Guyana
Indigenous Peoples – or Amerindians as they are identified both collectively and in legislation – number some 78,500 in the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, or approximately 10.5% of the total population of 746,955 (2012 census).
Amerindians are the fourth largest ethnic group, East Indians being the largest (40%), followed by African Guyanese (29%) and self-identified “Mixed” (20%). The Chinese, Portuguese and Whites constitute tiny minorities. Amerindians refer to these non-Indigenous people as “coastlanders” since most of them are settled on the coast.
The Amerindians belong to nine Indigenous Nations, based on language. The Warao, Lokono Arawak and Carib (Karinya) live on or near the coast. The Akawaio, Arekuna, Patamona, Makushi, Wapichan and Wai Wai live in villages scattered throughout the interior.
Amerindians form the majority of the population of the interior, in some regions constituting as much as 86% of the population. The forest resources/timber on government-titled Indigenous lands (Amerindian Village Lands) are fully under the managerial authority of the Amerindian title holders according to law, while minerals in the same lands ultimately remain under national government authority. In practice, the political administrations and technical agencies are negligent when enforcing the law. Two Amerindian Village Councils – Isseneru and Chinese Landing – have successfully appealed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for precautionary measures against diminished human rights through continued illegal gold mining and environmental damage, albeit still with no effective government response. The poorly regulated and government-subsidised exploitation of these resources by multinationals, illegal miners and loggers is one of the challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples. Their primary concern is therefore to achieve full recognition and implementation of Indigenous land rights so that they can defend their ancestral territories from this unwanted exploitation.
The Independence Agreement from the United Kingdom (1965) included a land titling process. Recommendations regarding this process from the Amerindian Lands Commission (1967-1969) have never been fully taken up by successive governments. Requests made for collective district titles have been dismissed, resulting in the fragmentation of traditional territories into small areas under individual village titles. The Preamble to the Constitution of Guyana recognises “the special place in our nation of the indigenous peoples” and recognises “their right as citizens to land and security and to their promulgation of policies for their communities”. Guyana endorsed the UNDRIP in 2007 and, through its membership of the Organisation of American States (OAS), the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2016.
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