas, business registration can be done at any of the three Deeds Registry offices of the Small Business Bureau, or the seven or 13 National Insurance Scheme (NIS) or Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) offices, respectively. Applying for loans or grants might be a tad bit harder than registering, though.

From a few trips to indigenous communities or even right at the Indigenous Exhibition, held at the National Exhibition complex, it was clear that the indigenous people were embracing this vision of small businesses. Community women groups and community groups were formed and the people joined hands to create a product that could be put up for sale.

While this is all good and well, the issue on hand is that streamlining these businesses is difficult if you are out of Georgetown and acquiring loans or grants majorly hinges on also being in Georgetown.

I will concede, however, that steps are being taken to establish centres in each region to at least provide information to the indigenous people on registering their businesses and on applying for loans and grants. A financial assistant of the Small Business Bureau related that the bureau is looking to establish information centres in at least in every region, with the hope of making the process of legitimising small businesses much easier.

So for me, as the country strives toward development even further in the coming months and years, I believe due diligence needs to be given to the indigenous population. It is to this nation’s benefit to learn how these groups of people, who primarily occupy the hinterland regions, have been able to co-exist with nature. Simultaneously, it is important that the first people are not left behind as Guyana develops.

This is my takeaway from this year’s heritage month celebrations and I can only hope that in the coming years, these issues are addressed and resolved so that the celebrations will be even more resounding. As for me, it will probably take me a few more years of learning before I decide to eat the tocuma worms or actually try `the fly’ at heritage celebrations, but till then- it’s the Pepperpot and Cassava bread for the win!

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