Our Culture is our life

In celebration of their indigenous culture, two notable Amerindian individuals spoke proudly to Guyana Times Sunday Magazine about their culture, heritage and projects they are involved in that focus on improving the lives of their families and community members.

Lakeram Haynes said he grew up in Rewa but now lives in Kwatamang, Annai. His mother is a Makushi from Yakarinta, Region Nine, and his father is Wapishana from Shea in South Rupununi.
“Our culture is our life. We speak Makushi and get everything for our living from our surroundings: house materials, food, game and fish, medicine, fresh water and air. Amerindian people know how to live in the environment, and this is increasingly important as our environment is essential for all life on earth. In our villages we have the freedom and space to connect with nature and this I love about my village life,” he declared.
As a child living in Rewa, a riverain community, Haynes was able to enjoy many activities including going to the ‘river top’ for fishing and swimming, and being among the wild creatures in the river like the caiman and the giant otters and not be afraid of them.
“I love my culture. Being Amerindian is one of the most precious things in the world. There are lots of positive things regarding development for our people. Some of them include community owned sustainable natural resource management. Amerindians know all about their environment and have the local knowledge required to manage it. Here in the North Rupununi, there are also many community owned businesses such as Surama Eco Lodge, Rewa Eco Lodge, soap and medicine production, peanut butter and cassava producers. Every year there are more trained and skilled people coming out in different fields and specializations, and Amerindians are representing at all levels,” Haynes disclosed.
He is currently working on a project called COBRA: Community Owned Best practices for sustainable Resource Adaptive management in the Guiana Shield, which is about local people addressing the challenges of development and finding local solutions to manage those challenges.
“We look forward to working closely with the government, and the way forward involves free, prior and informed consultations with community members, especially when any development involves Amerindians or is close to Amerindian lands. I have two children and I want them to understand and speak their language, understand and respect the culture and know where they are from. I want to see them understanding both their traditional culture as well as have opportunities in the modern world so they can grow up and understand life in a rounded manner. I hope the consultations with the government can open more opportunities for all Amerindian people,” Haynes expressed.
Another notable Amerindian individual who is resolute on developing herself and other women is Rebecca Xavier from Wowetta Village, North Rupununi.  Her family is from the Wapishana nation and, Rebecca said, they maintain “a pretty traditional lifestyle.”
The mother of two noted that she is working hard to ensure her children value and maintain their culture and way of life while seizing the opportunities to further their education.
They speak Wapishana at home, get their water from a well and food from the forest and farm.  If they cannot get these from such sources, Rebecca said then they would go to the local shops.
“I love the sense of unity and cooperation with my neighbours, which is indicative of being a close-knit community. Growing up, I remember going fishing and to the farm with my parents and family. I feel good about being Wapishana but at the same time, we need to take care of our culture so we don’t lose our language and way of life. As an Amerindian woman, I am proud to have had opportunities for education and training in the North Rupununi where I was encouraged to develop myself in areas of leadership, communications and video production. I am also proud to be a sports woman and to have represented Region Nine in football at the Amerindian Heritage celebrations from 2006 to 2011,” she reflected.
Rebecca said too that she is proud to see her fellow Amerindians taking opportunities for higher education at UG, as well as receiving scholarships to study in Cuba. She takes delight in the fact that her people are leading community projects and representing themselves at national and international levels.
“Personally, I am involved in many projects. One of them is the Wowetta Agro Processors. This is a community cassava factory where we produce farine, cassava bread, tapioca and cassareep for sale locally. This project also supplies cassava bread for the school snacks programme. We have a project though CIDA’s Disaster Preparedness Fund to ensure that there is always 10,000 pounds of farine available in the village at all times in the event of a disaster such as flooding or drought,” Rebecca related.
Rebecca encourages youths to seek opportunities for education and skills development in various trades.  She thinks people need to value indigenous traditional knowledge and appreciate the knowledge of their elders and ancestors.  Furthermore, she believes when it comes to development, outsiders should ensure that they consult with Amerindian communities to guarantee that what they are doing is really for the development of the people there so as to avoid exploitation. (Interviews conducted by Samantha James)