NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

In my Chamorro Studies class last week we were discussing the concept of inafa'maolek, which has become canonized as a central value of Chamoru culture as of late. The term fa'maolek has long been in use, it even occurs in the Garrido Manuscript from 18th century Guam. Inafa'maolek most likely was used as well, but not necessarily as a primal or central concept for defining Chamoru identity or culture. That comes about much more recently, primarily through the work of Robert Underwood when he uses the terms in the 1970s, while trying to define what the Chamoru cosmology of the 19th century was, and what of it had persisted up until the 20th century.  Inafa'maolek has many meanings, all of them however focus around expressing community through interdependence or through cooperation. It is about working together to sustain a society. It is about humans sustaining nature, sustaining their families and so on. It is a collective concept that is focused on building sustaina

5,000 days of protest in northern Okinawa. In truth, the protests there go much further back, but 5,000 is a nice, big, profound number. It represents 5,000 days of continuous protest, of daily, symbolic and direct resistance to US militarism and militarization in the island. I have been fortunate enough to visit the protest camps in Okinawa on several occasions since 2011. I have spoken to scholars, to activists, to students, to elders, to farmers, to fishermen and even to paddlers and scuba divers. It does make me wonder, at one point the level of militarization or of consciousness about militarization in Guam will come to a similar point. There have been outbursts, periods of direct action, protest, there has been a great deal of counter-hegemonic activity, trying to make it more possible for the community to engage in critical discussions about Guam's military presence or purpose. But nothing similar to what we see in Okinawa. Will the plans for a firing range at Litekyan

One of my first introductions to Native American Studies was the book Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement. I was at that point in graduate school in San Diego, and learning a great deal about different ethnic movements around the United States, and while much of the readings focused on the larger groups in the United States, such as African Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans, I was grateful that each course had books or readings that situated Native American struggles and experiences as well. I knew the basic, general history of how Native Americans went from being a diverse array of tribes and peoples, to losing almost all their sovereignty and land to colonial settlers across North America and also Latin American depending on how you want to define the terms. But by reading this book and others by scholars and Native American activists I began to understand more of the structural and historical connections. In Banks' book he talked abou

It is common in Guam to feel very alone in terms of decolonization. History books and political commentators tend to argue that the age of decolonization is over. It happened in the 1960s or 1970s, and that those who remain colonized missed the boat. They missed the decolonial sakman and are therefore stuck, in whatever political status they have. It is an intriguing way of justifying the status quo. A way of arguing that the current world order or framework isn't simply something that has happened. But rather the end. Teleological or evolutionary, but ultimately that an apex is reached and there can't be any further reconfiguration of power or reality.  In the 1980s this notion was called "The End of History" after Francis Fukuyama. It wasn't real or true, but it felt authentic, in the same way each epoch achieves a certain character or feeling of self-realization. We have seen History continue marching on. And those who still have claims

The Chair for the committee of 24 is Rafael Carreño Ramirez who is the permanent representative to the UN from Venezuela. He opened the seminar in St. Vincent with a statement, but soon had to leave the conference, with one of the committee’s vice-chairs, from the Russian Federation taking over. This regional seminar is taking place in the seventh year of the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism. The United Nations sometimes sets large goals for itself or its programs, hoping to achieve substantive results or progress within a generous time period. The UN attempted a similar thing with regards to decolonization, establishing ten year periods during which is was to work towards achieving significant progress with regards to eradicating colonialism from the world. Over the past 17 years, no territories have moved closer in any measurable ways towards self-determination or decolonization. The last territory to be removed from the li

I would have loved to have talked to Martin Luther King Jr. And when I say that, I don't mean the fiction that is often trotted out each year by governments and educational systems. That MLK Jr. is a neutralized version of the man I've read about. That figure is one who has been shorn of all his radical content, and becomes a middleman for the American nation, allowing it to bury its racist past and present, without having to adequately deal with either. The MLK that I've studied was eloquent and fiery, but his targets were much higher and much more difficult to strike. He wasn't just seeking white and black children to play together on playgrounds. He wanted some fundamental changes to American society which would ease the terrible systems of economic and social inequality, which continue to disproportionately affect non-whites. I'm looking forward to getting a copy of this book Death of a King: The Real Story of Martin Luther King Jr's Final Year