Dear Editor,
I once had the privilege of being in a court room where an indigenous Akawaio leader was being cross-examined, an activity which required translation services. Upon identifying himself as a leader from the
community he was asked if he is an elected leader to which he responded in the negative. The elder was further challenged as to why he claimed to be a leader if he was not elected. An amazing detail of how indigenous peoples identified leaders was presented to all in the court room. This elder reported that it was the culture and tradition to identify leaders based on how hardworking they are; on their hunting prowess and fishing ability; how big and varied farms they maintained; how well they treated others, on how they resolved issues and must be fearless in protecting their people. This elder expertly coined that these were traits which made others respect such a person and ultimately qualify them as a leader in the community.
Fast forwarding from then to now, let us turn our attention to the upcoming elections for Toshaos and to seriously contemplate what personality and leadership traits we should see in others, making them our choice to become the next Toshao. Too many times we may have allowed human nature to cloud our choice due to familial relations, friendships, partisan alliances and allegiances or because we think that the person appears to be ’more educated’ and or ‘can speak English’ better than us.While there is nothing wrong with supporting someone we like, this should go beyond emotions and focus on leadership traits that we see someone possesses.
As indigenous peoples today, we need to identify and vote for leaders who cannot be easily swayed or pressured by the rhetoric but have visionaries who will respect the guidance of the people they are elected to serve – residents of a village or community. Just out of the general and regional elections, we know that the dirty campaigning atmosphere is still very strong and of course is being fuelled. Let us not allow party politics to divide us and influence who becomes the next Toshao but instead vote for the person who is respected and have the people’s interests at heart. Best wishes to my brothers and sisters and congratulations to the new Toshaos!
Yours faithfully,
Laura George
