NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Ti hu gof komprende sa' hafa, lao fihu manuge' yu' put Si Sarah Palin. Annai ma anunsia na inayek gui' as McCain para Vice President gi i bandan Republican, hu tuge' este na post: " Sarah Palin as VP ." Annai tumunok Si Palin ginnen i ofisina-na, hu tuge' este na post: " So is Palin now a community organizers with no actual responsibilities ?" Annai ilek-na Si Palin na mandisidi na para u dingu i ofisina-na, hu tuge' este na post: " Palin resigns ." Hu tuge' este na post: " An Indigenous View on Palin's Alaska " put i estao i Natibu Amerikanu siha gi i Estados Unidos yan i botasion 2008. Este na post, i mas mabisita na post sa' pega i link gi i blog Crooks and Liars . Duranten i botasion 2008, fihu manuge' yu' put gender yan race, sa' ayu na botasion i fine'nina na biahi giya i Estados Unidos na malalagu (yan sina mailihi) un atelong na lahi yan un apa'ka na palao'an. Achokka&#

I’m sure that most people out there have heard the term “sausagefest” before. Its a term you use to refer to the fact that something is comprised mainly of men, or to call attention to the fact that there are way too many men here. The Micronesian Island Fair last month at Ipao beach, was a very interesting and inspiring experience, but also one which some might refer to however, as a sade’fest. Sade’ is the Chamorro word used for diaper, but it is also the contemporary Chamorro word which is used for loincloth. For a variety of reasons at this year’s event, there were sevearal dozen men, from Guam and from other islands who were sporting very little clothing other than a small shred of cloth covering their, you know what’s. Chamorros from Guam and Rota who were wearing loincloths did so because of their participation in certain events, such as the building and maintaining of the guma’higai, a small cultural village which was built on the edge of the fair, and was meant to represent

I had the honor of spending some time with Dr. Carlyle Corbin while he was on island last week. He has a vast amount of knowledge about territories and colonies today and what are the different obstacles they are facing and strategies they are using to push for the the next phase of their political evolution. I learned quite a bit from him, and had the chance to also help him in updating his blog. Here's a report that I came across detailing his recent trip. ***************************** Analysis by Maria Rodriguez, International Correspondent Washington, D.C., Nov 16 (OTNS) International Advisor on Democratic Governance Dr. Carlyle Corbin advised the Chamoru people of Guam (Guahan) that the political evolution of the remaining sixteen non self-governing territories, including the US-administered territory of Guam, should continue to be examined within the context of international law and principles, and is no different than the case of any other territory formally listed by th

The grandfather of someone very close to me passed away recently. As I type this, I’m currently in the hospital in the middle of the night keeping watch over my own grandfather, who has been here for several days now. “Matai Si Ukudu gi un kåmyo,” i Chamoru ma sångan. Hunggan, dinanche este. Yanggen tin un tungo’ håyi Si Ukudu, gi i tiempon antigu, gof kapas Si Ukudu mumasge’. Achokka’ gof pikaru este taotao, ya meggai manina’bubu as Guiya, gof mappot para makonne’! I minagahet este na sinangan. Hunggan, maskeseha Si Ukudu ha eskapåyi todu i enimigu-ña siha gi lina’la’, guaha unu na ti ha hulat umigi. Ya kinenne’ gui’ ni’ este na kontrariu annai gaige ha’ gi i kamyo-ña. My life has been a bit crazy in recent months. Amongst many other things, I moved to Guam, I defended my dissertation, I started working at the University of Guam. There were so many other moments however, which were incredibly difficult and which in some instances I still haven’t found time to truly reflect on. For i

Whether or not you support the military buildup which will hit Guam over the next few years, like one of those catastrophes from the film 2012, you should be concerned about the Draft Environmental Impact Statement that is being released on Nov. 20th. Anytime the Federal Government (including the military) plans a large project, they are required to do an EIS in order to assess the impacts and damages that the project might have on the surrounding environments or communities. The EIS process is meant to provide those who will be affecting with a report on what is going to happen to them should the project proceed and be completed. The community is given a short window where they are allowed to respond to the EIS, and regulatory agencies are given the power to suggest alternative plans or recommend that parts of the project, or the entire project as a whole should not be allowed to proceed. For Guam's military buildup EIS, a number of massive projects are being combined into a sin

Last week I helped organize the writing of some testimony to the United States House of Representatives, on Bill HR 3940 which was recently introduced by Guam's Non-Voting Delegate Madeleine Bordallo. The Bill, if passed would authorize the Department of the Interior to make available some of its grants to the Government of Guam, to be used for political status educational campaigns. Its a small, but potentially significant step in terms of getting a large scale movement on Guam going again towards changing the island's political status. We'll have to see what happens, and when the backlash of people in the United States decrying the idea of the Federal Government funding education so that its colonies/territories can secede from the union. Right now there is alot of optimism on this bill being passed, since it doesn't actually provide any money for a campaign, but all of that will quickly disappear once word gets around that the tip of America's spear might become

From John Amato on Crooks and Liars I want to propose a new amendment be added during the conference committee when the House and Senate get together to merge the health-care reform bills. I know the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will love it, since they are officially members of Congress now. Here it is. All pro-life male members of Congress who ejaculate without the express intent of making a baby will be considered to have had an abortion. (This will include airport-bathroom encounters.) Under this new rule, the male pro-life members then must fall in line with the same restrictions to health care as women will have to under the Stupak Amendment . Then starting in 2013, all pro-life men in America will be covered under this provision as well. Remember, sex is for one thing and one thing only. I believe a man has an even greater responsibility than a women does just by the fact that the Congress is made up of mostly men . Out of the 56 women in the Democratic caucus, only two

I found this on the Indigenist Intelligence Review . But its originally from the blog Anishinaabekwe . Gof bunita yan gof magahet este. Fihu gumongong yu' put i Chamoru siha, yan i hinasson-niha put i kutturan-niha. Gi fino' Ingles, gof "ma'i'ot" pat "narrow" i hinasson-niha. Hinasson-niha na i kutturan Chamoru, solu hafa uniku giya Hita, ya taigue gi todu i otro kuttura. Pat hinasson-niha, na i Chinamoru solu hafa estaba gaige guini antes di manhalom i Espanot. Dinagi este dos na hinasso. Ti magahet yan dinagi. Gi este dos na hinasso, i Chinamoru i perfekto Chamoru ha'. Lao taya' gi hilo' tano' perfekto, taya' taotao, taya' kuttura. Sina un aligao gi todu i lugat giya este na mundo, yan taya' sinedda'-mu siempre. Pues hafa i bali-na ayu na inaligao? Taitai este na betsu. Este dipotsi i korason i mannatibu na taotao. Estague i minagahet debi di ta akihom. ************************* Indigenous Is ... Indigen

For the next two days I'll be in and out of the "Guam Community and Economic Development Forum: Strategies for a Sustainable Future" which is taking place agupa' and agupa'na at the Sheraton Resort in Tamuning. I'm hoping to live blog for the parts that I attend, and so stay tuned for an update tomorrow. This forum promises to be an interesting one. There are plenty of people speaking whose ideas and insights I trust, but even more people whose ideas and plans for Guam I find incredibly suspect. Most economic forums on Guam, especially those related to the military buildup, tend to take the form of yard sales, where local and Federal government officals, as well as local businessmen promise that everything and anything on the island is up for grabs, and that there will be plenty of money to be made by those who do the grabbing. So as I said, there might be a serious dimension to this conference, and might actually provide some critical thoughts on economic d

Nigapna, umakuentusi ham yan i ga'chong-hu put i sinienten-mami put i activism-mami, ya lana taimanu sesso duru yan fihu kalang machaleghua ham, put i minakkat-na hafa in tingo', yan hafa in tingo' na debi di u macho'gue. Mana'hasso gui' i ga'chong-hu put i kachido (mubi) Matrix , yan i dos na pitduras (pills) ni' Si Morpheous umofresi Si Neo. Unu na pill pau fina'nu'i hao i minagahet put i eriya-mu, i otro pau nina'bense hao ta'lo na todu maolek, ya pua laknos i chinatsaga-mu (yan i inebra-mu lokkue). Gi i che'chon-mami, fihu in siente na debi di mampos annok manu debi di un ayek. Unu para u binabayi hao ni' atadok-mu, i otro para u nina'maya' ha' ta'lo i inatan-mu. Lao sa' hafa i meggaina na taotao Guahan, manma'a'nao nu i pitduras minagahet, ya ga'o'-niha i pitduras binachet? Yanggen un atan i isla-ta pa'go, ti mappot para un sodda' un repuestas para este finaisen-ku. Para i pitdura

I know that Guam's educational system is in turmoil right now, but in truth, education is under attack all over the place, especially in the places (California and Hawai'i) that I have close friends and relatives. On Guam, the local Department of Education is going to have its Federal funds managed by a third party receiver, because of the Federal DOE has complained for years that Guam's DOE just can't take care of itself and can't manage properly the Federal funds it receives. For most people on Guam this is an important and progressive step since DOE, like any local agency is always envisioned to be the most corrupt institution in the universe, and can signify nothing but incompetence and can accomplish nothing. It is in contexts like this that we can perceive most clearly the colonial psychology of Guam, where the Federal Government, in the many forms it takes whether it be Marines, military or their DOE, always appears on Guam as some sort of angel, or more app