As celebrations are underway to commemorate Heritage Month 2017, representatives from various Indigenous communities across Guyana took the opportunity of being in the limelight to express concerns over the lack of avenues for the development of their people and the growth of their livelihoods.
This is as the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministry staged a five-day Cultural Extravaganza, allowing for the descendants of the first peoples of Guyana to
showcase their way of life and market their work at the Heritage Village being hosted at the Sophia Exhibition Centre in Georgetown.
At the fourth night of this exhibition, Guyana Times caught up with some of the participants as well as patrons, who have travelled great distances to take part in this event.
In representing their respective communities, many spoke out about issues affecting their people, with neglect and them being barred from much-needed development being among their main concerns.
One such person was Nona Khan, an entrepreneur who hails from the Pomeroon in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), but subsequently moved to Georgetown in search of a better market to ply her trade.
“I think that they need to come out a little bit more, maybe have more exhibitions like this where they can come out and showcase their work and sell their product, because they have a lot of talent,” Khan said.
“I find a lot of times, Guyanese people don’t really support these people. When we
Nona Khan, Pomeroon (Region 2) entrepreneur
come out here, a lot of time it is overseas-based people supporting us.”
As such, the entrepreneur of Indigenous descent is calling for more emphasis to be placed on promoting the work of Amerindians, especially in creating markets for their produce, both in Guyana and abroad.
Adding to that was craftswoman Edna Felix, who journeyed all the way from Kato in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) to expose her talent to city dwellers.
When asked her opinion of the efforts being made to cater for the Indigenous peoples of Guyana, Felix expressed dissatisfaction, highlighting a number of necessary advancements that have been delayed in her community. “No, I am not satisfied because of the secondary school. You know how long so many children pass and there is no school for them and they are jobless and here without doing anything. So, I am not pleased about that and I was made to understand that it isn’t open as yet. So what is the Government doing about it? We, the Amerindians in that area, are really starving for better education.”
The craftswoman went on to say, “The living standard of the people in that area, that is what needs to be changed and also we are facing water problems when the
Edna Felix, Kato (Region 8) craftswoman
dry weather comes in. So, we need the Government to assist us in digging wells and running it to the homes of the people.”
Also speaking to this newspaper on Monday was Neville Calistro, a calypsonian, who goes by the name “The Mighty Chief”.
Calistro noted that what was on display at the event over the past few days was only a glimpse of what the various communities have to offer. As such, he posited that taking a grass-root approach is more advisable, especially given that the staging of exhibitions within the Indigenous villages will not only promote the work of residents, but ultimately improve tourism within Guyana as well.
“You need to organise exhibitions within the communities, and concentrate broadly on those communities. It would not only help the people who produce art and craft, but it will also help the idea of tourism, because people would go there; if you advertise it properly, people would want to go have a look at the exhibits you have there and, therefore, you would be creating tourism,” explained the calypsonian.
Moreover, he further outlined other challenges faced by the Indigenous peoples throughout the country, pinpointing the need for consultation when making decisions which will inherently impact their lives. “We need to meet and discuss, because your idea about the challenges might not suit us really, so we need to be part of your discussion and planning so that we can work out the things and let you know the areas that we need to strengthen.”
These cries for change come just days after the staging of the 11th Annual National Toshaos’ Council conference during which several leaders of Indigenous communities stormed out of the forum, as they felt they were being undermined.
Similarly, these members of Indigenous communities are of the belief that more can be done to improve their living conditions and provide opportunities for their advancement, and as such, declared that hosting events in recognition of the country’s first peoples just once a year is simply not enough.
