NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Maila ya nihi ta fandana' gi este na dinana' inakomprende yan inapatte! Gof likidu este na gurupu! Manperfekto Chapones este siha, lao ma silelebra ya ma na'fafamta i fino' Chamoru!!

On September 9th, the Chamorro Studies program will be hosting a meeting with representatives from the Hualien Tribal College in Eastern Taiwan. While I was in Taiwan in July I got to visit Hualien and spend some time in the Taroko Valley there. One thing I noticed about Hualien as opposed to Taipei was that there was a visible presence to the aboriginal Taiwanese there. Native figures were used in advertisements, there were signs at certain places indicating that this area was a native preserve and it was not open to the public. Aborigines in brightly colored clothes were even available for picture taking for a small fee. I don't know much about the Hualien Tribal College, but my communications with them have gone well and others have told me that they are doing good work in Taiwan. I am excited for the presentation tomorrow. If anyone reading this is available it will take place at UOG, in the HSS Building, Room 304 at 2 pm. My excitement doesn't only extend to the pres

Shoichi Yokoi, a straggler who hid in Guam's jungles for 27 years after World War II is a household name on Guam. His story is interesting and inspiring and made him a celebrity for many years in Japan and keeps him a celebrity up until today on Guam. While many focus on the unique and strange aspects of his tale of survival, it is actually his life after his straggling years that makes him important to Guam's history. In terms of straggling Yokoi was not unique, there were many stragglers before him in Guam, and although he was the last straggler to be discovered on Guam, others still continued to pop up for years after he was captured. As the article below notes he was resolute in his desire to not be captured, but his loyalty was not even as fierce as some of the others. What makes him important to Guam is the role that he played in helping create the Japanese tourism industry that sustains the island today. His role wasn't intentional and wasn't di

One issue that every young Chamorro activist has to deal with, is the same issue that so many on Guam struggle with; their relationship to the United States. Guam's relationship to the US in general is ambiguous, it may be considered very American one moment, but then barely American the next. People from their may be the epitome of Americanness one moment, and then foreigners the next. This is not really an issue of active racism, but just a result of the basic relationship between a territory and its colonizer. Such is the nature of all fundamentally unequal power relationships. When one is supposed to be over another, there is a wide gray area where both benevolence and tyranny and be found. If we recall the era of slavery in the US for example, you could treat your slaves like garbage or you could treat them like members of your family. Either way was allowed. There was no rule that said you have to be especially cruel or that you have to torture or maim them, but there was a

These pictures were taken at the “Guam: Where America’s President Refuels” Protest held outside the frontgate of Anderson Air Force Base, November 19-20, 2011. President Obama stopped in Guam for less than 2 hours in order to refuel as part of his most recent trip to Asia. Since the President did not leave the base to meet with the people, 50 community members came to hold a demonstration, even waving signs and lights at his plane as it flew overhead.

“Presidential Visit Calculus” by Michael Lujan Bevacqua 11/30/2011 The Marianas Variety The recent visit, but not really a visit by President Barack Obama to the World’s Largest Gas State Where America’s Day Begins caused a bit of a stir. There was a demonstration of more than 50 people at the front gates of Anderson while his plane was refueling. There have been debates about whether this counts as a visit or not. Furthermore, is Guam right to expect the “most powerful” man in the world to give it the time of day? Or is it just being selfish and trying to steal away the time of the busiest man in the world? At a time like this, it is probably important to reflect on the calculus of Presidential visits. Presidential stops are meant to enhance a Commander and Chief’s reputation. They are meant to give him a little boost, some extra political capital each time he leaves Washington and gets out to eat apple pie with Joe and Jane Six Pack. The calculus could be reduced to a handful o

This was written Saturday, November 19, 2011, before the "We Are Here" protest of President Obama during his short visit to Guam. *********************** Pau fatto magi Si Obama lamo'na hun. Supposedly President Obama is stopping in Guam tonight. People estimate he will be here at around 10 or 11 pm tonight, and only stay for at most two hours. He was scheduled to stop in Guam last year, but his pit stop was cancelled at the last second because of the Health Care Reform debate. We Are Guahan led a petition drive requesting that when he come to Guam he hold a townhall meeting to hear concerns about the buildup. They collected over 10,000 signatures in less than a month. Although the urgent momentum from the buildup process is for the most part evaporated, and now people see it more as stalled than going anywhere, the self-determination process appears to be picking up new speed. Gof likidu este na momento, ya magof hu na gaige yu' guini gi hilo' tano' p

Political status has been such a huge issue lately, even to the point of bringing the infamous Dave Davis out of his temporary hiatus from writing columns for the Marianas Variety back to the forefront of racist denigrating rhetoric on Guam. There are bills flying around the Legislature, the Governor is not only having meetings but also make soft promises about a vote taking place in 2012. As a staffer from the Legislature noted last week, the next few years may be the most significant chance that our generation gets at resolving an issue which has been stewing for centuries, that of Guam's colonial status. I'm someone who is very willing to take on that challenge, but we'll see how serious Guam's leaders are. Political status is something great for rhetoric and for giving the illusion of having a political ideology, but action on it has been historically minute. The recent snub by 15 US Senators who visited Guam on their way to Asia has even gotten embroiled in this

I had the honor of spending some time with Dr. Carlyle Corbin while he was on island last week. He has a vast amount of knowledge about territories and colonies today and what are the different obstacles they are facing and strategies they are using to push for the the next phase of their political evolution. I learned quite a bit from him, and had the chance to also help him in updating his blog. Here's a report that I came across detailing his recent trip. ***************************** Analysis by Maria Rodriguez, International Correspondent Washington, D.C., Nov 16 (OTNS) International Advisor on Democratic Governance Dr. Carlyle Corbin advised the Chamoru people of Guam (Guahan) that the political evolution of the remaining sixteen non self-governing territories, including the US-administered territory of Guam, should continue to be examined within the context of international law and principles, and is no different than the case of any other territory formally listed by the Un