NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Since Maga'låhi Kepuha from Hagåtña is the most famous of all Chamorus from ancient times, I get asked about him more than any other figure from that time.  Here are the questions and some answers I gave to a Guam History student recently, who wanted to know more about his legacy as a leader.  ***********************  What made Chief Kepuha a great leader?   Given the time that he lived, you could argue that Kepuha was a great leader because he could better see into the future in terms of how the Spanish would become the new dominant power on Guam, and so being as close and as helpful to them as possible would ensure that his family would benefit the most despite some massive changes. Nearly all Chamorus wanted to trade with the Spanish, but this did not mean that they wanted them to stay in their houses. Or that they wanted them to stay on the island permanently. Kepuha’s claim to fame was that he, was more open to letting them stay personally, even taking responsib...

Independent Guåhan's August Meeting will honor the late Ricky Bordallo and tackle the question “Does Size Matter?” in terms of island development For Immediate Release, August 20, 2018  Independent Guåhan (IG) invites the public to attend our August General Assembly ( GA ) on Thursday, August 30th, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Main Pavilion of the Chamorro Village in Ha gå tña. The event will focus on how Guåhan can be successful and prosperous as an independent country, and that being a small island does not truly hold us back. At each   GA , Independent Guåhan honors a   ma ga ’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 le ga cy of the late governor of Guåhan, Ricardo “Ricky” Bordallo. Bordallo served in  I Liheslaturan Guåhan  seven times and was elected twice as Guåhan’s governor. He was a strong believer in Guåhan, that its people were ...

In the past few weeks, an image and a short activist meme featuring a black and white image of Guam Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo appeared on Facebook. Bordallo has upset alot of people on island over her pushing to authorize the Department of Defense to create a surface danger zone over Litekyan (Ritidian) a popular beach, historically significant area and wildlife refuge as part of their possibly building a firing range on the cliff above.  She introduced a bill to this effect, withdrew it and has now reintroduced it.  The memes attacking her were built around this premise, "What Would Ricky Do?" The reference is to the late Governor Ricardo Bordallo, Madeleine's husband. He served two non-consecutive terms in the 1970s and 1980s as the chief executive of Guam. He ended his political career on scandalous terms after being investigated by the Federal Government and convicted of several crimes, most importantly witness tampering. He was slat...

The relationship between Chamorros and the United States has always been stimulated and frustrated by the United States military. When Chamorros were initially promised the greatness of the United States in terms of democracy, freedom and liberty in 1899, they instead met with the US Navy which governed by island for half of a century not allowing any of those three things to exist in any formal sense on the island. When Chamorros began to join the US military as a way of improving their lives and learning the importance of service and patriotism and how the greatest of any community are those who take on the sacrifice of sacrificing for all others, instead they were met with racism that relegated them to only serving in the lowest ranks of the US Navy, being just mess attendants. Even when Chamorros finally felt and learned first hand the liberating potential of the US military when it expelled the Japanese during World War II, they also learned that the US military h...

UOG Launches Oral History Project to Collect Chamorro Stories Elders are being asked to share their stories for project and museum FOR RELEASE, September 17, 2013 – As part of its mission to perpetuate and promote the Chamorro language and culture, the University of Guam is embarking on an oral history project focused collecting traditional Chamorro knowledge. The project is entitled, Hinekka’ i Tiningo’ i Manåmko’ which translates to, “The collection of the knowledge of the elders.” It is being coordinated by the Chamorro Studies Program and is tied to the development of the Guam Museum. Historian Michael Lujan Bevacqua, Ph.D. and writer Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero, MFA are working on the writing for the Guam Museum, and are conducting this oral history project. Their goal is to ensure that the voices and knowledge of our elders, particularly in relation to the complexities and creativity of the Chamorro language, are not lost. Leon Guerrero will be leading efforts to interview eld...

One of the most frustrating things about being a liberal or a progressive person from Guam is that the only people in Washington D.C. who tend to know anything about Guam are "hawks." Although people on Guam may see their struggle for decolonization or demilitarization as being something liberals would see as part of their agenda, as part of their ideological struggle to make the US or the world a better place, this is rarely the case. Guam is primarily to the United States, and by this, I mean nearly all ideological pockets in the United States, defined through its strategic importance and the fact that it has two US military bases there. What this means, is that even though you may want to reach out to the progressive side of the US Government or ideological spectrum when advocating on behalf of Guam, the only ears that tend to hear any of these cries or even have some background in order to understand them are thsoe who are lords of war or lobbyists for militarism and the ...