IG June 2018 June GA


Independent Guåhan will honor the legacy of Richard Flores Taitano and discuss reforming local government in June GA

Independent Guåhan (IG) invites the public to attend their June General Assembly (GA) on Thursday, June 28, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Main Pavilion of the Chamorro Village in Hagåtña. The educational focus for the evening will be on how Guåhan’s government can be radically reformed in an effort to provide more checks and balances and participation for the island’s residents.

Media coverage and social media chatter provide regular reminders of Government of Guam corruption and malfeasance. Many feel that the levels of corruption are so high that they provide an obstacle to ever achieving independence. In this month’s GA, Independent Guåhan will discuss ways that the government of a decolonized Guåhan could be reformed to reduce corruption and also provide more means by which people can participate in the functioning of their democracy. Models from other Pacific Island nations and indigenous groups in the Americas will be discussed as providing possibilities that would enable the government in an independent Guåhan to be more closely aligned with Chamoru cultural values.

At each GA, Independent Guåhan honors a maga’taotao: a notable figure that has helped guide the island and the Chamoru people on their quest for self-determination. This month, IG will be honoring the legacy of the late Richard Flores Taitano who left a lasting mark on island politics. Taitano was a member of the postwar generation of leaders who helped guide Guåhan to what it is today. He was well known from a young age for his intelligence and articulation and this served him well as a six-time senator, a pioneer in Democratic Party strategy and politics and the first Chamoru to ever work as the director of the Office of Territories of the Department of the Interior. As a senator he introduced a bill that created the Micronesian Area Research Center (MARC), and after his death, it was renamed in his honor. Dick Taitano dedicated his life to the promotion and preservation of Chamoru heritage, and Independent Guåhan is proud to honor his legacy.

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