September GA 2018 - Carlos Taitano

Citizenship Questions and Honoring the Late Speaker Carlos Taitano are the focus for Independent Guåhan’s September General Assembly

For Immediate Release, September 17, 2018 
Independent Guåhan (IG) invites the public to attend our September General Assembly (GA) on Thursday, September 27th, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Main Pavilion of the Chamorro Village in Hagåtña. These assemblies are part of IG’s efforts to educate the community on the need for Guåhan’s decolonization and the potentials for our independence. This month’s GA will focus on what form citizenship might take in an independent Guåhan. 

At eachGA, 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. For September, IG will be honoring the late Carlos Pangelinan Taitano, who was a World War II veteran, Speaker forI Liheslaturan Guåhanand an instrumental figure in helping get the Organic Act passed for Guåhan.  

Taitano was born into a time when Chamorus had no political rights and onto an island where the US Navy ruled without the consent or input of the people. Along with other leaders from his generation, he was determined to get political rights and protections for Chamorus and lobbied for the passage of an Organic Act which created the Government of Guam and also limited US citizenship. Despite these political gains, Taitano always argued that The Organic Act alone was not enough and that real self-determination and sovereignty for the Chamoru people should be the goal. Independent Guåhan is proud to honor the legacy of the late Speaker Taitano in our September GA. 

In discussions of decolonization in Guåhan, citizenship is always a central point of concern. Is the US citizenship that people have on Guåhan now real or are their limitations or conditions on it? Would people lose US citizenship if Guåhan became independent? What are other possibilities or types of citizenship that Guåhan would offer its citizens if it became independent? Those hoping to learn more about these questions and more importantly their answers, are encouraged to attend this month’s GA and join the discussion. 

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