Lokono

The Lokono, whose name means 'the people', are the Arawak nation of the Guiana coast, living along the lower rivers and coastal plain from northwestern Guyana through Suriname into French Guiana, with related communities in Venezuela. Their language lent its name to the whole Arawakan family, one of the largest in South America, but today it is severely endangered, spoken fluently mostly by elders.

Skilled farmers and potters with historically matrilineal leanings, the Lokono were among the first peoples of the continent to sustain contact with Europeans, and they adapted over centuries as traders, mission residents, fishermen, timber workers and migrant laborers while keeping cassava cultivation at the heart of village life. Well-known settlements include Wakapoa and St. Cuthbert's Mission (Pakuri) in Guyana and Cassipora, Bernharddorp, Powakka and Matta in Suriname.

Contemporary Lokono communities campaign for collective land title, notably in Suriname, which long lacked legislation recognizing Indigenous land rights, and run cultural associations and language classes to revive Lokono speech. After centuries of decline their population is growing again, though assimilation into coastal creole society remains a strong current.