Amerindians must seek a broader unity, don't sign documents readily - remember Chief Sitting Bull

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56522985

Amerindians must seek a broader unity, don't sign documents readily -
remember Chief Sitting Bull
Stabroek News,
Friday, June 22nd 2007

Dear Editor,

I do not want to be tangled among the Amerindian groups who are said to
be representing us in the issue of the Barama/Akawini village.

However in 1994 I attended the "Ameriang" conference at the President's
College where representatives of the villages gathered to voice their
concerns and plan for the future. This conference was oragnized by the
Amerindian Research Unit, University of Guyana. In that conference I
was given fifteen minutues to share my ideas to the gathering.

My idea was/is unity of the Amerindian peoples since I do not only
believe in the ideal of "Unity is Strength" but I grew up witnessing
the effective of working together as one village. There were fun, hard
work, sharing, growth and togetherness. The "more the merrier" (many
Amerindian organisations) may appeal to other people but in my view
amounts to fragmentation.

I shared an organizational structure very similar to that of our
current regional system - out of the village councils, district
councils would be formed, the regional council from the District
Councils and all levels would vote their national body (this is where
all those who would like to represent Amerindians would be available
for nomination/ vote). In this way, in my view, we would have a strong
and unified structured organization that would last for generations.
Also under this structure we will gather all our human resources
(talented/ educated/professional Amer-indians) and be stronger in unity
to monitor/advise our village councils' activities. I did mention
having a lawyer at the national level who can advise on legal matters
at the 'Ameriang" conference. I guess the Great Spirit heard my 'cry in
the wilderness' and made Mr. David James available to read law.

Akawini Village Toushau David Wilson mentioned in his letter captioned
"Barama was paying us a pittance in royalties, we plan to start our own
forestry operation" (07.06.20) that his village council signed the
contract "under pressure". With my organisational structure no village
will be forced to signed any contract/document under pressure because
there would be consultation/s among several levels of
authorities/bodies of Amer-indians before coming to a conclusion.

Just last week I was literally crying whilst looking at a movie - Bury
my heart at Wounded Knee- about Native American Indian Chief - Sitting
Bull - where it showed how he signed a document regarding his people's
land. His mere touching of the pen held by a 'lettered' American
official was his (Sitting Bull) signature.

I advise that we villagers examine any contract/s/document/s/foreign
businesses organization/s who wish to operate in our reservations
thoroughly and consider the effects it will have on our future
generations. There should also be consultation among the villagers
because they voted for the village council and must be unanimous on the
part of the village. Since the village council does not operate on its
own it should consult the Amerin-dian Ministry for advice before coming
to a final decision.

Let us not sign any document because it can fulfil our immediate needs.

Yours faithfully,

Guy Marco