NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

In 2012 I had the honor of traveling to Washington D.C. as part of the Guam delegation for the First Stewards Symposium, a gathering of native peoples associated with the US to discuss climate change. We performed at the National Museum of the American Indian and set up a display there of Chamorro cultural tools and artifacts. One of the highlights of the trip is that I got to spend time with Tony Ramirez, long time curator for the Guam Museum. I had known him primarily as the curator but through talking to him I learned so much more, even about his past as one of Guam's progressive activists and even participated in the Sella Bay protests of the 1970s. Guam has lacked a real museum for too long and it was always Tony's mission to see a new museum built and in use. He passed away earlier this year and it is truly tragic that he didn't get to see the museum he helped sustain for so long finished in Hagatna. While he was waiting for a new museum to be designed and built,

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

FROM WE ARE GUAHAN DOD SELECTS ONLY CRITICAL RECOVERY HABITAT ON GUAM FOR SITE OF FIRING RANGE COMPLEX DOD has released a draft Supplemental EIS or SEIS proposing a site for a firing range complex that impacts over 250 acres of critical recovery habitat at Ritidian.  A bill has also been introduced in Congress allowing DOD to place a “surface danger zone” over the Ritidian Wildlife Refuge.   WHAT IS THE SEIS? The Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement or “SEIS” is a DOD study that announces DOD’s preferred choice for the location of two things: DOD's proposed firing range complex; and DOD's proposed Marine base and housing.   The SEIS also identifies environmental, social, cultural and economic consequences associated with DOD’s preferred choices. WHY IS IT BEING PREPARED? The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Guam Preservation Trust and We Are Guahan filed a lawsuit against DOD in November 2010 based on DOD’s failure to