Indigenous Youths Must Embrace Their Heritage – Ovid Williams
By Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News
Guyana’s first Indigenous aviator, Ovid Williams, has urged young people of Indigenous descent to take greater pride in their cultural heritage, especially during September, which has been designated Amerindian Heritage Month.
Williams, a multi-linguist fluent in several Indigenous dialects as well as Spanish and Portuguese, said he hopes youths will be inspired to preserve and promote their languages and traditions.
“I am hoping that young people would follow my footsteps and they can be able to converse in their Indigenous languages,” Williams told Nightly News during an exclusive interview.
A proud alumnus of Queen’s College, Williams reflected on his academic journey and international exposure but emphasized that he has never neglected his roots. “We always look forward to September, Amerindian Heritage Month. We started a bit late due to the elections, but we are making up for it,” he said, noting his enjoyment of the ongoing celebrations.
Williams, who runs a translation service covering all nine Indigenous languages of Guyana, expressed concern that many young people lose touch with their culture when they migrate from hinterland communities to coastal regions in pursuit of education or employment.
“On the coast, when we come for education or occupational purposes, we are being stripped of our cultural backbone because of the intermixing—our diet, our language, and so on. That is how it has been diluted,” he explained.
As Amerindian Heritage Month continues, Williams called on citizens, particularly Indigenous youth, to remain steadfast in keeping traditions alive. “Well, we showcase our tradition, the language, our practices, our tangible and intangible heritage that we have, and we showcase it,” he affirmed.
Williams hails from Paramakatoi in Region Eight, home to the Patamona people. In 1976, he was awarded a scholarship to study aviation in Cuba, where he trained for three years, making history as Guyana’s first Indigenous aviator.
