NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

A few times each year I testify publicly on Guam about something.  Usually it is at the Guam Legislature over a bill or a resolution or as part of a hearing.  Regardless of what the topic is, I try to do it in Chamoru, especially if I have time to prepare my written comments ahead of time, so they go into the public record.  Chamoru is a national language for Guam, which means that it can be used regularly for public activities and public representations.  Official documents can be in both Chamoru and English. Signage around the island can be bilingual.  The fact that Chamoru is an official and national language of Guam is something that many indigenous groups around the world might be envious of, since it provides for a far amount of existing legitimacy and social/political power.  You don't have to fight for recognition, since the law already accepts it. But sadly we don't do more to build off to this.  It could begin in simple ways, such as public signage and go from there. 

Since 2003 I have had a number of uneven traditions associated with this blog. Many of these have dissipated as I have used this blog less and less, but a few I have continued to hold on to. One of the longest held traditions is "Happy US Imperialism Day!" It started as a thinking piece while I was working on my Master's Thesis in Micronesian Studies at the University of Guam. I had spent a few years reading as much as I could about Guam History. I had interviewed hundreds of elders born prior to World War II, who had experienced Japanese occupation. I had even begun working for Puerto Rican filmmaker Frances Negron-Muntaner on a documentary that would later become War for Guam. I was also spending time with activists of every stripe on Guam, trying to talk to anyone who I could find who had long been critical of the things I was just starting to learn about the historical and contemporary realities of the Chamoru people.  I was encountering the history and the present of

10 years ago the cultural arts group Inetnon Gefpågo premiered "Fanhasso, Fanhita, Fanachu" a musical journey through Guam History and Chamorro issues written by Michael Lujan Bevacqua and Victoria Leon Guerrero, with choreography by Vince Reyes. The musical was directed by Clifford Guzman. The cast was made up of island youth in the group Inetnon Gefpågo.  Next Tuesday, December 8th, Inetnon Gefpågo and Independent Guåhan are holding a webinar to reflect back on the 10 years anniversary of this performance, which eventually was transformed into the play Pågat in 2014.  The webinar will be live on the Facebook pages of Independent Guåhan and Inetnon Gefpågo from 10 am - noon on December 8th. To say that I'm excited about this webinar would be an understatement. I am elated to the point where words are starting to fall short of expression.  The musical Fanhasso... was something I worked on with Victoria less than a year after starting teaching at UOG full-time and finish

I first wrote an article "Happy US Imperialism Day Guam!" about 16 years ago. It was published in Minagahet Zine and later on this blog when I began it soon after. The writing of this article originally was a very formative experience. Part of it eventually became my Masters Thesis in Micronesian Studies. But I also wrote it at a time when I was first trying to find a way to become more public about my critiques and writing letters to the editor of the Pacific Daily News and creating websites/blogs were some of the obvious choices. This article was written when the second Iraq War was only eight months old and the War in Afghanistan was over two years old. It was written at a time when I was feeling frustrated over the deaths of the first few Chamorros in Iraq, Christopher Rivera Wesley being the first. As I said, it was also written at a time when I was first working on developing a critical consciousness and a public voice in terms of writing and philosophy. I had been

I've spent the last year thinking a lot about Magellan. Well as a Guam historian, I think about Magellan a lot and quite regularly, whether I want to or not. But the particular ways I've been thinking about Magellan lately have centered around the fact that the 500th anniversary of the circumnavigation he led will take place in 2021. There will be several voyages that will be following his route around the world and they will naturally stop in Guam in March 2021. I was invited to a conference on behalf of Guam and the University of Guam last March, which was seen as being a launching event for the Spanish Navy for their anniversary commemoration. I wrote about it on this blog as part of my Circumnavigations series. Since then I've been working with a few other people, most notably Robert Underwood, David Atienza and Carlos Madrid on pushing for the development of a commission that can organize Guam's own events around this commemoration and also work wit

Independent Guåhan organizes “Ayuda i Mañainå-ta,” an event to celebrate our elders and assist them in their war claims applications For Immediate Release, November 30, 2017 – Each December 8 th , Guam commemorates the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Guam that dragged the island into World War II. Earlier this year, after more than seven decades, the US Congress has passed a law providing reparations for Chamorro survivors of the Japanese occupation. While this law is problematic in many ways, it still represents a chance for our manåmko’ to receive some compensation for what they suffered and help give closure to this violent period of Guam’s history. This December 8 th , Independent Guåhan is organizing “Ayuda i Mañainå-ta” an event designed to assist our elders in the completion of their compensation application and a celebration of their lives and struggle. Trained volunteers will be onsite to help them properly document their story, complete