The Amerindians of Guyana (Redirected)

This article has been redirected to: The Amerindians, Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples on the Guyana, South America official website.

The Amerindians are Guyana’s first or “indigenous” people, and as such, they enjoy certain rights and privileges which come with being the first people. We’ll talk more about that later.

History has it that the Amerindians came from the continent of Asia “thousands of years ago.” They came in search of food. They crossed an ice passage called “the Bering Straight” that connected Asia to North America. That ice passage later melted. They wandered around and some of them settled in what is now Guyana. The Amerindians had a nomad lifestyle of traveling, hunting and fishing, and so, it is said that they came in search of food.

The Amerindians settled mostly in the forested regions of Guyana, and as such they maintained a primitive lifestyle of hunting and fishing. Consequently, they developed very strong jungle survival skills, or it is something inherent to the nine tribes.

Although the Amerindians make up one race or ethnic group, that group is divided into nine tribes scattered across the ten administrative regions of Guyana. These include:

The Arawaks

The Arekunas

The Caribs

The Macushi

The Patamonas

The Wapishanas

The Waraus

The Wai Wais

The Akawaios

During the colonization period of Guyana, the Amerindians maintained a primitive lifestyle in the forested regions of Guyana. Although the Amerindians generally were not colonized by the Dutch or British, certain historical records suggest that some were. The historical records of the Berbice Slave Revolt, for example, stated that some Amerindians were enslaved by the Dutch, and also that some were paid by the Dutch to fight the Africans during the Revolt.

During the colonial period of Guyana, very few Amerindians ventured out into the industrialized world or pursued higher education. However, all of that has changed dramatically over the last few decades, and Amerindians now hold some of the highest educational awards, own businesses, fly planes, practice medicine, work in the banking industry, and much more. On this note, I should mention one of the most outstanding Amerindians in terms of educational achievement: Dr. Desrey Fox, who held a doctorate from Rice University.

I will be updating this page later with more info on Guyana’s first people: the Amerindians. Check back for updates and be sure to join my mailing list to be notified when I make updates or publish something new.