Saturday August 9, 2003 has been designated International
Day of the world's Indigenous Peoples.
According to a release from the Office of the Resident Coordinator
of the United Nations System, the United Nation's Secretary-General,
Kofi Annan issued a message to mark the occasion.Mr. Annan, in his
message, said that he acknowledged the struggles of the indigenous
peoples to preserve their cultures, protect their lands, and combat
discrimination.
"We pay tribute to those who, without relinquishing their identity,
move comfortably between the traditions of their ancestors and the
wider, rapidly changing modern world." Mr. Annan stressed.
The Secretary-General also noted that through all the difficulties
they endured, the indigenous peoples "still face threats to
their lives and destruction of their belief systems, cultures, languages
and ways of life."
The speech included the fact that in 1982, August 9, the Working
Group on Indigenous Populations first met and that since then much
has occurred to highlight matters surrounding the indigenous population
internationally.
In Guyana today, the indigenous peoples, the Amerindians, are considered
the third largest group in the country, and even though they are
classified as the poorest persons, they represent the fastest growing
group and are listed as approximately 55,000 of the population.
The Government of Guyana has, over a number of years, embarked on
many social and economic programmes that are geared towards enhancing
the lives of Amerindians and making their communities more viable
and sustainable.
There are currently more than 120 Amerindian communities in Guyana.
Seventy-five of them already have legal titles to their land. Government,
since 1997, has embarked on a comprehensive Land Demarcation Programme
that seeks to give legal title to Amerindian communities without
titles and to look at possible extensions to titled communities.
These communities have individual populations ranging from 120 to
more than 6,000. Guyanese Amerindians are categorized into nine
different tribes including the Arawaks, Caribs, Warraus, Wapisianas
and Wai Wais.
As a means of highlighting, promoting and preserving Amerindian
Heritage in Guyana, September has been designated Amerindian Heritage
Month since 1997.
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