This article has been updated and migrated to: The Amerindians of Guyana 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, if it is not 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 Macushi
The Arawaks
The Caribs
During the colonization period of Guyana, the Amerindians maintained a primitive lifestyle in the forested regions of Guyana. Very few of them ventured out into the industrialized world or pursued higher education.
However, all of that has changed dramatically over the decades, and Amerindians now hold some of the highest educational awards, own businesses, fly planes, practice medicine 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.