NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Edward Reilly Stettinius, Jr., Secretary of State, Chairman of the delegation from the United States, signing the UN Charter at a ceremony held at the Veterans’ War Memorial Building on 26 June 1945. At left is President Harry S. Truman. If anyone asks why the United States is obligated to support Guam's decolonization and self-determination for the Chamorro people, this image tells you everything you need to know. By virtue of the United States signing this charter, they are obligated to support self-determination and decolonization for colonized people under their control.

The United States has long ignored its obligation to Guam with regards to educating the people on their political status and enhancing their understanding of self-determination with the intent of pushing them towards a greater degree of self-government. For decades, activists and Government of Guam officials have called on the United States to fulfill this obligation, with little to no success. This past year however represented the first instance in recent memory of the United States accepting this obligation, as the Department of Interior has provided a grant of $300,000 to the Government of Guam to be used for political status education. Similar grants were also provided to other colonial possessions of the United States, with a similar educational purpose in mind. This money is promising, however most likely unique. Previous attempts to get this type of funding were met with confused responses at multiple levels and didn't go anywhere. As of today it isn't clear what ex

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

For years nothing much happened in terms of decolonization advocacy at the governmental level. I wish I couldn't make this statement, but it is unfortunately true. The issue fizzled out towards the end of Governor Gutierrez's last term, and received close to no attention during Governor Camacho's time in office. Even, the island's current chief executive, Governor Calvo, who is currently pushing for a decolonization vote in the near future, did very little for the majority of his term. While it is good to see him coming around on the issue, it has to be acknowledged, that with so little coordinated efforts for so long, it would take a great deal of resources and focus to make up for lost time. It remains to be seen if Governor Calvo recognizes this fact and will do what is necessary to make his current goals a reality. During that time, those in civil society and in particular in academia in Guam did what we could to make up the difference. Every year, either myself