NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Share Your Vision of Guåhan’s Future at Independent Guåhan’s “Na’lå’la’: Songs of Freedom Vol. 3” Concert on July 4 th .  For Immediate Release, June 21, 2019 –  Each July 4 th  the island commemorates the Independence Day of the United States, despite the fact that Guåhan remains its colony. For the past two years Independent Guåhan (IG) has organized an annual concert on the Fourth of July to reflect on the colonial history of Guåhan and the need for a decolonized future. IG is proud to announce its third concert, “Na’lå’la’: Songs of Freedom Vol. 3” set to take place Thursday, July 4 th  from 4-7 pm in the front field at Adelup. This event is free and open to the public.  Independent Guåhan is an organization that is committed to educating the island community about the importance of Guåhan’s decolonization and the possibilities should it become an independent country. The organization has spent the past three years organizing General Assemblies, v...

Every September 11th since September 11, 2001 has a surreal quality to it. As if in a world where history repeats and meaning is always muddled, somehow the events of that day achieved a special, extra level of meaning for those that were alive and of age to experience it. At least this is what they say, and how true this seems depends a lot on your relationship to the US and what type of imaginary tissue connects you to it.  9/11 always means another set of memorial or retrospectives. These commemorative acts help us lock in a particular narrative for conceiving what happened that day, what it means, and whether or not we allow any understanding of events that helped led to that attack. At these memorials people recall where they were when they learned of the attacks and reminders of how scared they were, but how America rose again from those ashes.  Mixed into this naturally is a lot of what you might call blind patriotism or shallow patriotism. September 11 th , as ...

Independent Guåhan will present on the risks of drafting a constitution as a territory and honor the late Lt. Governor Frank F. Blas for June GA For Immediate Release, June 18, 2019-  Independent Guåhan (IG) invites the public to attend their upcoming General Assembly (GA) to take place on Thursday, June 27 th ,  from 6:00-7:30 pm at the Main Pavilion of the Chamorro Village in Hagåtña. This GA will focus on the risks involved should Guam decide to pass a constitution as a territory of the US. As part of this educational focus, the group will honor as maga’taotao the late Lt. Governor of Guam Frank F. Blas.  Following the passage of a federal law that enabled Guam to draft a local constitution, the second Guam Constitutional Convention (ConCon) was held in 1977. A constitution was drafted and approved by the US federal government; however, it was rejected at a 4-1 margin by the voters of Guam. There are many reasons why the draft constitution was rejected, b...

Last year a graphic story that I wrote titled "I Sindålu" was published in the creative anthology Pacific Monsters edited by Margret Helgadottir. It was a fun story, that I thankfully got to write in the Chamoru language, with English translations. It tells the story of a Chamoru soldier who is dealing with the trauma of what he experienced while being deployed in a foreign land. He comes home to Guam and live in a ranch at the edge of the jungle, and begins to feel menaced by the spirits of his ancestors, the taotaomo'na. I really liked writing this story and was happy to see it in print, but I am terrible at promoting things, especially if I'm the one who created it ( ai lokkue'). Here is an interview that I did with the website The Future Fire.   ************************* Sunday, 6 May 2018 Interview with Michael Lujan Bevacqua The Future Fire http://press.futurefire.net/2018/05/interview-with-michael-lujan-bevacqua.html May 2018 I n th...

I put this together for a Chamoru language curriculum project I was working on a few years ago. It was meant to be an appendix to go along with other cultural components about learning Chamoru. The list started with the work of Malia Ramirez and then I added on a few more here and there. It is by no means meant to be exhaustive or complete. Chamoru family names are still evolving, although perhaps not at the rate they have previously. For every Chamoru, there are a number of names they can claim, but unless they are running for office, tend to only invoke one or two when representing their identity.  I returned to this list recently while discussing the topic in one of my Chamoru language classes. For many Chamorus in the states or who grow up on Guam without much emphasis on their heritage, they assume that their "family name" is their last name. I have had many troubling conversations with young people who assert that their clan name is "Leon Guerrero" or...