Posts

Why Can't I Be...Indigenous Without You

Image
  I've pasted below a column written by Chamoru writer and filmmaker Dan Ho, that he penned by the Guam Daily post in 2021 to both commemorative and criticize Indigenous Peoples Day in 2021. The title alone gives this away,  "It's un-Indigenous to celebrated Indigenous Peoples Day," and it is one reason why even though Dan Ho doesn't contribute much to these types of conversations anymore, at least not in local newspapers or media, this article still circulates this time of year because of the catchy, polemical title.  Given how some things have shifted, discursively, narratively, culturally, rhetorically in different societies across the world, to provide more possibility for indigenous peoples, and that the fact that more and more people each year are now ditching Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples is emblematic of this. This shift, like so many, doesn't mean that indigenous people are sovereign, it doesn't mean that land has been given back, it

Manteni i Tano ya Ta Susteni i Taotao

Image
More than a decade ago, a statue was unveiled in HagÃ¥tña for the late Angel L.G. Santos in the park which bears his name in memoriam.  It has been more than two decades since the passing of this iconic Chamoru figure. It has always intrigued me the way Santos morphed in meaning locally – from a patriotic, military-serving young Chamoru, to a loincloth-wearing taimamahlao chattaotao activist, to politician and defender of human rights, to visage on stickers, T-shirts and symbol of Chamoru strength and pride. Angel Santos and Nasion Chamoru worked hard, in particular in the 1990s, to push to the forefront of the island’s consciousness issues such as Chamoru rights, especially around political status and land.  One of their biggest successes is not the sinahi-necklace-wearing that has become so commonplace, but rather their protest efforts in getting the Chamorro Land Trust implemented and formalized.  Debates over the changing of the rules last year for the Chamorro Land Trus

An Tåya' Elektrisidåt

Image
Last month, my family launched our latest bilingual Chamoru-English children’s book titled “An TÃ¥ya’ ElektrisidÃ¥t” or “When There’s No Electricity.” In the book, three Chamoru children, based on three of my own kids, struggle with boredom after a typhoon has devastated Guam, leaving them without electricity and without data for their cellphones. With some helpful guidance from their nÃ¥nan biha (grandmother) they are reminded that there are still plenty of ways to have fun on Guam, even without their iPads or video games. Across the book, the children learn that through their island’s natural beauty, cultural and community, there are still plenty of ways to enjoy life. They participate in a village-wide chongka competition, they go hunting for duendes, they enjoy the beauty of a Guam sunset. They hear stories of ghosts and spirits and taotaomo’na. My personal favorite is when they say the rosary for their devices that are dead and no longer have any charge. While many people have

This Month in Guam History: August

Image
Before we say “Adios” to August, let us look back at this month and how important it has been in the past for Guam, Chamoru and Marianas history. When I first started working as curator at the Guam Museum in 2021, I was given some of the late Tony Palomo’s notes on Guam history. In addition to being a Guam war survivor, an author, a journalist, an elected leader and a historian, Siñot Palomo had worked as the administrator for the Guam Museum towards the end of his life. Part of his duties at the museum was to publish a regular series in the Pacific Daily News highlighting “This Month in Guam History.” It is my honor as the curator of the Guam Museum to continue this tradition. Let’s look at some of the events that happened in Guam and the Marianas in the past during the month of August. ************** 343 years ago: In August 1681, Don Antonio de Saravia was appointed governor of the Marianas, and during the following month, he appointed Chamorus to the positions of assi

Adios Chris

Image
Chris Perez Howard was born in 1940 to Mariquita Aguon Perez and Edward Neal Howard. When the Japanese invaded Guam the following year, his father, a US Navy sailor, was taken away as a prisoner of war, leaving his mother and family to care for Chris and his younger sister Helen. By the war's end, Mariquita would, like hundreds of other Chamorus during the occupation, become a victim of Japanese brutality. As a result, Chris would have few memories of her and soon after his father’s return to Guam at the end of the war, would be taken away from Guam and not return for almost two decades.  In the 1970s, Chris found his way back to his island home and begin to conduct research into the life and death of his mother. He pored through military archives and also interviewed family and friends, all of which helped him put together a literary portrait of her as an intelligent and resilient Chamoru woman.  In 1982 he published a biography for her titled, “Mariquita: A Tragedy of Gua

I Lihenden i Sihek

Image
Todu i taotao-ta pÃ¥'go ma tungo' i pusision-ña i sihek, ya ma tungo' na esta sen hassan i paluma. Guaha mÃ¥s ki un siento ha' na sihek tetehan gi mundo lao manlÃ¥'la'la' yan mañåsaga todu gi halom gigao siha gi fanggÃ¥'ga'an pat otro taiguihi na lugÃ¥t siha.  Put este na rÃ¥son, esta ti tahdong i tiningo'-ta put i sihek, sa' para i meggaiña na Chamorun pÃ¥'go tÃ¥ya' nai ta ripÃ¥ra siha manlibre gi halomtÃ¥no'. Lao estague un lihende put i sihek, i taotao ma sÃ¥ngan gi Ã¥ntes na tiempo put i sihek, ni' umeksplikÃ¥kayi hit put i kustumbre-ña yan i bonito na pusision-ña i paluma.  Estague i lihende: Gi Ã¥ntes guÃ¥ntes na tiempo, estÃ¥ba un taklalo' na biha ni' sumÃ¥saga na maisa gi halomtÃ¥no'. Mampos banidosa yan presonida este na biha. Gof ya-ña mamÃ¥han guaguan na magÃ¥gu, esta bubula todu i aparadot siha gi halom i dangkolo' na kastiyu-ña. Sesso di manusa kulot Ã¥sut na bestidu, Ã¥pa’ka’ na tapes yan kulot kÃ¥het na pañelu.

Un Ha'åni gi Fanggå'ga'an

Image
  HumÃ¥nao si Lulai (si Chuguangguang) para i Fangga’ga’an San Diego para i primet na biahi gi nigapña. Gof ya-ña!     Manli’e’ familian hiarafa (giraffe) minetras manmamomokkat yan mamboboka. Gof annakko' i aga'ga'-ñiha!   Manli’e’ gago’ na hippo, umÃ¥sso gi inai. Ilek-ña si Lulai, “ayu na yommok na crocodile!” Hu admimite na ti meggai tiningo’-ña i neni put i dos.   Manli’e’ katdumen meerkats taiguihi ginen i mubi i Rai Leon (Lion King). Gigon ha hungok na gaige si Timon i atungo’ Simba, inalululala lumi’e’. Gof dÃ¥ngkolo’ i chinalek-ña anai hu kantÃ¥yi gui’ “DÃ¥ngkolo’ i daggÃ¥n-ña” gi i tunadan “Hakuna Matata.”     Manli’e’ yan este i mas ya-ña un elefÃ¥nte, i na’Ã¥n-ña si Shaba.    Gof dÃ¥ngkolo’ yan makalelu i elefÃ¥nte! Ilek-ña si Lulai, “Anakko i gui’eng-ña!” Hu sangÃ¥ni gui’, hunggan, adahi sa’ kada umachem kalang un kañon. Pangpang! Anai ha hungok este, ha tÃ¥mpe i talanga'-ña, gof kinute!   Gi todu, un gefpÃ¥go yan didide’ manengheng na talo’Ã¥ni gi fangga’ga’an.