Native Peoples' Day

From August 8th to 10th 2014, Cayenne hosted the fourth annual Native Peoples' Heritage Day. Native tribes from all over Guiana assembled in downtown Cayenne to expose their culture and handicrafts, as well as their concerns and distress, to their fellow French citizens and the local government. (Click on photos to enlarge)

 They were accompanied by representatives from other ethnic groups living in French Guiana such as the Creoles...

...and the large Hmong community (from Laos).

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the Saramaccan delegates.

One of the main objectives of this meeting was to promote the value of traditional cultures, in opposition to globalization, and remind our local government of its promises and duties to advance the native populations' needs and requests. For this, there were parades, conferences, dances, music, shamanic ceremonies and a march against illegal goldmining...

Each year, an estimated 6 tons of gold is illegally mined and smuggled out of French Guiana by  illegal aliens from Brazil, Suriname and (former British) Guyana. Organized into gangs and networks, these heavily-armed criminals cut down trees in the middle of the rain forest to mine gold, creating a wasteland of erosion and pollution where vegetation can no longer grow. Worse, the illegal miners use large quantities of mercury to help them find gold by amalgamation. The mercury runs into the rivers, poisoning the waters and intoxicating the wildlife. The Native Indians (especially the Wayana tribe) are the most heavily impacted by these outlaws-- malformations, miscarriages, nerve damage, and mental retardation are killing their people. Their leaders cried out in desperation to the French government officials present and asked them why France doesn't protect them adequately. Don't they have the same right to live safely and peacefully in their villages as any other French citizens? Doesn't France send soldiers into many other countries like Mali or the Ivory Coast? Why can't the borders of France's own territory be protected? In this photo, the numerous tribal chiefs banded together to unite their voices... (one of the Indian chiefs is a woman)

As consumers, we too have a role to play. Don't hesitate to ask your jewelry store where their gold comes from before buying it. If they don't know the place of origin, chances are you'll be buying illegally extracted gold connected to contamination, deforestation, and criminality. How much suffering and pollution is gold really worth?