Kemal Robinson pushes for protection and preservation of Indigenous way of life

Celebrating Amerindian Heritage Month…

By Lakhram Bhagirat

Cultural preservation is at the forefront of everything that young Kemal Robinson does. He is one of the many Indigenous youths who have taken up the mantle to educate and create awareness of the uniqueness of the Indigenous peoples.

Robinson, a 21-year-old Patamona from the village of Kato in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) has always been proud of his culture. Proudness was ingrained in him from a tender age by the elders in his village and for him, carrying on the legacy is of tantamount importance.
Kato is a small village with about 500 residents predominantly hailing from the Patamona tribe. Growing up, he secured early stages of education in his village but when the time came for secondary education, Robinson moved from his village to Paramakatoi, where he attended the Paramakatoi Secondary School.
“This was the time I began to see a change in my environment. Being among hundreds of youths from various villages, the thing that caught my attention was the way in which they carry out their daily activities, their attitude and behaviour were different from mine. Some of them were changing in terms of culture and way of life,” he recounted.
It was at that time that the young man knew that he needed to do something to make his fellow Indigenous youths prouder and more appreciative of their culture. He and others actively began pushing for protection and preservation for the Indigenous way of life.
“We are one unique people that respect the world as what it is and we also expect it to respect us as what we are. Our connections are mainly to the land. We survive by fishing, farming, hunting, gathering and some of the people do traditional mining as a means of supporting their families,” he said.
While the world is changing continuously, Robinson said he hopes that the youths can continue to encourage and promote their unique cultural identity. In his village, and many of the other Indigenous communities, the traditions are still being taught and observed.

One of the things that he is most proud of is the fact that the Indigenous languages are not dying. The village elders are making it their priority to educate the youths and teach them the language.
“I am proud to say that most of our people still carry on their traditional culture and way of life. I am even more proud that our language is fluently spoken and written in many communities,” he boasted.
In an effort to preserve the connection to the land for spiritual and sustainable reasons, the young man was one of the mappers with the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) when they conducted the Land Tenure Assessment in Region Eight. He explained that it was a privilege since he was just 16 and fresh out of secondary school when he joined the project.
“This was when I got exposed to other communities, explored and learned many things which I am thankful for up to today. One of the main problems in most of the villages was land. Lands are being given out to miners and loggers, most of which are foreigners, and all they do is destroy and leave. Some of these lands are hunting and fishing grounds to us, our survival depends on it,” the passionate young man said.
It was during the Land Tenure Assessment consultations that he saw the importance and pushed for mapping of Indigenous lands.
“Mapping Indigenous (Patamona, Macushi) lands are important because we get to see a clearer picture of what belongs to us legally (titled) and our traditional lands which are not really recognised by others,” Robinson said.
He told the Sunday Times Magazine that while the experience was an eye-opening one, it was not without challenges. Among those challenges were the overlapping of titled lands, incorrect names for creeks and rivers among many others. They also encountered illegal mining and logging operations on their traditionally recognised lands.
Those activities were destroying the much-needed access to food and sustainability. While he is passionate about the preservation of the Indigenous way of life, Robinson is also cognisant of the needs of his people.
“All we want is for the Government to recognise that it’s time we own (legally) what’s ours. They say that Guyana has lots of forests which are still virgin lands and we are protecting and preserving the forest but large-scale mining and logging destroys most part of what we protect.
“We mapped the Indigenous lands in Region Eight mainly because of what the people wanted, this was to put on to a map – names of creeks, mountains, rivers, old settlements, homesteads – so that they can be seen and recognised by everyone,” the involved youth said.
As Guyana gears up to celebrate Indigenous Heritage Month in September, for Robinson and many other Indigenous youths, the month means recognising and appreciating the Indigenous way of life. It means honouring the ancestors of this land and being proud of what they taught us. It means being your authentic self without any apologies.
For his fellow youths, Robinson advised listening to the experiences of the elders and learning from them. He also encouraged pride in the Indigenous way of life and most of all “never forget your roots and who you really are.”