NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

 I am excited this week to sit in a Zoom room with other members of Independent Guåhan to reflect on our role in making possible the Fanohge March for Chamoru Self-Determination on September 2, 2019.  If you aren't familiar with it, this was a historic day. More than 2,000 people marched in support of the rights of the Chamoru people to self-determination and also marched in support of Guam becoming something other than an unincorporated territory. The event was organized by a collective of volunteers, including all three political status task forces and a number of community groups. If you want to learn more about that day, learn some inspiring stories, but also hear some reflections on what has happened in the time since, tune in this coming Wednesday (9/15) at 12 noon Guam time, live on Facebook. 

For my Pacific Daily News columns over the past month, I was focusing on providing some reflections for the recent passage of Juneteenth as a national holiday in the United States. This was partially in response to some young activists and educators on Guam, hosting a special Fanachu! episode discussing the issue from a Guam perspective. There was so much more that I could have addressed in more columns and I may return to the issue of African American history in Guam or Chamorus navigating US racial hierarchies at a later date in my column. But until then, here are the columns: ************************ Juneteenth celebration connects history of CHamorus, African Americans Pacific Daily News By Michael Lujan Bevacqua  Jun 25, 2021   Last week the United States recognized Juneteenth as a federal holiday. This is an important day whereby the U.S. can reflect not only the history of slavery, but the legacy of that inhuman institution and how it continues to impact African Americans today.

  Fanachu! was first started by Manny Cruz in 2016 as part of the media committee of Independent Guåhan. When he left island for graduate school, it was taken over by Lawrence "Signezama" Lizama. Since the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, I've been taking over hosting duties. I've always been a part of Fanachu! but since last year, I've taken over much of it, with help in producing or organizing and hosting episodes from others every once in a while.  Several things helped me get through the pandemic and all its sort of low fi craziness. One thing was Fanachu! Having something to focus on each week, to bring people into conversation, to learn more about things I'm interested in. It was a nice way to focus my life and feel like I was still having an impact, albeit small one, at a time when things were being delayed or cancelled.  Earlier this month Fanachu! reached 100 patrons! An exciting milestone, I never thought it would reach.  As part of finally get

T his week's Fanachu! episode will feature Leland Bettis, former Executive Director for the  Guam Commission on Decolonization and Commission on Self-Determination. He was involved in negotiations around the movement for Commonwealth in Guam and also part of educational campaigns around political status in the 1980s and 1990s. The episode will go live on Facebook at 11 am this Wednesday (2/10), Chamorro Standard Time. I'm very excited to talk more with Leland Bettis, who has such a wealth of knowledge the recent historical movements for political status change in Guam and also just negotiating with the federal government around these issues.  Below is an article from the Christian Science Monitor from 1998 when he was still in GovGuam service, talking about the status issue and the need for decolonization on the even of then President Bill Clinton's visit to Guam.  ********************************* Identity struggle of an American Pacific island President Clinton visits Gua

Tune in to Fanachu! on Facebook, Friday, January 4th, 2019 from 9am-12pm for a special live stream event, "State of the Movement."

As part of Independent Guåhan's outreach to the island community around issues of decolonization, we are proud to present our new monthly newsletter titled The Kulo'. This newsletter is put together by the Media Committee of Independent Guåhan, which is chaired by myself and Manuel Cruz. Feel free to save the images and also once Independent Guåhan's official website is ready, we'll be able to archive them there for public download. ***********************

In December of last year, I met with a friend for breakfast at Shirley's in Hagåtña. The central topic of our meeting with current pushes for Guam's decolonization. This breakfast was happening at the start of a two-week period of activity around educating the island around the issue. The Commission on Decolonization and the Office of the Governor was about to start a series of three village meetings to help educate the island community about political status change. After not meeting since July, the Commission itself was set to meet earlier that week. Through my own political status task force, the Independence for Guåhan Task Force, we started a podcast series named Fanachu! and also held one of our monthly General Assembly meetings. Despite the flurry of recent activity around the issue, my friend wasn’t convinced that anything had really changed. That all of these activities whether they be teach-ins, coffee shop conversations, debates or for

While most people were spending December with their family or shopping, I spent much of it conducting outreach on Guam's decolonization. The Commission on Decolonization held three public village meetings over the course of one week. Independent Guåhan held its monthly General Assembly, and we also launched our weekly podcast series. Here are some articles below detailing some of our activities. **************************** Decolonization Meetings Kick Off in Dededo by Tihu Lujan Guam Daily Post December 15, 2016 The Commission on Decolonization held the first of a series of village meetings arranged to discuss Guam’s political status yesterday at the Dededo Community Center. Revolving around the island’s long-delayed plebiscite that has been in discussions since 1998, the commission has finally launched the village meetings as an educational campaign on the three proposed political options - independence, free association and statehood. The plebiscite, which w