As more than 200 Indigenous leaders prepare to return to their respective communities to debrief their councils after attending the week-long National Toshaos Conference at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) in Turkeyen, Georgetown, Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, Valerie Garrido-Lowe, has urged toshaos to practise good governance in leading their people towards a bright and successful future, in spite of the challenges faced as the first peoples of this country.
A section of the gathering at the NTC conference
In her charge to the toshaos at conclusion of the Annual National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference 2017, Minister Garrido-Lowe highlighted fair, transparent, and progressive accountability as qualities of good governance, and charged the leaders to be law-abiding, determined, and able to withstand criticism in their line of duty.
The minister applauded the leaders in whose communities the Indigenous Language Revival Programme has been maintained, and those who continue to practise ancestral dialects.
Meanwhile, Indigenous Peoples Affairs (MPA) Minister Sydney Allicock commended Belizean Indigenous peoples activist Pablo Mis, who is of Mayan ancestry, for sharing challenges faced and how things are done in another country with a population of Indigenous villages.
Allicock said some of those challenges are global. In regard to the struggle for land rights and food security, he referred to this year’s episode of flooding in villages across Regions Seven, Eight and Nine, and to the drought in 2016, both of which had severe implications for the livelihood and very survival of Indigenous peoples.
Allicock also announced that the MPA is in the process of implementing a ten-year sustainability village action plan for the benefit of hinterland residents as Guyana prepares to receive millions from the burgeoning oil sector.
While stressing the need for appropriate preparation, the minister was quick to caution Indigenous leaders not to lose sight of agriculture, logging and tourism, “since not everyone can get into the oil and gas”.
Meanwhile, Pablo Mis of the Maya Leaders Alliance, who briefly addressed the gathering, expressed pleasure at being a part of the conference, and indicated that Indigenous leaders in Belize are also having a conference of their own around this time.
The Mayan leader deemed the exchange important, one which facilitates learning and sharing of information and experiences, as “we do not live too long to make the same mistakes”.
Miz gave the audience, who paid rapt attention, an overview of the Mayan culture, which he described as just as complex as any other. He described his people as a people, or children, of corn.
Additionally, the audience saw episodic and astounding cultural performances by the St. Cuthbert’s Cultural Group during the course of the day’s programme, and the attendees were specially treated to refreshments and lunch during breaks.
The National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference aims at enabling Indigenous village leaders to voice challenges faced in Amerindian communities while making plans and projecting solutions for same, and to discuss the status of progress in these relevant areas on an annual basis.
