RECENTLY, there has been uproar against the Mae’s Primary School for allegedly rejecting the attire of nine-year-old, Joshua Chacon, who chose to dress in indigenous wear for the school’s culture day.

The school received ridicule and disapproval from many, coming from the Junior Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Valerie Garrido- Lowe, to the supporters across the ethnic spectrum in Guyana. Though the school issued a statement seeking to justify the situation, many persons have been angered by the blatant disapproval of the culture of Guyana’s first inhabitants.

This issue of disrespect for the people and their culture did not originate from Mae’s though. Guyana has an Indigenous population of about 76,000, the largest in the Caribbean, but discrimination against this demographic has been an ongoing struggle.

Every day, for example, Indigenous people are referred to as “Bucks” or any variation of that word. The terminology is used as a negative connotation to describe the people as inferior, unintelligent, not quite civilised and of low social standing. There is a pervasive sense of inferiority placed over their heads in their culture and livelihood and the incident at Mae’s served as a stark reminder of this.

Ironically, enough, though the institution was quite effective in fostering this concept of social cohesion that has been touted over and over. I daresay, because of the incident, Guyanese of all ethnic groups have banded together in solidarity with the young boy to defend the Indigenous culture.

Perhaps many may go back to trivialising the simplicity of the Indigenous way of life when the ‘hype’ birthed from this matter dies down, but there is the glimmer of hope that the incident has sparked a wider conversation that would lead to the dismantlement of ethnocentrism in Guyana.

Fortunately or unfortunately, this year I wrote Communication Studies instead of Caribbean Studies at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE). But I was surprised to hear that this year for Caribbean Studies the question that caught quite a few people off guard was one that required CAPE students to discuss the concept of “Indigenous Perspectives”.

Until studying history in secondary school, the prevailing views I held about the Indigenous Peoples were those that stemmed from eurocentric accounts. With the glorious tales of Christopher Columbus and his conquests of the New World (and the people living there), it was easy to believe that these people were primitive.

These eurocentric accounts were written from the European perspective which basically advanced that the European culture was superior and because the Indigenous way of life was so seemingly simplistic and different, it was obviously adjudged as inferior. And as history would show, this superior-inferior relationship provided the justification for European conquest and led to native genocide in the Caribbean.

Indigenous perspectives, on the other hand, seek to offer the other side of history and provide insight into the unique way of life for the people. Beginning from as early as the first half of the 19th century, West Indian scholars have engaged in measures to detail the history of the people and shower them with a sense of dignity and belonging.

You know the sentiments Pocahontas expressed to John Smith when she sang ‘Colours of the Wind’ to him? Those very same sentiments and more are actually being recognised and accepted.

Additionally, this perspective is slowly gaining popularity because Indigenous peoples are being empowered to stand up for their culture and heritage more so with the impetus from the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Yet, even as progress has been made in empowering the Indigenous peoples, their development is still stymied by so many factors. This discrimination remains one of those pervasive factors.

Indigenous perspectives remain critical in fostering an inclusive plural society. I spoke before about the concept of the plural society which characterises Guyana. A fallible attempt at cohesion, in my opinion, is ignoring the differences between our ethnic groups. This may be seen as an avenue to eradicate discrimination, but it effectively invalidates one’s cultural identity. Thus, there needs to be the acceptance of the Indigenous culture if discrimination against them is to be eradicated.

Guyana is a multi-ethnic or plural society, where each and every ethnic group should be equally accepted, appreciated and celebrated.

The story of Joshua Chacon not only serves as a stark reminder of the discrimination Indigenous people face in Guyana, but it has provided the leeway for a national conversation to be fostered to eliminate ethnocentrism. The future will tell whether the young boy’s plight was in vain or not, but better must come.