NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Citizenship Questions and Honoring the Late Speaker Carlos Taitano are the focus for Independent Guåhan’s September General Assembly For Immediate Release, September 17, 2018  Independent Guåhan (IG) invites the public to attend our September General Assembly (GA) on Thursday, September 27th, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Main Pavilion of the Chamorro Village in Hagåtña. These assemblies are part of IG’s efforts to educate the community on the need for Guåhan’s decolonization and the potentials for our independence. This month’s GA will focus on what form citizenship might take in an independent Guåhan.  At each GA , Independent Guåhan honors a   maga’taotao : a notable figure that has helped guide the island and the Chamoru people on their quest for self-determination. For September, IG will be honoring the late Carlos Pangelinan Taitano, who was a World War II veteran, Speaker for I Liheslaturan Guåhan and an instrumental figure in helping get the Organic Act passed for Guåh

As I and so many others have stated, social movements work in cycles. There are moments of ascendancy and then declines. Their are moments of incredible cohesion and then disruption and atomization. When I look back at my own life, I can see, in the movement for decolonization various ruptures in this sense. Some of which I have simply witnessed, others I was actively involved in. This letter to the editor of The Pacific Daily News by Kin Perez is an important reminder of the movements and moments that have come before, the ways in which we might build upon their actions, but the ways we might also be stuck with the same problems and similar dynamics. I would like to think that this year, we are seeing a type of resurgence and the foundation is being built for something larger. We shall see how long it lasts, but it is the first time in centuries that the momentum is towards autonomy and independence as opposed to further integration with the colonizer. ***************************

Governor Eddie Calvo's 2016 State of the Island Address Posted: Mar 31, 2016 5:21 PM Updated: Mar 31, 2016 7:21 PM  State of the Island Address 2016 Lt. Gov. Tenorio, Madam Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, Congresswoman Bordallo, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, but more importantly… Manelu’hu, manaina’hu, yan I man’hoben, Welcome to the Guam Capitol District! Look at how beautiful this city has become. This museum will be open in a few months. Paseo renovations are underway. I can’t wait to deliver next year’s address in the Guam Congress Building next door. And I have to tell you, as a son of Hagatna, a resident of Agana Heights, and a worker in the capital, I’m so happy that some of the best restaurants opened up shop here. We welcome even more business. We welcome artists, performances, tours, and the return of the government of Guam to the seat of government. We have even bigger plans for this place. I received the Hagatna Master Plan for consi

Dipotsi sa' este i kustrumbre-ku.  In all my classes I teach at the University of Guam, whether it be English, Chamorro or History the issue of decolonization and independence for Guam always arises. Part of this is because of who I am and what I believe in. This affects how I teach and what I teach. Part of it is also how students see me and how many of them know that if you google Guam and Decolonization or Guam and a wide range of other topics you will end up with something involving me or written by me. I do not necessarily force this issue on students, but always remind them of the importance of this topic as they live on this island and in this world. Part of the difficulty though in discussing these two topics is that while Guam is a colony and has been such for more than a century, the Chamorro experience of colonialism has changed so much since 1898, 1941, even 1968. The colonial difference between Guam and the United States is not as wide or as daunting or as disgu

In all my classes that I teach at the University of Guam, the issue of decolonization and independence for Guam always arises. Part of it is because of who I am and what I believe in. Part of it is because of what I teach and how I teach. But regardless of why, it is something that I always end have addressing either in response to students and their questions, or as a matter of wanting to open their minds up to something they have yet to consider. Part of the difficulty though in discussing these two topics is that while Guam is a colony and has been such for more than a century, the Chamorro experience of colonialism has changed so much since 1898, 1941, even 1968. The colonial difference between Guam and the United States is not as wide or as daunting or as disgusting as it used to be. In Guam in 1898, 1941, 1944 and even 1968 you could see where America ended and Chamorros and Guam began. You could see that America engaged with Chamorros only up to a certain point as human beings o

The Forum held at the Legislature a few weeks back was both inspiring and disappointing. It was disappointing because it was so poorly attended. You had two titans of community engagement and local leadership (hun) working together on holding a public forum and the room wasn't even filled half way. I got there in the afternoon ya nina'triste yu' nu i ti meggai na manmatto. As I wrote about last week, events that we have held at UOG on the same issue, with a much less star-studded line up of speakers are usually packed. Given that some of that is due to the fact that students are given credit to attend doesn't excuse the Legislature-UOG forum, since students still could have been given credit to attend this forum. In this regard it was almost pathetic to attend the forum, since despite all the senators being there, the people who the forum is partially supposed to exist for, were nowhere to be seen. It was on the other hand inspiring because of the talent that was th