Welcome to Micobie! — Heritage Village 2012
guyanachronicle.com/2012/09/09/welcome-to-micobie-heritage-village-2012
Amerindian Heritage Month is an annual observance that is held every September in

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

in honour of Guyana's

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

History

Amerindian Heritage Month has its beginnings in

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

commemorations of 10 September 1957 - the day on which

Stephen Campbell Stephen Campbell was an Arawakan Guyanese politician and political activist, and the first Amerindian member of Parliament in Guyanese history. Biography Stephen Joseph Campbell was born to Tiburtio A. Campbell and his wife, Maria dos Santos, ...

became Guyana's first Amerindian

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

. On 10 September 1995, Guyana's Prime Minister,

Cheddi Jagan Cheddi Berret Jagan (22 March 1918 – 6 March 1997) was a Guyanese politician and dentist who was first elected Chief Minister in 1953 and later Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964. He later served as President of Guyana from 199 ...

, officially designated September as Amerindian Heritage Month. In memory of Campbell's achievement, 10 September is still celebrated as "Heritage Day".

Events and festivities

The official opening of Amerindian Heritage Month celebrations takes place at the

Umana Yana The Umana Yana (pronounced ''oo-man-a yan-na'') is a conical palm thatched hut ( benab) erected for the Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference in Georgetown, Guyana in August 1972 as a V.I.P. lounge and recreation centre. History The Umana Yana ...

on the first day of September. Every year a 'Heritage Village' is selected, which becomes the focus of festivities, particularly on 10 September. Previous Heritage Villages include: Micobie (2012),

Aishalton Aishalton is an Amerindian village that is situated in the Rupununi savannah of southern Guyana, in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo Region (Region 9) of the country. It is the administrative centre for the southern sub-district of Region 9. In 2 ...

(2011), Sophia (2010),

Orealla Orealla (or Orealla Mission) is an Indigenous community in the East Berbice-Corentyne Region of Guyana, on the Courantyne River, approximately south of Crabwood Creek and north of Epira, located at , altitude 11 metres. south-east on the ...

(2009), and

Santa Aratak Santa Mission (also: ''Santa Aratak'' or ''Santa Aratack'') is a village in the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara Region of Guyana. Santa Mission is mainly inhabited by Lokono Amerindians. The village is located on the Kamuni Creek, a tributary of t ...

(2008).

References

{{Reflist Guyanese culture Indigenous peoples in Guyana September observances Commemorative months