NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

An interesting discussion on the possibilities of a "third" option when thinking about decolonization in the Pacific. In Guam, I have written about the risks or dangers of "fourth kinds" or "fourth options," but I still found this article to be enlightening.  In Guam, I refer to the fourth kind as potential political status traps. Decolonization in the most general sense is about achieving a genuine level of self-governance. There are, as we can see in the world today, a wide variety of arrangements whereby a colonizer or administering power can call a place self-governing, while still maintaining colonial control.  For example, when looking at the United States, Puerto Rico is a "commonwealth" and isn't supposed to be a colony or non-self-governing territory anymore. But if you compare the status of Guam and Puerto Rico, their level of self-governance, they are almost in the exact same position, with only a fancy title separating th

2000 was the last time that Guam had a significant and focused conversation around political status. There had been campaigns, big and small, around commonwealth or constitutions. Each time there were discussions, community events and also sometime of plebiscite. 2000 was the last time that there was a big community push around the issue, as that was the year a plebiscite was scheduled and some funds made available for public education. This came after commonwealth had died or stalled in the US Congress, and it was decided to start the process over by having a new plebiscite to help determine the direction of future political status negotiations. This new start to the process never really came. The 2000 plebiscite was delayed several times and never took place. I recently went through more than a year of the Pacific Daily News to get a sense of that time, and came across dozens of letters to the editor and articles dealing with the plebiscite and the three sta

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Decolonization gi Fino' CHamoru: Future Status Options for Guam Discussed in UOG CHamoru-Language Panel Mangilao, GU - On Thursday, March 1, 2018, 6:00-7:30 p.m., the Dean of the School of Business and Public Administration at the University of Guam will host a CHamoru-language panel from the Commission on Decolonization to discuss the status options for Guam/Guåhan: Statehood, Free Association, and Independence.       The event is called "Decolonization gi Fino' CHamoru" (in the CHamoru language).   It will be held in Room 131.   It is free and all are welcome and encouraged to attend.   The panel, co-organized with Commission Director Amanda Blas from the Office of the Governor of Guam, will include special presentations gi Fino' CHamoru (in the indigenous CHamoru language) from representatives of the Taskforces on Statehood, Free Association, and Independence.   Handouts and ot

Paul Zerzan frequently references me in his columns in the Guam Daily Post and also his letters to the editor of the Pacific Daily News. For those of you who don't know who Paul Zerzan is, it isn't truly critical that you know him or what he stands for. He is a white male living on Guam, who constantly takes polemical and often times ignorant positions on things such as Chamorro language and decolonization. It is sometimes difficult to engage with someone like him who seems very willing to impulsively shout loudly about the things that they believe, but doesn't ever seem to investigate or research what they are claiming prior to speaking/writing. Gi Fino' Chamorro ta sångan, "hasso åntes håfa para un sångan, mappot pumañot tåtte." This is something that Paul Zerzan doesn't seem to know much about or take seriously. Last year I and several others wrote letters and column about his assertion that the Chamorro language is already dead and it is useless to

While most people were spending December with their family or shopping, I spent much of it conducting outreach on Guam's decolonization. The Commission on Decolonization held three public village meetings over the course of one week. Independent Guåhan held its monthly General Assembly, and we also launched our weekly podcast series. Here are some articles below detailing some of our activities. **************************** Decolonization Meetings Kick Off in Dededo by Tihu Lujan Guam Daily Post December 15, 2016 The Commission on Decolonization held the first of a series of village meetings arranged to discuss Guam’s political status yesterday at the Dededo Community Center. Revolving around the island’s long-delayed plebiscite that has been in discussions since 1998, the commission has finally launched the village meetings as an educational campaign on the three proposed political options - independence, free association and statehood. The plebiscite, which w

"Climate Change is a 'Matter of Life and Death' for The Marshall Islands by Jon Letman Civil Beat 11/4/16 It takes a combination of guts, grit and gray matter to face off against what is arguably the world’s biggest threat — a planet in the throes of environmental and climate upheaval. That’s exactly what Hilde Heine displays with an understated conviction that belies her own determination as a Pacific Island leader. In January, Heine, 65, was sworn in as the eighth president of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the first female head of state of an independent Pacific Island nation. Among the many urgent tasks her administration faces is the immediate need to fortify her nation of 29 atolls scattered across 750,000 square miles of the northern Pacific against the impacts of climate change. What’

Two letters to the editor on recent and not so recent activities related to Guam's decolonization. For those who don't know, there are three political status options that are outlined per local and international law for Guam's future, integration (statehood), free association and independence. Each of these status has a task force that is mandated to educate the community about their status. These task forces are volunteer and have always been, although public law does indicate that the Commission on Decolonization is supposed to provide funding and support for their outreach. But there is little written into the law about the structure of these task forces or details about their obligations. They are supposed to have a certain amount of members and they each have a chairperson who gets to serve and vote on the Commission itself, but other than that, they are amorphous and nebulous non-governmental organizations. The business of government usually moves slowly, unless

One of the things that I take pride in, is that this blog has been around for a while and that I've been able to maintain it continuously for 12 years now. Most of the Chamorro related or Guam related websites that existed when I first started this blog are no longer around. They have been taken down, lost, morphed into something else. Many of the people are still around, but they have moved on to other social media platforms. At one point the Free Association for Guam Task Force had a website. Nasion Chamoru had a website on an AOL platform, although it is now on Blogger (like this blog). The Statehood for Guam Task Force still has a website. A number of social websites or personal blogs have disappeared, and every once in a while I wonder what has become of those people. Below is a short article written by former Senator Mark Charfauros, who was an active member of Nasion Chamoru in the 1990s. This was published 16 years ago on the website "Dialogue Between Nations"

When discussing the future possibilities for Guam in terms of political status change and decolonization, the talk inevitably turns towards the other islands in Micronesia as examples. They are invoked sometimes as cautionary tales, meant to frighten those interested in learning more into accepting less in political terms, and just embracing one's colonial status in order to avoid becoming a place such as the Federated States of Micronesia or FSM. At the same time, a place such as Palau/Belau, which has become a darling of international media lately, is often pointed to as providing a example for Guam to follow. One things that makes this sort of exercise intriguing is the fact that the islands surrounding Guam can all help us understand more about the nature of Free Association, both its advantages, but also its potential dangers. The CNMI to the north of Guam represents Free Association in the sense of intimately connecting oneself to their colonizer, perhaps in a way that re