The month of September is known for many auspicious occasions, including the month that commemorates the heritage, history and culture of the Indigenous peoples of Guyana. On September 10, 1995, the then Prime Minister of Guyana, Cheddi Jagan, officially designated September as Amerindian Heritage Month. This was done in memory of Stephen Campbell’s achievement-to become Guyana’s first Amerindian Member of Parliament on September 10, 1957. This year’s Amerinidan Heritage Month theme is, “Maintaining our traditional integrity; celebrating our cultural identity.”

As we celebrate the theme this year, we must also acknowledge and internalise what it really means for the Amerindians and what it also means for our country on a whole. Maintaining one’s traditional integrity means that they ought to be honest with their history and values. You must also be responsible enough to honour your traditions and the rich history that was passed on to you. Likewise, when one celebrates their cultural identity, they celebrate every fibre of uniqueness, norms, beliefs and social behaviours that are authentic to them and their ancestors. Guyana is big enough for all of us to live. However, it’s not big enough for egos and superiority. There should be no place for the superiority of the shape or form of races in this country.

This month should also be a reminder of how resilient and strong the indigenous peoples are. All Guyanese should acknowledge and learn from them. Despite everything that happened during the early days of Christopher Columbus arriving into their lands, many Caribbean islands lost their indigenous populations or their culture. Guyana is blessed enough to still have a rich preservation of that culture. By preservation—I mean that we ought to remember, observe, celebrate and pass on the richness of their culture onto the next generation. They were owed a debt that is over four centuries old. As such, this is a personal call for more inclusivity, openness and, most importantly, respect for the Indigenous of our land. We should strive for a Guyana where their lands and communities thrive. We should strive to ensure that when we give them access to basic necessities—it’s not a gift; it’s a right. Their schools, healthcare, and legislative inclusions should be equal to that of every other race in this country. None of this is up for debate.

I hope that we keep in mind the lessons learned from our social studies classes and history classes as well. Many Indigenous peoples lost their lives, caught diseases and were even forced as slaves. There was a rapid decline in the indigenous populations throughout the Caribbean in the early days of European arrivals. As such, when we acknowledge their culture—we ought to keep their perseverance in mind. While we’re on this topic, the indigenous people deserve more respect than they’re given by other Guyanese. They do not deserve the disrespect and discrimination that is often thrown towards them. They have rights just like the rest of us to this very country. This is also their home, their land and they are also citizens of Guyana. We have to protect their interests from exploitation—from corporations, organisations and oppressed systems that want to gain from them.