Clash of Two Cultures: Amerindians and "Ecotourists"

According to Ellen Hagerman, tourism is happening on a very small scale in the Iwokrama region because it is expensive to get to Guyana and flights to the area are irregular. But the industry has already heightened tensions in Amerindian villages, eroding their collective spirit and distorting the local economy. For example, jealousy has arisen between villages and between neighbours because some people have landed higher paying jobs than others. Another potential problem arose when a tourist paid US$20 for a small handwoven basket -- the normal price that villagers pay for a larger basket is only US$2.

One day, Surama residents hosted a visit by a group of students staying at a nearby ecotourism resort. The Amerindians "bent over backwards" to make them feel welcome by performing a dance and demonstrating how they lived, but the tourists "displayed a lack of respect for the Amerindian culture by dressing very informally and showing little interest in their culture," said Hagerman. To make matters worse, "the Amerindians overheard them making patronizing comments. For many of the villagers, the whole experience reinforced their feelings of being marginalized."

John Eberlee

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