NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

 I'm excited this summer because I'll be a visiting scholar in Japan at Kobe University. I'll be teaching a course on transnational relations that focuses on militarization and militarism in the Asia-Pacific region. I'll be using two books for the course Militarized Currents edited by Setsu Shigematsu and Keith Camacho and The Bases of Empire edited by Catherine Lutz. Catherine Lutz has been a friend of Micronesia for a very long time and last came through Guam a few years ago. Here work is very important in terms of giving a structure to militarization and militarism and not just letting them be things taken for granted as natural parts of life, but being able to drawn them out of the background here and force them to become objects of analysis and critique. Her work when she came through Guam and gave several presentations and even testified in front of the Guam Legislature was very eye-opening to people about the nature of military bases and how they affect the c

On August 30th I'll be presenting at the 2nd Annual Marianas History Conference at UOG. Here is the schedule thus far for those who might be interested in attending. The website to find more information is: http://marianashistory.guampedia.com/ And here is a video of two of the organizers Dr. Anne Hattori (from UOG) and Rita Nauta from Guampedia giving an interview on KUAM News Extra: Tentative Conference Schedule Thursday, August 29 5:30 pm Welcoming Reception: Paseo, Hagåtña Friday, August 30 8:30-9:30 am Keynote Address, Dr. Keith L. Camacho, CLASS Lecture Hall, UOG 9:30-10 am Break 10 – 11:30 am Session 1 (A and B) Session 1A: Chamorro Agency in the Spanish Marianas David Atienza: The Mariana Islands Militia and the Establishment of the “Pueblos de Indios”: Indigenous Agency in Guam from 1668 to 1758 Carlos Madrid: 1800´s in the Marianas: A Nation in the Making Mariana Sanders, Francine Clement and Carla Smith: Social Realities and Legal Regulations

Senator Daniel Akaka, as the first and only Native Hawaiian to serve in the US Senate is a key icon in the pantheon of Native Hawaiian politics. He is currently retiring and not running for re-election. Neither of those running to replace him are Native Hawaiian and so in some ways it is a sad day for those who take seriously those types of issues of representation and inclusion. He is a regular speaker at the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement conference that I have been attending this week. He came on the last day to give his final speech to those assembled, as a sitting Senator. It was a very solemn moment when he arrived and when he spoke. He was treated like an elder celebrity statesmen, as people rushed to take pictures of him as he walked to the stage and record him as he spoke. He received a line of well-wishers and gift givers, some of which had the chance to speak briefly and told tales of how the Senator had made an incredible impact in their

During the DEIS comment period I was involved in alot of different activities or collaborations meant to respond to the document. Family issues and my work schedule didn't allow me to participate as much as I might have wanted to, but I still found some important ways of helping out. In December of 2009 I attended a meeting with half a dozen or so other UOG faculty members, to discuss how, we as UOG professors might respond to the DEIS. A lot of different things were discussed, such as public meetings, presentations, reports or letters. It was exciting to attend that meeting and see others, some of whom I had not met before, working with a similar critical or oppositional intent as my own. But for a variety of reasons, people left that meeting unsure about what we were doing, and also a bit put off, by some of the combatative discussions that had taken place. Some suggestions were made about splitting into groups and taking on certain tasks, but all together, it seemed like taya&#