NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

I invite you to tune in to Beyond the Fence which airs every Friday at noon on Public Radio Guam-KPRG 89.3 FM, immediately following Democracy Now.  This one hour locally produced program features interviews with diverse individuals and coverage of public events offering analysis and personal perspectives on the local impacts of US global militarism in the Asia-Pacific, especially in Guam and the Northern Marianas.  It provides accounts of different forms of resistance, decolonization and sovereignty  struggles, and the challenges of building community beyond the fence.  Audio podcasts of most episodes are available for free and may be downloaded within five days of the original broadcast by going to www.kprgfm.com  and clicking on the link to Beyond the Fence or by going directly to http://kprg.podbean.com/ Ep. 154 “ Minagahet yan Dinagi Siha: The Revitalization of the Chamorro Language” ( hosted by Rosa Salas Palomo with production assistance of Joy White ) was

Gaige yu' pa'go giya Saipan para i fine'nina na Konfrensian Estorian Marianas. I tema para este na gof gaibali na konfrensia, "Unu na kadena islas, meggai na estoria siha." Meggai na gof maolek na fina'nu'i gi este na konfrensai. Manmatto todu ginnen meggai na otro tano' yan nasion siha lokkue'. Guaha Chamoru Guahan yan CNMI guini, lao guaha taotao Alemania, Hapon, Australia, Espana yan i US. Meggai malago' yu' lumi'e' yan humungok gi este na konfrensia lao siempre ti nahong i tiempo. Manali'e' ham yan noskuantos na taotao ni' gof apmam desde i uttimo manali'e'. Magof yu' na sina mana'tungo' ta'lo hafa tatamanu gi i lina'la'-mami. Hu gof agradesi este na konfrensia, lao hassan na hu bisita iya Saipan. I ettimo na biahi gi 2008 para i Mina'tres na Konfrensian Chamoru. Gof impottante na dinana' ayu sa' ayu nai i fine'nina nai mama'nu'i yu' gi fino' Chamo

Since I started teaching at UOG, I've noticed a lot more students who come from the CNMI, than I can recall from when I was an undergraduate ten years ago. Perhaps I just never noticed them before, or nothing ever came up in discussions in class which would help reveal their identities, but I'm often amazed at how many people I'll have from Saipan, Rota and Tinian in my Guam History, World History and English Composition classes. I guess it might be part of the decline of the CNMI's economy, that families up there can no longer afford to send their kids straight to the states for college, but have to go to the best, cheapest, nearby option which is Guam. This new mix can make things interesting, just as having people from the other Micronesian Islands can. It can help challenge the dominance that local, Guam students feel, being the biggest and most American island in Micronesia. It can either help show them that there is another side or two to how islands can exist a

Earlier tonight we finished, the second of four Fino' Chamoru na Inadaggao or Chamorro Language Forums which are being held at the University of Guam this week and next for those who are running this year for Senator and Governor on Guam.There is still another tomorrow for Senatorial Candidates and the final next Monday, the 25th for the Gubernatorial teams of Calvo/Tenorio and Gutierrez/Aguon. All of the forums start at 7 pm and end hopefully by 9, but more realistically by 9:30. The forums so far have been interesting to say the least. I have been surprised at the Chamorro-speaking abilities of some candidates and appalled at the abilities and lack of trying of others. One of the biggest problems with the health of the Chamorro language today is the fact that so many people understand it or at least claim to understand it, but can't translate or transform that into actually using the language. There is such a strong social barrier which prevents people from even trying. I h

Below is what I'll be doing for the next three days, the Fourth Chamorro Conference. Posting on this blog will naturally suffer, but at least it is for a good cause. ******************* Hafa adai todus, Please join us for I Mina' Kuattro na Konferensian Chamorro. *PLEASE PASS THE WORD...* There's a group of people who worked hard to organize and coordinate I Mina Kuattro Na Konferensian Chamorro. This project has no budget but a lot of committed and passionate people desiring to bring everyone together to develop a vision and action plans for the advancement of Chamorros. It is our hope that we can *come celebrate our collective progress and find common ground, as we work to address current and future challenges as a community and chart our course . * *Our Mission: * *To advance and promote the sustainable cultural, economic, and community development of Chamorros based in our indigenous cultural values; to educate our people; and to promote research

Last month I had the honor of presenting twice at the Tetset Konfrensian Chamorro in Saipan. I wrote about my presentation on a panel on militarization and political status in the Marianas Islands in my post " Shiro, Sakman yan Fino' Chamoru: Pa'go Giya Guahan." My other presentation was a solo one, where I was put in charge of a session on "national identity" and Chamorros. The description (which I didn't write) was as follows: Identifikan Nasionat: Komu i tinituhon i ManChamorro sina ha' un rastreha mas ki kuatro mit anos tatte sigun i estoria i ManChamorro komu un grupu ha' manparehu na lenguahi, para na kustumbre yan parehu na rasa. Gi kinlamten-ta mo'na obligasion-ta para u ta susteni i hinengge-mu put Hagu mismo. There were a number of different directions that I could have taken this discussion. But given the importance of issues of preserving and sustaining Chamorro culture to the conference, I decided to intervene at that poi

Plenty of things going on this coming weekend and so I thought I'd post info on all of them. Even if you're not on Guam its still important to keep up to date with what's happening on the island. Although when I was younger I would always hear that there's nothing happening or nothing to do on Guam , this is absolutely not the case anymore. Right now, there is, at some points, too much going on! ************************************************ OCT. 24 - "Puengen Spondylus" The Guam Gallery of Art and the Chamorro Artists Association present their fourth Orange Night, Spondylus Night, from 6 to 10 p.m. on Oct. 24 at The Guam Gallery of Art at the Chamorro Village in Hagåtña, during Arts and Humanities Month, in celebration of the Chamorro culture and in remembrance of their ancestors. There will be a special presentation by Christine Choe, an association member, who was selected to represent Guam at the recent ninth China Changchun International Sculpture

I'm sure its a constant refrain in almost any place, but in Guam, being an island, far away from its colonial center, this refrain seems almost oppressive at times. What I'm referring to is the idea that "nothing is going on" or that there's "nothing to do." When I was an undergraduate on Guam I would hear this all the time, usually as a preface to a rant expressing a desire to move to the states or to leave the island and its smallness behind. I know today a lot of why this urge to leave the island exists, apart from the insularity or isolation of any island, there is a colonial dimension to this desire. At times I may have even felt this, especially when I was first establishing myself as an artist on Guam, and had trouble selling my abstract work or finding places to exhibit my work. I pined for a larger market with a more mature or "modern" buying audience, instead of the Japanese tourists and local population who just wanted beach scenes

Last week I gave six talks, at the Mina'tres na Konfrensian Chamorro in Saipan and in different classes at the University of Guam. I hiniyong este na afagao yu' gi este na simana. Before I lost my voice though, I was speaking about thesis topics and writing for different audiences and picking a topic which will benefit the communities you are tied to in one class. Throughout my discussion I brought up my own work on decolonization, and also used events taking place on Guam such as the impending military buildup to illustrate my points. One of the students didn't like my points or where I was coming from. He explained himself as attending UOG a decade ago, and emerging from some classes, fired up, angry wanting to change the island, wondering why we cling to this colonial relationship with America, when they have mistreated us and the Micronesians around us so poorly. Achokka' ta guaiya i Amerikanu siha, yanggen un atan i estorian i islas Micronesia, annok na ti pareh