NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

The past few weeks have been filled with nothing but whales for my work.  ********************   For Immediate Release September 11, 2020   SENATOR MARSH (TAITANO)’S PUBLIC HEARING TODAY ON ACTIVE SONAR, WE DESERVE THE SAME PROTECTIONS FOR OUR MARINE MAMMALS AS HAWAII AND CALIFORNIA   More than 20 marine mammal species are found in the waters surrounding the Mariana Islands, including some that are considered to be severely endangered such as humpback whales. Our waters are significant breeding, birthing, and resting grounds for numerous species. At the same time, studies have shown that the US of active sonar in military training, such as the type that takes places through the Marianas by the US Navy, has a detrimental impact on marine mammals. For example, scientists have determined that there is a 90-95% correlation between the use of naval active sonar and the stranding of beaked whales on our shores. Because of these negative impacts, Senator Kelly Marsh (Taitano) introduced Resol

This November I am once again participating in ChaNoWriMo or as its known elsewhere as NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month or Chamorro Novel Writing Month. This means that this blog sadly will not be receiving much attention. During this month, the challenge is to write 50,000 words of your novel. For me, I am continuing my long-standing story titled "The Legend of the Chamurai." I first started it in 2011 and I've been writing parts of it every November since then. The story so far has spanned over 500 years and a host of characters. It has spanned from the world of the dead, to Okinawa and Taiwan, to the Caroline Islands and to the northern islands of the Marianas. At present, I am writing sections of a great challenge that involves a unique or mysterious task on each of the Marianas Islands. Three champions sailing up the island chain, fighting monsters or finding artifacts on each island. Very fun, getting to use different aspects of the islands to come up w

Respect the Chamoru People Rally April 7 For Immediate Release, March 29, 2017 —  A series of disrespectful acts against the Chamoru people seemed to eclipse what is normally one of the most festive times of the year — Mes Chamoru , a month dedicated to celebrating the Chamoru culture.   Almost daily this month, Guam’s news outlets have reported on military and other encroachment into sacred lands and natural habitats from northern to southern Guam; a court decision against the Chamoru right to self-determination; and Federal threats to the Chamor u Land Trust . For many Chamorus, these actions have sparked the need to remind the community that Guam is i Tano ’ i Man Chamoru, the homeland of the Chamoru people.  The language, culture and heritage of the Native people of Guam and the Marianas are what make our archipelago unique in the world.  There is no other place on earth for Chamorus to call their homeland. Above all, the Chamoru people, like all

Maolek na mensahi para pa'go na ha'ani.

I haven't posted much for the past week because I have been rushing to finish up my novel this month for ChaNoWriMo or Chamorro Novel Writing Month. The goal is to reach 50,000 words by the end of November. It is almost the end of November and with two days to go I am at 45,000 words. I should be able to make it this weekend but it has been a long slog.  For three years I have worked on the same story tentatively titled "The Legend of the Chamurai." In it a warrior makahna or wizard during the ancient times has a vision where she witnesses the end of the Chamorro people. In order to prevent that end from taking place all sorts of giant mythical creatures and samurai and Spanish soldiers get mixed in. The first 50,000 words of this story were very focused, establishing the world of ancient Chamorros, the types of powers and spells they might have, the lore and the cultural knowledge that guided them at that time. The next 50,000 words built on t

CALL FOR PAPERS :  3rd Marianas History Conference One Archipelago, Many Stories: Milestones in Marianas History Dates: September 4-6, 2015 Location: Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Venue TBA The Northern Marianas Humanities Council, University of Guam, Guam Preservation Trust, and Guampedia are pleased to announce a call for papers for the 3rd Marianas History Conference. It will be held on Saipan from September 4-6, 2015 with a welcoming reception on the evening of September 4th. The conference will cover a full range of topics associated with the Archipelago’s history with a particular focus on the conference’s subtheme “Milestones in Marianas History.” Papers may be submitted under the following general categories: Ancient History; Early Colonial (17th – 18th centuries); Late Colonial (19th – early 20th centuries); World War II; Recent (post-war); and Oral History and Genealogical Research. The organizers also encourage student presentati

I wrote this three years ago after participating in the Chamorro language competition that year. The experience was so touching, I did my best to express what I was feeling and seeing. The Inachaigen Fino' CHamoru or Chamorro Language Competition continues this year and once again I am helping organize it. The competition starts this afternoon at 2 pm in the CLASS Lecture Hall and continues tomorrow during Charter Day at the Field House. ************************* I often write that I love to collect “impossible things.” Some might call them miracles, moments that take your breath away, things that are so inspiring in the way they defy some expectation or some assumption. Impossibility is a very intriguing concept; it is a way of talking about something you can’t actually talk about. It is a way of attempting to put a face, a name on some fundamental glitch or gap in the human experience, something beyond our ability to comprehend or integrate safely into our conscious

Tomorrow, the Department of Defense will be holding a public hearing in the LG Multipurpose Room in the SBPA Building at UOG, from 5 - 8 pm. The hearing is about the MITT or Marianas Islands Training and Testing Area, which is the largest training area the United States military has in the world. If you would like to make your voice heard please come out and testify or at least collect some information.  *************************** Mariana Islands Training and Testing Area From Draft EIS/OEIS Executive Summary “The purpose of the Proposed Action is to conduct training and testing activities to ensure that the Navy meets its mission, which is to maintain, train, and equip combat-ready naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, and maintaining freedom of the seas. This mission is achieved in part by conducting training and testing within the Study Area.” The No Action Alternative is required by regulations of the CEQ as a baseline a

Last year local businessman Adrian Cruz proposed the creation of a Chamorro newspaper. It would feature articles and columns in the Chamorro language and focus on issues affecting Chamorros. I and a few others submitted articles to support this newspaper. I was happy to learn earlier this year that Adrian had gotten enough advertising and support to print the first issue.  I wrote a story on the reunification of the Marianas, providing some background on how Guam was taken by the United States, but the other islands in the Marianas in Micronesia were not. My column appeared on the editorial page beside columns by Mario Borja who is heading the Chamorro Sakman project in San Diego and the infamous Robert Underwood, who wrote on the fluidity of Chamorro culture and the need to not only honor our ancient ancestors. Just the intellectual layout of the three columns was pretty cool to look at. Another issue is coming out soon. I'm contributing a piece in Cham

2nd Marianas History Conference One Archipelago, Many Stories: Integrating Our Narratives August 30-31, 2013 University of Guam Campus Call for Papers The University of Guam , Guam Preservation Trust , Guampedia , and the Northern Marianas Humanities Council are pleased to announce a call for papers for the 2nd Marianas History Conference. It will be held on the UOG Campus in Mangilao, Guam, from August 30-31. The conference will cover a full range of topics associated with the Archipelago’s history, and papers may be submitted under the following general categories: Ancient History; Early Colonial (17th-18th centuries); Late Colonial (19th-early 20th centuries); World War II; Recent (post-war); and Oral History and Genealogical Research. The general categories correspond to the 1st Marianas History Conference . In addition to papers, organizers are also accepting posters that address the conference theme and/or topics. Posters will be exhibited through

Tomorrow I'll be at the Lunar Calendar Festival at the Fishermen's Co-op in Hagatna. I'll be there for two reasons. First, I'll be displaying my grandfather's tools. Second, my artwork was used for the calendar that they'll be giving out this year. I'm very excited to see it. Here is more information about the festival and the significance of the moon in Chamorro culture. ***************** Public Service Announcement The moon has always held much significance for the Chamorro people who have inhabited Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands for approximately 4,000 years.   The lunar movement synchronizes the life cycles of the flora and fauna of the islands and ocean.   The ancient Chamorro, being a seafaring people, relied on the moon phases to guide daily activities.   Modern Chamorro traditions and cultural values have evolved from these practices that encourage living in respect and harmony with the island environment.

Gaige yu' pa'go giya Saipan para i fine'nina na Konfrensian Estorian Marianas. I tema para este na gof gaibali na konfrensia, "Unu na kadena islas, meggai na estoria siha." Meggai na gof maolek na fina'nu'i gi este na konfrensai. Manmatto todu ginnen meggai na otro tano' yan nasion siha lokkue'. Guaha Chamoru Guahan yan CNMI guini, lao guaha taotao Alemania, Hapon, Australia, Espana yan i US. Meggai malago' yu' lumi'e' yan humungok gi este na konfrensia lao siempre ti nahong i tiempo. Manali'e' ham yan noskuantos na taotao ni' gof apmam desde i uttimo manali'e'. Magof yu' na sina mana'tungo' ta'lo hafa tatamanu gi i lina'la'-mami. Hu gof agradesi este na konfrensia, lao hassan na hu bisita iya Saipan. I ettimo na biahi gi 2008 para i Mina'tres na Konfrensian Chamoru. Gof impottante na dinana' ayu sa' ayu nai i fine'nina nai mama'nu'i yu' gi fino' Chamo

“The First of Many” Michael Lujan Bevacqua The Marianas Variety 10/5/11 It is natural in life to be enamored with the aura or the prestige of being “first.”To be the first of something, the first to do something ensures that amidst the seemingly endless throngs of humanity, you may always be guaranteed some significance. Your name may appear in almanacs or encyclopedias. You might become trivia for crossword clues. You and your legacy may be something that nerds use to outdo each other in terms of random knowledge accumulation. To be the first means that when you are remembered people will use active, yet often times cliché metaphors to describe you; you are a trailblazer, pathfinder, boundary buster, glass ceiling shatterer and a history maker. The excitement around the “first” of something can sometimes be peculiar, especially for those receiving the title. Even if it is your name that is written down, it is truly the world that should get the credit. Too often you being “the

Since I started teaching at UOG, I've noticed a lot more students who come from the CNMI, than I can recall from when I was an undergraduate ten years ago. Perhaps I just never noticed them before, or nothing ever came up in discussions in class which would help reveal their identities, but I'm often amazed at how many people I'll have from Saipan, Rota and Tinian in my Guam History, World History and English Composition classes. I guess it might be part of the decline of the CNMI's economy, that families up there can no longer afford to send their kids straight to the states for college, but have to go to the best, cheapest, nearby option which is Guam. This new mix can make things interesting, just as having people from the other Micronesian Islands can. It can help challenge the dominance that local, Guam students feel, being the biggest and most American island in Micronesia. It can either help show them that there is another side or two to how islands can exist a

Below is what I'll be doing for the next three days, the Fourth Chamorro Conference. Posting on this blog will naturally suffer, but at least it is for a good cause. ******************* Hafa adai todus, Please join us for I Mina' Kuattro na Konferensian Chamorro. *PLEASE PASS THE WORD...* There's a group of people who worked hard to organize and coordinate I Mina Kuattro Na Konferensian Chamorro. This project has no budget but a lot of committed and passionate people desiring to bring everyone together to develop a vision and action plans for the advancement of Chamorros. It is our hope that we can *come celebrate our collective progress and find common ground, as we work to address current and future challenges as a community and chart our course . * *Our Mission: * *To advance and promote the sustainable cultural, economic, and community development of Chamorros based in our indigenous cultural values; to educate our people; and to promote research