NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

The past few weeks have been filled with nothing but whales for my work.  ********************   For Immediate Release September 11, 2020   SENATOR MARSH (TAITANO)’S PUBLIC HEARING TODAY ON ACTIVE SONAR, WE DESERVE THE SAME PROTECTIONS FOR OUR MARINE MAMMALS AS HAWAII AND CALIFORNIA   More than 20 marine mammal species are found in the waters surrounding the Mariana Islands, including some that are considered to be severely endangered such as humpback whales. Our waters are significant breeding, birthing, and resting grounds for numerous species. At the same time, studies have shown that the US of active sonar in military training, such as the type that takes places through the Marianas by the US Navy, has a detrimental impact on marine mammals. For example, scientists have determined that there is a 90-95% correlation between the use of naval active sonar and the stranding of beaked whales on our shores. Because of these negative impacts, Senator Kelly Marsh (Taitano) introduced Resol

Back in September, I spent an afternoon with Håle’ Para Agupa’, a Chamoru cultural group based in the Washington D.C. area. It was an enriching and energizing afternoon. The fafa’na’gue of the group Teresita Guevara Smith organized a gathering of young and old, and I gave a presentation about Chamoru language and culture, and even a short language lesson.  Wherever I go, in Guam, the CNMi or even the diaspora, I am always encouraged to see Chamorus wanting to learn more about who they are as a people and want to do more to keep culture and language alive. After all, for a group that numbers perhaps only 200,000 in the world, we always have to ask ourselves, “anggen ti hita, pues håyi?” When it comes to preservation and revitalization of our heritage, if we won’t do it, who else will? This is an issue that Chamorus have to confront sooner rather than later, especially in light of the fact that more Chamorus now live outside of the Marianas. The realities of cultural maintenan

Over the years I've heard International Expert on Self-Goverance and Decolonization Carlyle Corbin mention Greenland in the context of Guam. For most on Guam, it might seem like the only things Greenland and Guam might have in common is they are both islands and their names start with G. But their possible connections are much deeper than that, as both are homes to indigenous people, both are sites of colonialism and both exist in a political state that isn't considered to be the norm in today's fraternity of nations. Below are some articles that might help make those connections for people. ************************* Greenland, Victim of Denmark's Linguistic Colonialism Noa Agnete Metz Worldcrunch 4/27/17 COPENHAGEN — In the picturesque Danish capital, it's easy to overlook the men lying on public benches with a beer in hand, or assume they're immigrants from Southern Europe. Listen carefully, though, and you'll notice that they speak fluent D

The Chamorro Diaspora Michael Lujan Bevacqua The Marianas Variety April 23, 2016 I spent five years of my life in San Diego while I was attending graduate school there at UCSD. It was an interesting experience that truly helped to shape and deepen my understanding of Chamorros as a people today.    We may see Chamorros as tied to home islands in the Marianas, but the reality is that more than half of the Chamorro people live in the United States in what scholars refer to as “the diaspora.” For most of my life, I have moved back and forth between Guam and this diaspora — spending a few years in Guam and then a few years in Hawai’i, a few more years in Guam, a few more years in California and so on. Although people tend to conceive of Chamorros as being either the “from the island” or “from the states” variety, there has, since the revoking of the military’s postwar security clearance, been a constant back and forth migration of Chamorros. Individuals and fami

Mina'sais na Lisayu 12/20/13 You could say that religion was a central part of grandma’s life and a key part of her family’s legacy to this island. Her families, both from her mother and her father, helped build the foundation for two different churches during the 20 th century. The seeds of Protestantism had already been planted in the island during the Spanish period. Whalers from the United States brought it in small doses towards the end of the Spanish period. In fact the first concerted effort to build a non-Catholic community came from two Chamorros who had left as whalers and returned as evangelists, the Custino Brothers. On both her mother’s and her father’s side, grandma’s relatives were among the first Chamorros to convert to Protestantism. Both grandma’s mother’s and father’s family were of the first generation of Chamorros to convert. In fact grandma’s grandfather, my great great grandfather Jose Aguon Flores (Tatan Engko) was th

This Thursday I'll be on a panel to discuss the new film "Across the Water in Time." It is being screened at the Hyatt at 6 pm on Wednesday and I'll be part of a panel on Thursday 2 pm at the CAHA Gallery in the Terlaje Building in Hagatna. My panel will be discussion history and how it relates to this wonderful and exciting project. The film is about the descendants of a Chamorro man named Juan Perez who left island as a whaler in the 19th century. He settled in Hawai'i and married and his name was subsequently changed to Paris. Eventually while doing genealogical research from both islands, his descendants and his relatives were reunited. Below is a video interview of Jillette Leon Guerrero the creator of the film with KUAM News Extra. In addition I pasted some info from the website for the film . ************************ Juan D. Perez’s story is an interesting one. He was born in Guam but is believed to have moved to Hawaii sometime between 185

When I was doing oral histories on Guam, not too long ago, some of the most interesting stories were those of courtship and "dating" in pre-World War II Guam. As many manamko' state, there was no dating before the war, and this is no exaggeration. Young men and women were closely watched and restricted in their movements and activities. Men were given more freedom than women, but both were not allowed to freely associated with any person of the opposite sex to whom they were not closely related. With any such social prohibition there are plenty of sagas of the exceptions. These exceptions for the most part can be found in the tales of mythical others. People who bravely went against the times or were victimized by the times or who seemed to not belong in the time to which they were born. These people always exist, and are spoken about sometimes in disgust/distaste, sometimes with jealous admiration. But even if the person you are talking to may have had s

I'm in Washington D.C. right now and so watching MSNBC and Fox News carries a very different significance when your hotel is within walking distance from the Capitol. The Presidential race is heating up now, but something that caught my eye earlier today really interested me. It was about a ongoing spat between tax avenger and government revenue denier Grover Norquist and Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, most famous for attacking environmental science and putting phantom holds on bills in the Senate in order to stall and drag down legislation. The issue itself doesn't really matter to me, although I will place the op-ed from the New York Times that was the immediate cause of the spat. What really interested me was the random, bizarre yan na'aburido response that Norquist gave when he was trying to illustrate the dimensions of the fight. In addition to the quote below he also suggested that the Oklahoma Senator had "gone native" or was suffering from Stockholm Syndro

In my post last month Yobimizu , I wrote some of my thoughts about the Chamorro decolonization movement and progressive movement in general on Guam, and how the paralysis sometimes stems from the need to wait for the right leader to come along and bring sense to un gof kaduku na tano'. During the course of the past week, a statement related to that conversation came up. It was one I'd heard before in the precise form in which it was stated, but also the general sort of form that it carries is something we all hear in some way or another. The statement was basically a wish that Chamorros or Guam movements have their own "Haunani-Kay Trask." As I said, I've heard this diniseha uttered before amongst Chamorros, so it wasn't new, but hearing it this time made me reflect a bit more on what I was hearing. For those who don't know, Haunani-Kay Trask is a long time academic and activist in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. She is one of the most well-known vo