NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

More than a decade ago, a statue was unveiled in Hagåtña 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 Chamo...

When the protest group Nasion Chamoru first emerged decades ago, it created a conflict in the minds of people on Guam. On the one hand you had a group of people who were an emphatically embodying “Chamoru” things.  They were speaking Chamoru, fighting for Chamoru lands and their return, protecting Chamoru rights, and even sometimes sported ancient Chamoru jewelry. But at the same time, for many people, the group seemed to be against everything Chamorus supposedly represented.   Chamorus are supposed to be respectful, gairespetu yan gaimamhlao, do not speak out and politely submit to any form of authority. In the way Nasion Chamoru did not shy away from open defiance and critique of the local and federal governments, they seemed so taimamahlao or tairespetu (without shame or respect). Every culture has their conservative and progressive elements, and an ideological fight always takes place over what is considered to be acceptable and unacceptable. For some, open...

I have been traveling for the past few weeks and struggling while conducting research and giving a variety of presentations, to also finish up a couple of articles. One of them is based on the research I did for the Guam Humanities Council a few years ago for their exhibit Sindålu: Chamorro Journey Stories in the US Military. It was an exciting and interesting project on a variety of levels. I got to share some interesting stories that I've come across in my archival and oral history research, some of which haven't really ever been publicized before. I also got to tackle some issues in terms of understanding or unpacking contemporary Chamoru identity. The veteran subjectivity is so pervasive and somewhat hegemonic in Chamoru culture today, that it ends up taking a great deal of space, even for those who aren't veterans themselves. How many people when talking about issues of decolonization and demilitarization feel a inner need to curb their potential voice, their potenti...

On April 7, 2017, more than 800 people gathered in the field in front of the Ricardo J. Bordallo Government Complex in Adelup, Guåhan for the “Respect the Chamoru People Rally.” The event, organized by a grassroots collective of volunteers, aimed at celebrating the culture of the island’s indigenous people, the Chamorros, and at helping remind the Guam community about the need to maintain a respectful relationship to them in their island homeland. The event was non-partisan, backing no political candidates or agendas. Over the course of the event’s 2 ½ hours, 15 speakers shared stories of the struggles of Chamorros in the past and the need to protect their island and heritage for future generations. Cultural groups offered blessings. Poets and musicians delivered inspiration through powerful words and melodies. Community organizations manned tables providing information on the military buildup, decolonization, and cultural preservation. The Håya Foundation, which seeks to preserve...

For places like Guam that lack a formal place within the international system and to an extent the national system of the US, solidarity is of critical importance. Without a formal place, you are invisible or you direct power over the structure around you. There was ways that you can fight for power, that you can seize it, but solidarity is an important part of changing your invisibility or your lack of visibility and therefore lack of relevance of standing, into something different, something more strategic. As the movement for decolonization and independence grows in Guam, it is important that we find ways to connect it to other potentially similar movements, which can offer lessons or inspirations on the way forward. This was the case in the past, where members of Nasion Chamoru achieved a greater sense of their place in the world through interacting with people who were members of Black and Brown Power movements in the US, and also from postwar elite Chamorros who felt affinity w...

Respect the Chamoru People Rally April 7 For Immediate Release, March 29, 2017 —  A series of disrespectful acts against the Chamoru people seemed to eclipse what is normally one of the most festive times of the year — Mes Chamoru , a month dedicated to celebrating the Chamoru culture.   Almost daily this month, Guam’s news outlets have reported on military and other encroachment into sacred lands and natural habitats from northern to southern Guam; a court decision against the Chamoru right to self-determination; and Federal threats to the Chamor u Land Trust . For many Chamorus, these actions have sparked the need to remind the community that Guam is i Tano ’ i Man Chamoru, the homeland of the Chamoru people.  The language, culture and heritage of the Native people of Guam and the Marianas are what make our archipelago unique in the world.  There is no other place on earth for Chamorus to call their homeland. Above all, the Chamo...

War reparations is something that hardly receives much attention anymore. It used to be the issue that could make or break a candidate for delegate in Guam. It was something that people pushed for, and always seemed likely to get in some form, but never materialized. War reparations in the Chamorro context, is about compensation for the atrocities, suffering and destruction that Chamorros experienced during World War II at the hands of occupying Japanese forces. Chamorros did receive some compensation for what had happened in the immediate postwar era, but a commission later determined that they were not given enough information or access to those channels of redress and that further compensation should be awarded. This issue is waning in political importance due to the fact that the war generation is dying out. The number of people who would be eligible for compensation decreases with each year. The impetus is slowly being quashed as time ravages our elders and making the issue ap...

One of the things that I take pride in, is that this blog has been around for a while and that I've been able to maintain it continuously for 12 years now. Most of the Chamorro related or Guam related websites that existed when I first started this blog are no longer around. They have been taken down, lost, morphed into something else. Many of the people are still around, but they have moved on to other social media platforms. At one point the Free Association for Guam Task Force had a website. Nasion Chamoru had a website on an AOL platform, although it is now on Blogger (like this blog). The Statehood for Guam Task Force still has a website. A number of social websites or personal blogs have disappeared, and every once in a while I wonder what has become of those people. Below is a short article written by former Senator Mark Charfauros, who was an active member of Nasion Chamoru in the 1990s. This was published 16 years ago on the website "Dialogue Between Nations"...

At the funeral for Maga'låhi Ed Benavente today, I got a chance to talk to former Governor of Guam Felix Camacho. When Felix Camacho was first elected the group Nasion Chamoru was in decline in terms of its political power. Angel Santos had been elected into the Guam Legislature years earlier and formally left the group. Nasion itself had continued to fight and gotten a number of reforms implemented around land for the landless and for families that had lost land after World War II to the US military. Felix Camacho, seeking to make a sort of peace with Nasion Chamoru, which had been a notorious thorn in the side of the previous administration, reached out to Ed Benavente and offered him a position in his cabinet. I remember that time well, as I had already started hanging out with members of the Colonized Chamoru Coalition and so I got to listen in while members of Nasion Chamoru discussed whether or not Ed should join with Camacho. I won't describe the deliberations in detai...