“A walk through vibrant forest along Arakawa gawa and Fun gaw” July 28, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo By Chie Tome and Chosho Yakabe The forest in Yambaru, where the U.S. and Japanese governments plan to build new military helipads, is one of Japan’s most treasured nature spots, home to more than six thousand kinds of rare …
For two days last week, Victoria Leon Guerrero and I, as co-chairs of the Independence for Guam Task Force worked as guest hosts for K57. As “Independent Guahan on the Radio” we spoke with guest attorney Mike Phillips, we took more than three dozens calls, and explained why we both support independence as Guam’s next …
I will be live-blogging from the University of Guam for this final decolonization debate. Hamyo ma’åse’ to LisaLinda Natividad, Lisa Baza, Teresita Flores, Edward Duenas, Jose Garrido, Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero, and all who helped make this a reality. The Festival of the Pacific Arts is a time for celebrating Pacific art and culture, but it is also, …
Final Keynote Speaker – Indigenous Languages Conference Inaugural Session, Festival of the Pacific Arts, Guam, 2016 I Unibetsedåt Guåhan Notes by Isa Kelley Bowman Rev. Dr. Upolu Luma Vaai (Pacific Theological College, Samoa) The cosmic community everyone and everything included, not just people saluations and respect, tåno’, ancestors, spirits, sea, Chamorro people, etc. We are in …
We all just finished the Indigenous Languages Conference at UOG. I’m sure my fellow bloggers may post about it more in depth. For now, a few quick posts. Today I got to sneak in for a bit to famed Chamorro scholar Dr. Laura Torres Souder’s presentation, in between finding buses for delegates and counting folding chairs. Below, …
I’m (very slowly) making my way through the Dune prequels written by Frank Herbert’s son and a well-known science fiction novelizer, from the famous author’s notes. The novels do not share the epic sonorousness of Herbert’s language in Dune, but they do cover interesting topics. The human race is struggling to survive against an empire of robots, yet, …
“The moment a man enlists in the United States armed forces, his chances of being sexually assaulted increase by a factor of ten. Women, of course, are much more likely to be victims of military sexual trauma (MST), but far fewer of them enlist. In fact, more military men are assaulted than women—nearly 14,000 in …
Movement One (Spanish): Somos feministas, nietas de las brujas que nunca pudiste quemar, y sobrevivientes del genocidio machista que históricamente hemos vivido y seguimos viviendo las mujeres. Queremos invadir el espacio de la opinión pública analizando la realidad desde nuestros feminismos. Porque es en la esfera política en la que se recortan nuestros derechos y …
Matai si Sinot Jose Mata Torres gi ma’pos na mes. Desde 2013 hu ayuyuda si Sinot Torres gi i lepblo-na. Dumångkolo gui’ antes di gera ya gumai’idat gui’ gi duranten i gera, ya gof malago’ gui’ muna’fitme i hinasso-na siha gi un lepblo, ko’lo’lo’na i estoria put anai i Chamorro siha gi sengsong-na manachu ya …
Manhami mañasåga ham yan si nanå-hu biha. Guiya pumulan gui’ sa’ machocho’cho’ si nanå-hu yan si tatå-hu ya annai mana’hålom yu’ gi famulanan famagu’on, sigi ha kumåti yu’. Hu hasso na un diha gigon matagam yu’ ginen i famulanan-hu famagu’on, hu faisen si bihå-hu kao ha chatli’e’ yu’ sa’ ti malago’ ha pulan yu’. Ginen …
It has almost been two years since of the passing of my grandmother, Elizabeth De Leon Flores Lujan. Last Christmas, close to the one year anniversary of her passing (when my grandfather was still with us) family and friends held a gathering to remember her and celebrate her. As part of the gathering we sang …
In my academic and activist work I often used “militarism” as a negative term. As a concept which describe things na ti ya-hu, or that I don’t like, or that I would actively like to see less of in the world. Lao gi minagahet, the term, the processes it describes are not inherently wrong. The …
Its that time of year on Guam, where perceived Chamorro debts to the United States balloon out of control and Chamorro attempts to prove their understanding and love for their debts and subordination appear to reach such maddeningly levels that what they owe to the United States seems to become infinite and eternal. Sina ta …
When the protest group Nasion Chamoru first emerged decades ago it created a conflict in the minds of people on Guam. On the one hand you had a group of people who were emphatically embodying “Chamorro” things. They were speaking Chamorro, fighting for Chamorro lands and Chamorro rights, and even sometimes sported ancient Chamorro jewelry. …
I found this old poem I wrote in 2012 for a literature class I took at the University of Guam and thought I would share it with you. Este ha’ minalago-hu na hu sanggra hao (My only desire is to drain your blood) Un na’bubu yu’ ni guinaiya-mu (You made me angry with your love) …
Yesterday the world saw Jose “Pepe” Mujica step down from his 5-year tenure as the President of Uruguay, a man who is a misnomer to what we expect from modern leaders. A leftist Guerrila leader back in the 60s who later served in all 13 years in prison for his political activities, he was part …
According to The Chamorro Dictionary by Donald Topping, “mumun linahyan” is a way of saying “revolution.” If we break it down we can see the genesis of this rarely used term. Mumun derives from mumu meaning fight. Linahyan means crowd, group, masses. Mumun linhayan is an idea of revolution as being a large scale uprising, …
This is not an unavoidable consequence of a contentious political campaign. This is exceptional, a circumstance brought about by the gutter rants of Donald Trump and his refusal to condemn the racists, neo-Nazis and other deplorables who support him. That our country has reached this point, where the line between modern American political supporters and … Continue reading
We must reckon with the patriarchal freedom dreams we have conjured in the name of Nat Turner, even as we dismiss Harriet Tubman, the great prophetess, herbalist, and midwife, or Mary Turner, lynched while pregnant. We must watch “The Birth of Nation” in theaters so that we can see our patriarchal selves on screen, then … Continue reading
We are on the precipice of losing this cornerstone of U.S. prestige. Sums it all up, doesn’t it? Prestige. Losing. U.S. So much control, so much fear. Source Continue reading
When I used to teach English Composition at UOG, I would have a series of debates in each of my classes about pertinent local or national issues. While my students expected debates about gun violence, abortion or appropriate drinking or smoking ages, I would have them debate stuff like decolonization, Star Trek v. Star Wars … Continue reading
In 2013, I was asked by the local O’ahu media company, ThinkTech Hawaii to discuss my at the time upcoming thesis “Na’lå’la’ i Fino’-ta, Na’matatnga i Taotao-ta: Chamorro Language as Liberation From Colonization” on their show. Although I don’t quite like the title chosen as I aim to move way beyond the “preservation” framework for … Continue reading
Gi i kinalamten para decolonization giya Guahan gi entre i Chamorro, meggai na akakuedi. Meggai guini yan meggai gi sanlagu. Meggai dimasiao siña hu tuge’ put i atkakuedi siha put i gobetnamenton Amerikanu, i Federales, ya siempre ya malago’ sumotta hit pat munå’i hit ni’ direcho-ta komo taotao. Lao, i mas hihot yan mas na’ma’ase … Continue reading
In Matt Hawkins’ comic book series, Think Tank, the main character Dr. David Loren is a boy-genius who was recruited by the military to work for a DARPA science. In the second trade book of the comic series, Dr. Loren, who is emotionally and mentally torn about the work that he does, invents a genetic … Continue reading
