AS Guyana begins its Diamond Jubilee year, the message of “faith and cultural pride” must ring out far beyond the ceremonies, pageants, sporting contests and cultural presentations that will mark Amerindian Heritage Month.
It should challenge the nation to think about a more fundamental question: What are we doing to ensure that Indigenous culture is not just put on display for a month but protected, respected and carried forward for generations?
It is fitting that the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs’ decision to kick off this year’s observances with an interfaith service.
As the nation continues to recover from tragedy, including the loss of lives in the M.V. Barima disaster, it is important that we take time to reflect, mourn, give thanks and seek guidance for the future.
But Heritage Month cannot just be a time for reflection.
The 2026 observances, under the theme “Observing our Cultural Heritage during our Diamond Jubilee”, provide an opportunity to reflect on what Indigenous heritage means within the broader Guyanese identity.
Since 1995, September has been declared Amerindian Heritage Mosnth, a time to recognise and celebrate the history, culture and contributions of Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples.
The country’s constitutional framework also acknowledges the special place of Indigenous Peoples and their right to the protection, preservation and promulgation of their languages, cultural heritage and way of life.
Those commitments come with responsibilities.
Culture cannot live because it gets up on a stage once a year. It lives on when children learn their ancestral languages, when traditional knowledge is respected, when craftspeople can make a sustainable living from their skills, when Indigenous foods, music, stories and art are appreciated, and when young people see their heritage not as something of the past, but as an important part of their future. And this has all been happening under the current administration.
That’s why the emphasis being placed on young people through the Heritage Games is so important.
The games have developed into one of the main events of Heritage Month, uniting athletes from the Indigenous communities across Guyana in Georgetown.
Some 800 athletes from all 10 administrative regions competed in football, cricket, archery, volleyball, swimming and athletics in 2025.
It’s more than entertainment; it is an investment in confidence, discipline, talent and national integration.
If participants in Heritage Games can use that platform as a springboard to national and international competition, then the same principle should apply across education, the arts, entrepreneurship, technology and professional development.
The young person who does an ancestral dance should also be encouraged to become the choreographer.
The child who speaks an Indigenous language must be encouraged to be its teacher. Access to markets for the craft producer. The young athlete should be given proper facilities and coaching. And the student from a remote community should have the same opportunity to pursue higher education as a student in Georgetown does.
This is where celebration has to meet policy.
Guyana has a legal framework for the recognition and protection of the collective rights of Amerindian villages and communities. The Amerindian Act 2006 deals, inter alia, with communal lands, village governance, environmental protection, natural-resource use and consultation.
Cultural pride is, therefore, inseparable from the actual conditions of life of Indigenous communities.
To protect the culture, government had provided access to quality education, healthcare, reliable transportation, communications, infrastructure and economic opportunity.
Communities need viable futures if their traditions are to remain rooted in those communities.
The Minister of Amerindian Affairs pointed to continued investments in health, education, infrastructure and social development. Such investments are to be welcomed and are being maintained and expanded.
Indigenous culture was too often viewed through a lens of stereotypes, marginalisation or occasional ceremonial recognition. However, currently, there is a significant shift as Indigenous communities are expressing more pride, and their culture is being appreciated more widely.
But appreciation should not become appropriation.
Guyana should celebrate Indigenous culture, and respect the people who created, preserved and continue to practice it. Traditional knowledge has to be respected. Cultural expressions should not be commodified, regardless of where they come from or what they mean.
The Heritage Pageant, cultural exhibitions, food, crafts and sporting activities are sure to attract attention. They ought to. They are living manifestations of a nation whose identity is enriched by its Indigenous heritage.
With Guyana celebrating 60 years of Independence, this is a timely opportunity to reiterate that understanding.
Faith can help build strength to face hard times. Cultural pride can help us feel good about who we are.