NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

I have done so many interviews with older Chamorus that sometimes I lose track. Some interviews stay with me and I remember for the most part very clearly, others blend together. I have tapes. I have digital video. I have thousands of pages of notes in notebooks, in legal pads, in the margins of books and random scraps of paper. I have lost exact count of how many of these oral history interviews I have done, but it is well over 400 at this point.  In addition to these interviews that I've done personally, I also for many years had my students do simple interviews with elders. I have hundreds of these interviews as well, one of which I've included below from a student that I had for Elementary Chamoru 1, who interviewed her grandmother. Sometimes the Chamoru sayings or phrases that I share with my students or on social media come from these interviews.  I have so much in terms of raw material for these interviews, this cache of oral history, but I scarcely have time to do anyth

In his uneven, albeit interesting book "The Fire and the Tale (2017)," Italian political theorist Giorgio Agamben provides an anecdote from the history of Judaism that struck an chord for me in terms of debates over Chamoru authenticity in culture, the issue of contemporary Chamoru cultural dance, and our relationship to our past. Here is the anecdote, which is the source of the title for this book on aesthetics.  “When Baal Schem, the founder of Hasidism, had a difficult task before him, he would go to a certain place in the woods, light a fire and meditate in prayer; and what he had set out to perform was done. When a generation later, the Maggid of Meseritz was faced with the same task, he would go to the same place in the woods, and say: “We can no longer light a fire, but we can pray.” And everything happened according to his will. When another generation had passed, Rabbi Moshe Leib of Sassov was faced with the same task, and he would to the same place in t

Some images I took from the Ayuda i Mañainå-ta Dos event last month. There is a full album available on Independent Guåhan's Facebook page. I was glad to be able to help so many elderly people with their war claims forms, but I could not help but feel upset over my own grandparents not being eligible as they passed away in 2013 and 2015. ***************************

I'm excited to be helping organizing another "Ayuda i Mañainå-ta" event focused on assisting Chamoru war survivors complete their war claims forms. This semester seems like a never-ending parade of interesting and exciting events and this one will be one of the last ones for the next few weeks. I'm excited at all I was able to accomplish this semester, but eager for some rest this summer. ********************** Independent Guåhan organizes “Ayuda i Mañainå-ta Dos,” to assist elders with completing their war claims application ahead of June deadline. For Immediate Release, April 30, 2018 – Last December, Independent Guåhan organized the event, “Ayuda i Mañainå- ta,” which assisted 165 elders in the completion of their war claims applications. In response to public demand, Independent Guåhan is partnering with the Guam War Survivors Memorial Foundation and others to organize “Ayuda i Mañainå-ta Dos,” which will take

I followed the recent special election for Senate in Alabama, far closer than anyone on the other side of the ocean probably should. Given the past tumultuous year under Trump and looking ahead to 2018 and what might possibly be different, especially with mid-term elections on the horizon, this election, as so many have written about, representing an important event in terms of scrying what lies ahead. Things look very good for Democrats in the Congress, as Trump ends his first year with historically low approval ratings. Amidst all the coverage of the Alabama, this one article struck out at me, and not for any Alabama related reason really. It is about a 99 year-old Alabama woman, who lived a very interesting life, especially in terms of her at one point being the First Lady of Costa Rica and being referred to as "The First Lady of the Revolution." This sorts of article are common media frames. You take an older person, with unique experiences or with some symbolic rel

Independent Guåhan organizes “Ayuda i Mañainå-ta,” an event to celebrate our elders and assist them in their war claims applications For Immediate Release, November 30, 2017 – Each December 8 th , Guam commemorates the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Guam that dragged the island into World War II. Earlier this year, after more than seven decades, the US Congress has passed a law providing reparations for Chamorro survivors of the Japanese occupation. While this law is problematic in many ways, it still represents a chance for our manåmko’ to receive some compensation for what they suffered and help give closure to this violent period of Guam’s history. This December 8 th , Independent Guåhan is organizing “Ayuda i Mañainå-ta” an event designed to assist our elders in the completion of their compensation application and a celebration of their lives and struggle. Trained volunteers will be onsite to help them properly document their story, complete

--> Another Liberation Day has come and gone, and with each passing year, more and more questions emerge about the meaning of this important event and our relationship to it. More people seem willing to question whether or not the US return to Guam in 1944 was a liberation, but for each person who earnestly asks that question, there is usually another who raises their voice in indignant defense of the liberation, demanding that it not be questioned. For them it is a sacred event for our elders and should require our patriotism and gratitude and nothing more. One of the misconceptions that people have in life, is the notion that something sacred should not be questioned or analyzed. I would propose instead that something sacred holds such depth and power, that its meaning can sustain questioning or scrutiny. If people shout down those who have earnest questions about Liberation Day in the name of it being sacred, more likely they are scared of how the concept will fal

The final book in the "Real Faces" trilogy, which focuses on documenting the stories of Chamorro World War II survivors is finally here. I am happy to see it come to completion, I've been assisting with this project for several years now and it has been a very heartwarming experience. For so much of the past few decades the recounting and retelling of Guam's World War II story has been focused on the United States, their role in expelling the Japanese and ending the occupation. As a result, even when Chamorros were doing the commemorating, they were often times excluding or minimizing their own stories, their own beliefs, perceptions, and lessons, for the sake of aligning their tales and memories with a more patriotic and American-supremacist narrative. I am thankful to see that shift in recent decades, and thankful if my work, research and writing has played some role in making that happen. ********************* "Legacies Beyond Faces" by Michael Luj