NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

I have spent untold hours in the collection of the Micronesian Area Research center going through stacks upon stacks of newspapers looking at ads of those running for political office in Guam. Although I don't mention it much, when I began my masters thesis at the University of Guam in Micronesian Studies, my initial topics was actually political campaigns in Guam and analyzing Chamoru discourse in campaigns. I conducted around 50 interviews over several months, with a wide range of people. My intent was to reveal what role Chamoru "culture" or "language" or "identity" played in the organizing of political campaigns, the outreach, the strategizing or rationale. My own motivation for taking on this project was tied to the 2002 Guam gubernatorial campaign. I was a young Chamoru grad student, who had started learning speaking Chamoru the year prior and was functionally, albeit awkwardly fluent in Chamoru. I was spending most of my free time in MARC

The Guam Museum is open in Hagåtña. Well it is sort of and kind of open. The permanent exhibit text, which I have been helping write for several years now isn't complete, although a temporary exhibit about the history of the Guam Museum has been set up in the meantime. It is strange to have the structure, the physical building finished and mostly ready, but still the museum itself, the story or i hinanao-ta, that it is supposed to represent isn't quite ready. While going through some of my old files on my computer I noted (and was reminded) that Guam didn't have a museum for quite a while. I recall visiting the museum as a young child at the Plaza de Espana and also at Adelup, but for most of my life there has been no national museum on Guam. When my kids were first born, the museum was, interestingly enough just a little annex in the Micronesian Mall that few people even knew existed. The discussion over a museum has been underway for a very long time, although it pains

There has been a small but determined movement to push Chamorros towards tribal/Native American status for a few years now. There are those who believe it to be the best or only path forward for the Chamorro people given the colonial frameworks they are ensnared by. The statement below is from The Chamorro Tribe itself, which has been advocating this in various forms for about a decade (as far as I can tell). This idea resurfaces every couple of years, usually when a politician decides to take up the cause as a way of providing a seemingly simple solution to a very complicated problem, namely decolonization. A few years ago Senator Judith Gutherz was advocating for it. This past year Felix Camacho in his race for non-voting delegate advocated the same thing. I am getting ready to catch a flight and so I can't talk much about this now. But in time I plan to write more. For now here is the statement of the Chairman of the Chamorro Tribe, Frank Schacher. It can be found on their web

Last year, Our Islands are Sacred and other local activist groups penned a joint letter to Governor of Guam Eddie Calvo, challenging his support for the US military buildup to Guam. In response to the letter, which made a significant splash on social media, the Governor met with some of the authors of the letter to discuss their concerns. Central to rhetoric invoked in the letter focused on how the Governor had made several statements to the media that he was excited about the military buildup and what it might mean to Guam economically. As the military buildup, even in its reduced form, will most likely negatively Guam's environment, economy, security and cultural properties, the writers of the letter were incredulous that Governor Calvo would speak of the buildup with such excitement when so many negative aspects were involved. One of the suggestions that they made to Governor Calvo was that he invite the Governor of Okinawa to visit Guam with his staff and have a conversatio

Achokka' tåya' botasion para Gubetnon Guahan gi på'go na såkkan, humuyhuyong un interesånta na botasion gi bandan Kongresu. Ayu na pusision fihu mafa'na'an "Kongresu" lao gi minagahet i titilu-ña "Ti mambobota na Kongresu." Gaige este na ofisina sen chågo' guatu giya Washington D.C. Ya para este na cho'cho', kuatro ha' na taotao ma go'te gui' desde ki mababa i pusision gi 1972: Si Tony Won Pat, Si Ben Blaz, Si Robert Underwood, ya i gumo'go'te gui' på'go si Madeleine Bordallo. På'go na såkkan mandesnik kuatro na gayu: Dos gi bandan Republican: Si Margaret Metcalfe, un komesetiante, ya ha chagi tumague si Bordallo gi ma'pos'ña na såkkan. Gof hihot gui' gi as Calvo, i Maga'låhen Guahan på'go. Si Felix Camacho, eståba na senådot yan Maga'låhen Guahan. Si tatå-ña i uttimo na ma'apunta yan i fine'nina na ma'ilihi na Maga'låhen Guahan. Si Camacho yan i familia

This is particularly interesting/na'chalek in the context of current problems in the Government of Guam. As I've often said, politicians are fortunate that peoples' memories are very short for the things that matter and long for those that don't. *************** Guam Lawmakers Push Financial Reform By Gerardo R. Partido The Marianas Variety March 21, 2007 With the administration still finalizing its fiscal recovery plan, the Guam Legislature has taken the initiative by passing Bill 15, which contains various measures to reform the way the government of Guam manages its finances. Sponsored by Vice Speaker Eddie Calvo, R-Maite, the legislation requires the administration to implement revenue tracking report and a fiscal realignment plan that would ensure greater clarity and accountability of Government of Guam’s finances. Calvo describes the bill, which was passed unanimously, as the culmination of a collaborative effort between majority and mino

At the funeral for Maga'låhi Ed Benavente today, I got a chance to talk to former Governor of Guam Felix Camacho. When Felix Camacho was first elected the group Nasion Chamoru was in decline in terms of its political power. Angel Santos had been elected into the Guam Legislature years earlier and formally left the group. Nasion itself had continued to fight and gotten a number of reforms implemented around land for the landless and for families that had lost land after World War II to the US military. Felix Camacho, seeking to make a sort of peace with Nasion Chamoru, which had been a notorious thorn in the side of the previous administration, reached out to Ed Benavente and offered him a position in his cabinet. I remember that time well, as I had already started hanging out with members of the Colonized Chamoru Coalition and so I got to listen in while members of Nasion Chamoru discussed whether or not Ed should join with Camacho. I won't describe the deliberations in detai