THE Amerindian Heritage Village at Sophia, Georgetown, yesterday afternoon was the venue for the traditional launching ceremony commencing activities celebrating Amerindian Heritage Month 2012.
Under the theme, “Embracing our Identity, Celebrating our Culture”, a very significant crowd, which included President Donald Ramotar; Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai and staff members of that ministry; ministers of the government; members of Parliament; members of the Diplomatic Corps; the Executive and members of the National Toshaos Council; the visiting Miss Canada; special invitees and members of the media, witnessed the opening ceremony; which
began with arrival of his Excellency, President Donald Ramotar, and the traditional Guard of Honour drawn from indigenous ranks of the Guyana Defence Force.
His Excellency entered the venue to the accompaniment of a rich cultural indigenous presentation heralding the month of events and celebration.
In his presentation, he expressed government’s support in the preservation of the indigenous people’s culture and languages. He noted that development was evident in a number of social and economic areas across Guyana, and that a number of services are being made available to Amerindian communities.
He made mention of water, roads, air links and airstrips,and electricity in solar-powered units to Amerindian communities.
He indicated that with the help of the Amerindian Development Fund, a number of agricultural projects have been submitted, and these signal growth and sustainability in development and in feeding the people of Guyana.
He commended the Amerindian Ministry for collaborating to bring off such a massive hosting of Amerindian Heritage Month, and wished all the indigenous peoples long life and prosperity.
Earlier in the ceremony, Community Development Officers of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Mr. Anil Roberts and Ms. Leslyn Lowe, started the afternoon’s proceedings rolling with the former welcoming everyone in a particular indigenous language.
The first item of the agenda was performed by Mr. Allen Alfred from the Hallelujah Group praying for the leaders and people of Guyana
in another indigenous language. Chairman of the National Toshaos Council, Mr. Derrick John,then delivered remarks to the gathering on behalf of the members and executives of that body.
John, who welcomed all to what he described as a grand occasion, noted the significance of observing Amerindian Heritage Month under the theme “Embracing our Identity, Celebrating our Culture”. He indicated that Guyana is a multi-cultural society, which makes it a unique country, and that Guyanese share a vast, rich cultural heritage.
John noted that Amerindians today play a significant role in development of Guyana, “and when we talk about our identity, we don’t only talk about our physical features; we talk about spiritual identity, and our cultural identity, and all that make up our indigenous people of Guyana.”
John opined that Amerindians today are a proud people, and reiterated, “We are proud of who we are!” He mentioned his experience in Georgetown a few days ago when a fellow called out to him, ‘Hey buck man’. He said he felt proud to know who he was, and in being identified as a ‘buck man’.
He said that persons who had known ‘buck men’ 15 or 20 years ago see them today as different persons.
He made mention of his proud people, who have made many diverse and significant contributions to this country, and he identified a few of those contributions.
Making mention of the National Toshaos Council meeting with the President of Guyana, he mentioned that His Excellency, President Donald Ramotar, was from an Amerindian village, and noted that that was great.
He went on to identify the Minister of Amerindian Affairs and the Minister of Foreign Affairs as Amerindian women, and said there are a number of other Amerindian persons who sit in Parliament to make decisions on behalf of the people of Guyana.
He spoke of the unique Amerindian culture, which he described as “a rainbow in the Guyanese culture” as he announced commencement of a packed month of activities.
Touching on the vast forests that the Amerindians call home, John noted that they have been playing a significant role in promoting Guyana’s low- carbon development strategy; and as such, he was proud of that, because “we have been good managers of the forest, and the world has seen and has compensated us, the Amerindian people, for this.”
John concluded his remarks by inviting all to the hinterland to witness the beauty of Guyana, as Amerindian Heritage Month would be celebrated at Micobie village, Mahdia, a Region 8 sub-district.
He respectfully opined that the presence of all at the launching ceremony of Amerindian Heritage Month 2012 showed that they respected the Amerindians as a proud people living together under the national motto “One People, One Nation, One Destiny”.
The ceremony saw a dance item from the Surama Dance Group, hailing from the Deep South Rupununi, and the Kranderawu Culture Group of Region 9. Those items were followed by greetings from the Heritage Village, which was presented by Campbelltown Toshao Ms. Marbell Thomas on behalf of Micobie village Toshao Ms. Julie Johnson.
Toshao Thomas welcomed all present, and apologised for the absence of her fellow Toshao Johnson, whose absence from the launching ceremony was occasioned by unforeseen circumstances.
Toshao Thomas indicated how proud her colleague was to host this year’s Heritage Celebrations.
She invited all to visit the Heritage Village next Saturday, when activities would be in full gear.
The Katowai Group of Sand Creek took the stage next with a cultural dance item, and made way for Mr. Ashton Simon, who made a presentation on behalf of the National Amerindian Development Foundation in first extending best wishes to all Guyanese, especially the indigenous peoples of Guyana in the 2012 Heritage Month. He noted that it has been one year since the last heritage celebrations, and said he was proud of the inputs of the indigenous peoples into making the celebrations a reality.
“This year’s theme, ‘Embracing our identity, celebrating our Culture’, is fitting for the many challenges we have to confront, particularly in areas of our economic, social and environmental sectors,” Simon said.
He indicated that the ancestors of the indigenous peoples should be remembered for their steadfastness in showing that indigenous peoples can learn to be steadfast, to watch and continually improve their existence. He extended joyful greetings on behalf of his organization to the elected leaders and leaders of the National Toshao Council, and noted that all must be reminded that their vision is what will ultimately direct their decisions for development, where their people will enjoy a better tomorrow.
He begged the gathering not to forget the indigenous heroes and those who have passed away to the Great Beyond, since they have made significant contributions to the development of our country. He  mentioned  Stephen Campbell and Desire Caesar-Fox.
Special thanks were extended to President Donald Ramotar, and former President Dr. Bharat Jadgeo as well as Minister Sukhai, as he thanked a number of other organizations and foreign ministries for assisting the Amerindian people.
The performance from a cultural group from the Deep South Rupununi caught the audience with their rich cultural music and dance. It was one of the best performances of the evening, before welcoming the Honorable Minister Sukhai to deliver her address.
Minister Sukhai welcomed all to the launching ceremony, as she indicated that Amerindian Heritage Month is a much-anticipated activity today, “in which we are celebrating under the theme Embracing our identity, Celebrating our Culture”.
She noted that this year’s theme sends a great message as it signalled the need to recognise oneself, to remember who we are, and that “we must make mention of our achievements as the indigenous people must always be proud”.
She noted that we all lived in a proud country where our economic advances have been strengthened, resulting in greater livelihood opportunities for development.
Noting the PPP/C government has never used remoteness as an excuse in addressing the issues of Amerindian people, and continues a developmental agenda which seeks to accommodate economic progress, she said
the general consensus is that there exist challenges and gaps, which is a fact, but those are being addressed by the government.
With development on board, the Amerindian people will experience greater intervention, which would challenge and transform the way of life for all, and improve the lifestyles and greater demand for all.
She indicated that Amerindians should never neglect their lifestyle as indigenous peoples, and compromise their rich culture, but should always promote same.
Special gifts by Amerindian scholar and the reigning Heritage Queen were presented to Minister Sukhai and President Ramotar respectively, as the ceremony came to a close with a cultural dance performance, which was the best of the evening.