THE month of September is a celebratory time for all Amerindians and/or descendants of the original inhabitants of Guyana — our Indigenous Peoples.
Since Dr. Cheddi Jagan decreed September to be Amerindian Heritage Month in 1995, there has been projected into the national and psychological psyche that Amerindians are no longer going to be a marginalised people subsisting on the crumbs of developmental initiatives within the national construct, but will be fully integrated into the holistic national programme for development by the PPP/C Administration; and one of the basic components of this new paradigm is the Amerindian Act.

The Amerindian Act (1976) has never been enforced since its existence and did not fully address Amerindian rights and entitlements: However, the PPP/C Government, after a comprehensive review and stakeholder consultations, drove and passed the Amerindian Act of 2005, which addressed all of Guyana’s First Peoples’ pressing concerns, foremost among which were land-titling issues and sub-soil rights.
The Amerindian Act 2005 provides for, inter alia:
1) Grants to communal land.
Unlike the old Act, the new Act includes a process for the granting of land. For instance, a community can apply for land once they can prove that they have been living there for at least 25 years and the minister must commence an investigation and make a decision within six months.
2) Leases: The minister is not required to approve leasing of titled Amerindian land, as opposed to the first Act where the minister is required to approve it. In the new Act, the communities are only required to seek the advice of the minister.
3) Intellectual Property Rights: With respect to the use of scientific research, the researcher will, among other things, have to submit to the Village Council a copy of any publication containing materials derived from the research.
4)  Environmental Protection: The Amerindian Act supports the need for the communities to use their natural resources in a way that lends support to the concept of sustainability: Impact Assessments will have to be completed in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act.
5) Mining and Forestry: Amerindians will have a legal right to traditional mining with the consent of the Village Council and they must comply with the relevant legislation. With regard to forestry, the Village Council plays an integral role in determining who is allowed to use their land and on what terms.
6) Governance: The Village Council is empowered to establish rules for their communities and set fines within the legal confines of the law. Notably, the money received due to the non-adherence of the rules, goes into the Village Council’s account, not the government’s.
7)  Consultations: More than half of the recommendations are reflected in the Act. These inclusions were as a result of recommendations from the communities and other stakeholders. The process lasted two years and is an unprecedented one in this part of the hemisphere.
The Amerindians of Guyana are given equal status within the landscape of Guyanese citizenhood, while yet being encouraged to sustain their cultural and traditional norms; this far surpasses the treatment meted out to Indigenous Peoples of even first-world countries. The Amerindian Act is merely one component of the holistic approach successive PPP/C governments have taken to enhance economic growth and social development in Amerindian communities.
The current government has signalled its intention to revise and review the administrative dynamics directly affecting Amerindian developmental constructs over the past five years and reverse, wherever necessary, decisions that adversely affected Indigenous Peoples’ communities, lives, and ways of life; as well as to create inclusionary initiatives to ensure that Amerindians share,  in equal measure to that enjoyed by coastal citizens, the resources of this country that belongs to all the people of the land.