Indigenous peoples the world over have been regarded from time immemorial as the keepers of the earth and all natural things therein.
Guyana’s indigenous peoples are credited with being largely responsible for our pristine forests and its maintenance over the centuries. It is the preservation of our forests by our indigenous peoples that has made it possible for our carbon credits to be traded on the open international market.
Up until recently the efforts of our indigenous peoples successfully preserved or large deposit of fresh water. More recently, our fresh water supply has been, and continues to be polluted by mercury and other chemicals particularly in the mining industry and to a lesser extent the agricultural industry in the hinterland.
The traditions of our indigenous peoples over the generations have served Guyana well and have place our country in a good position in terms of our biodiversity and our environmental management among other areas.
Guyana’s indigenous peoples have been subjected to major rights violations over the years. In the area of land rights and tenure, legal ownership of lands have not prevented incursion by miners with the support of state agencies in some instances. In region 7 there are numerous cases of rich miners allegedly encroaching upon private lands owned by indigenous peoples as well as lands which are the subject of claims for boundary extensions by indigenous villages.
In region 1 the same obtains. Reference is made to the indigenous village of Chinese Landing which received its title since 1976. Chinese landing is now in the center of a legal and political stand off. The government in pretending to bring a solution to the crisis has ordered the cessation of all mining in the village. This means that even the indigenous peoples who are the owners and occupiers of those lands cannot benefit from the resources beneath the surface of the soil. Meanwhile high cost of living and poverty prevail.
In region 9 the Marudi Mountains are regarded by the Wapishana people as sacred ground. They have expressed a desire to have a part of the Marudi Mountain area included in their extended village land boundaries.
This government has been superintending the occupation of the Marudi Mountain mines by foreigners, most of whom are in Guyana illegally. The gold deposits of the Marudi Mountain area are being exploited and transported to other South American countries and sold illegally.
Most of this operation is done by Brazilian miners while it is widely believed and has been openly alleged by some, that members of the executive in Guyana are both investors and (in other ways) beneficiaries of mining being conducted in the Marudi mountains of the Rupununi.
Rights violations make life more difficult for Guyana’s indigenous peoples. These rights violations occur largely, though not exclusively, in regions 1, 7, 8 and 9. Because of the remoteness of these regions and the traditionally quiet and peaceful nature of Guyana’s indigenous peoples most of these violations and the exploitative nature of the treatment of our people, particularly our women and girls, go unreported and almost undetected.
The recent 15 billion United States dollars worth of gold intercepted in the Federative Republic of Brazil in Boa Vista, capital of the state of Roraima and in the state of Para, lends to continued speculation that Guyana is the source of gold smuggled into that country undetected by the local law enforcement authorities and unregulated by the mining and related legislative framework of this country.
It is apparent that the value of the gold being exploited from our indigenous people’s traditional lands may equal or surpass revenues currently being earned from the oil and gas industry offshore Guyana.
A new government of Guyana must, of necessity and out of the abundance of respect for Guyana’s indigenous peoples, without delay, address the question of indigenous rights particularly in the area of land and the right to benefit from the resources beneath the surface of the soil. A new government must restore the indigenous peoples of this country to their traditional place of pride in this young and growing nation and must restore the dignity of the indigenous peoples of this country.
A new government must apologize to our indigenous peoples for the way they have been treated these last five years and commit to repairing the damage done. This current government must apologize for stripping our people of their dignity.
Our indigenous peoples in this country can be assured of a sustainable future for generations to come. We are a humble people. . We live modest lives. We own lands that are rich in clean air, fresh water, pristine forests, and deposits of wealth within the bowels of the earth. A new government must respect this fact, guarantee the upholding of our rights, allow us the right to self determination as it relates to the management of our affairs. A new government must remove the dominant and manipulative political hand from our governance, and our society as a whole.
As an indigenous person and advocate, I recommit to the service of the cause of all of Guyana’s indigenous peoples. I pledge my efforts, barring sickness and death, to continue to advocate for the upholding of the rights of my indigenous sisters and brothers and for the improvement of the quality of life of all indigenous and hinterland based Guyanese citizens.
May the Old People smile upon us. May our Mother, the Earth, be proud of us. May we always be one with her, even after we cease to have life. It is said that everyone who sucks the milk of Mother Earth, is a child of Mother Earth. Her milk is her fresh water. That makes me her child.
I proudly salute all of the world’s Indigenous Peoples on this International Day of the World’s indigenous peoples.
