THE Indigenous peoples of Guyana make up over ten percent of our population, and reside in 215 communities scattered across 30,000 square kilometres of our national territory. In honour of their heritage, Guyana observes Indigenous Heritage Month in the month of September.

This year, the month is being observed under the theme “Our Culture, Earth’s Future; Saving the Environment, Live the Indigenous Way”.

The culture of the Indigenous Peoples of Guyana serves as a core foundation of our patrimony; and as our first peoples, the protection, preservation and promulgation of their cultural heritage is therefore enshrined in the Constitution of Guyana. At the opening ceremony of the Indigenous Peoples festivities’, President David Granger renewed Government’s commitment to ensuring that the right to the preservation of the heritage of Indigenous peoples is not diminished.

However, the President acknowledged that the cultural heritage of our Indigenous communities is under threat due to issues affecting them, including the slow pace of economic growth within communities, and limited economic activity over the past two decades. The President said that issues such as these have caused not only distress, but, in many cases, the loss of human capital due to migration. These concerns add to the existence of social issues, such as low levels of education, vector-borne diseases, trafficking in persons, teenage pregnancy, crime, and other social ills.

The President has said that though significant strides have been made by the Indigenous Peoples, there still exists inequality in hinterland communities. Since taking up office, the Head of State has also outlined key areas of interest, and proposed solutions that hold the key to developing the way of life of the Indigenous Peoples of Guyana.

With education as a major focus on his agenda, the President has pushed the importance of education in these communities. While speaking at the Heritage Day Celebrations at Mainstay/Whyaka, at Pomeroon-Supenaam, the President said, “We, too, have an obligation to our children: that if the children are to be productive citizens, we, their parents and grandparents, have to make sure that

we plan for their education, upbringing and welfare.” He added that education must also include Information Communication Technology (ICT,) so as to stay on par with the ever changing technological age.

At this event, the President also announced that Government would seek to develop ICT by ensuring that every public building — particularly schools, hospitals and airports — is equipped with WIFI.

President Granger has also plugged entrepreneurship as a means of economic advancement for the hinterland communities. During visits to communities across the country, the President has urged citizens to develop the spirit of entrepreneurship, which will serve as a means of tackling unemployment in those areas while they utilise the abundance of resources the hinterland has to offer.

Efforts to promote entrepreneurial development can be seen through establishment of the Hinterland Employment Youth Service (HEYS), which is aimed at providing skills training for approximately 2,000 young people in those areas. The HEYS initiative was announced by President David Granger last year at the National Toshaos Conference, and it is now coordinated by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs.

Vice-President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Mr. Sydney Allicock, has described the HEYS initiative as a programme aimed at investing in, and strengthening, the youth, as the Indigenous Peoples need strong leadership to help them to move forward successfully.

Plans to expand the initiative, the Minister said, are well on the way, since investing in young people is an investment in the future wellbeing of the Indigenous Peoples. “It is our intention to inject into the curriculum of HEYS a cooperative module, because we believe in the ways of the Indigenous Peoples is to be working together. Unity is strength. We expect that our youths will strengthen the resolve of the Indigenous Peoples of Guyana to self-determine and to attain a higher level of economic independence,” the Minister said.

President Granger has also commended the Ministry for helping to push entrepreneurial development, stating that it creates an enabling and empowering environment for young entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, the push toward entrepreneurship is also seen as a gateway for the development of value-added products, as residents will move to make use of farm produce beyond raw production. But moving towards the improvement of the lives of our Indigenous Peoples must also come with administrative policies which would seek to ensure that priorities are managed and that their interests are addressed in a timely and responsible manner.

Apart from the Ministry, the structures responsible for managing the affairs of Indigenous Peoples are the National Toshaos Council (NTC) and the Village Councils located within individual communities. The NTC meets annually to discuss matters affecting Indigenous communities and to implement decisions that seek to solve their concerns.
It was at the National Toshaos Conference in 2015 that President Granger outlined a 10-point action plan for the hinterland region.
The Plan sought to address issues such as youth employment, infrastructure, tourism, culture preservation, land titling, and other areas which develop hinterland communities.

At opening of the Tenth Annual National Toshaos Council Meeting in August this year, Minister Allicock said the Ministry he heads has made considerable progress with the implementation of the plan.
The Minister also encouraged the Toshaos to bring to the fore issues affecting the people, so that the communities could get the best representation and have their concerns addressed. Meanwhile, President David Granger called for the establishment of a five-person National Indigenous People’s Authority which will oversee and monitor the implementation of decisions taken by the NTC and other local indigenous bodies, and aid in better administering the affairs of the Indigenous Peoples within individual communities.

“It is… very difficult for a single annual conference to execute day-to-day management of these complex problems of which I have spoken about over such a vast area from north to south and east to west. The conference must therefore ask itself whether there can be a different administrative approach to resolving these problems, rather than meeting once a year and not being able to monitor the implementation of your decision for 365 days,” he said.

The President said that body would not take away from the role of the NTC or the Ministry, but would aid in the effective implementation of decisions taken by the Council.

This year’s conference also sought to deal with amendments to the Amerindian Act, which has received proposals to be renamed the Indigenous Peoples Act; as well as effects of mining in hinterland communities and land titling concerns, the latter of which remains a top priority for Government.

On the September 2 edition of the Public Interest, President Granger explained that the matter of land titling would be addressed expeditiously by his government. “My intention is to re-establish a form of Indigenous Peoples Lands Commission. This is what I have committed to, so that demarcation can be done to the satisfaction of both sides. I don’t feel it is fair for us to go further into the future without dealing with this issue. Land is life for the Indigenous Peoples; they are not interested in house lots, they want land to hunt, farm, fish, cut timber… We have to deal with this issue once and for all… This is my commitment to the Indigenous Peoples, and it is going to happen,” the President said.

The President has, however, continued to spread his message on the benefits of education, entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency as a means of encouragement for hinterland communities to aid in their own development, even as the administration continues to work toward infrastructural measures.

The President’s words have resonated with the people within many of the communities, who believe that working together would also help hinterland communities to move forward. These words were echoed by Regional Chairman of the Barima-Waini region (Region One), Mr. Brentnol Ashley, on the occasion of the commissioning of the twelfth school bus to the region under the President’s Five Bs Programme.

“I firmly believe that the issue of development needs all people on board. Every one of us has the God-given responsibility to better our community,” Mr. Ashley said.

But overall, it is believed that the betterment that Government is aiming for can be achieved only through a collaborative effort of all Ministries, Indigenous communities and other stakeholders. The Ministry is therefore collaborating with other Ministries to address issues of infrastructural, social and other issues that need addressing, while also looking to develop other projects and strategies that would aid in improving the lives of our Indigenous Peoples.