Marianas History Conference 2019
In 2011 a group of like minded people from the Mariana Islands decided it was high time to have a Marianas History Conference, one that focused specifically on the history and experiences of the people of all the Mariana Islands. The initial group of organizers, led by Scott Russell of the Northern Marianas and Rosanna Barcinas of Guam, met in August and came up with the theme, “One Archipelago, Many Stories,” which highlighted the deep and rich history of the Mariana Islands as well as bridged the political division of the archipelago–a division that exists today.
Since 1898, Guam has been an unincorporated territory of the United States; the Northern Marianas are former possessions of Germany and Japan. More than 100 years and two world wars later the islands are all part of the US now, but still two separate political entities.
The Marianas History Conference is co-sponsored by the Northern Marianas Humanities Council, Guam Preservation Trust, the University of Guam and Guampedia. The conference encourages a broad collaboration on the part of archeologists, historians, social anthropologists and those with less academic but more general interest in the Marianas. It calls on the combined efforts of those in Guam and the Northern Marianas to tell the many stories and engage the people of this archipelago.
Tina Taitano DeLisle is a historian and academic who specializes in the study of colonialism, militarism, indigeneity, and gender. Focusing on the Pacific Islands, she also researches and teaches in the fields of global Indigenous studies and heritage and museum studies.
She is currently Associate Professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota Twin-Cities. She is a former Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow and a former elected Council member of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association. She has published articles in premier journals such as American Quarterly, Amerasia, Intersections, and Pacific Studies and has a forthcoming book (Fall 2019) with the University of North Carolina Press, entitled: Placental Politics: CHamoru Women, White Womanhood and Indigeneity under U.S. Colonialism in Guam.
She has been involved in numerous public history and community projects in Guam and Minnesota. She worked as a researcher and writer for the Hale’-ta textbook series, coproduced documentaries on Micronesian navigation and prewar pattera/nurse-midwives, and worked with Humanities Guåhan to conduct community conversations about the military buildup. She is currently involved in canoe revitalization and water stewardship and sustainability projects among Native Pacific Islanders and American Indians of Mni Sota Makoce/Minnesota.
DeLisle is the granddaughter of Juan Guerrero Taitano (Familian Liberatu/Kabesa) and Maria Castro San Nicolas Taitano (Familian Nungi-Assan) and the daughter of Arthur James and Maria Taitano DeLisle. She was born and raised in Guåhan (Yigu) and she and her husband, Vince Diaz, have three daughters: Nicole, Gabriela, and Eva, and a granddaughter, Maria-Sol.
Rene Escalante earned his baccalaureate and master’s degree in philosophy from St. Camillus College Seminary and Ateneo de Manila University respectively. In 2001, University of the Philippines-Diliman conferred on him a Ph.D. degree in History. De La Salle University sent him to Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee as an exchange professor in 2003. He has been in the teaching profession from the time he finished his bachelor’s degree and the institutions where he taught include San Juan de Dios College, St. Camillus College Seminary, Sta. Scholastica’s College and in University of the Philippines-Diliman. At present, he is a Full Professor of History of De La Salle University and served as Chairman of the Department of History from 2006 to 2017. He served as Chairman of the National Committee on Historical Research of the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts (2007-2010) and appointed member of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Technical Panel on history from 2015-present. In 2010, President Benigno S. Aquino III appointed him Commissioners of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and was subsequently elected Chairman in 2017. At present, he is the Chair of the EDSA People Power Commission, Co-Chair of the Human Rights Violation Victims Memorial Commission and Commissioner of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
Dr. Escalante is actively involved in various professional and academic organizations. He also published articles in local and international journals and read papers in national and international conferences. The books that he wrote are The American Friar Lands Policy: Its Framers, Context and Beneficiaries (2002), The Bearer of Pax Americana: The Philippine Career of William H. Taft (2007) and History of Hacienda de Imus, 1590-1910.
Dr. Jessica Jordan holds a Ph.D. in History (Modern Japan) from the University of California, San Diego. Before joining the Air Force Culture and Language Center in 2017, she held a Visiting Assistant Professorship in the Department of History at the University of Pittsburgh. Her doctoral dissertation reassembles life for Indigenous Islanders in the Northern Mariana Islands under Japanese colonial rule through the Second World War (1914-1945), which she is currently revising for publication as a book. Her original inspiration for this project was her experience growing up in Saipan and living there for over two decades. Her research and teaching interests include colonialism and nationalism, cultural and social histories of WWII, dilemmas of global U.S. military basing, and the politics of history and memory in the Asia-Pacific region. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Regional and Cultural Studies – Asia.
Registration opens April 15, 2019
Early registration ends: July 31, 2019
Regular registration ends: August 20, 2019
Registration will be available on conference day, but seats will be limited.
CATEGORY |
EARLY REGISTRATION (before July 31, 2019) Includes conference T-Shirt |
REGISTRATION (after July 31, 2019) |
---|---|---|
Regular Registration |
$45 |
$45 |
Students |
$20 |
$20 |
Continuing Credit Fee |
$30 |
$30 |
TIME |
SESSION |
LOCATION |
8 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. |
Registration and breakfast |
Fine Arts Building |
8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. |
Welcoming Remarks Thomas Krise, University of Guam President
Opening Remarks Michael Clement, Marianas History Conference Chair, University of Guam
Keynote Address Tina Taitano DeLisle, University of Minnesota |
Fine Arts Building |
9:45 a.m. – 10 a.m. |
Break |
|
10 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. |
Keynote Address Rene Escalante, De La Salle University |
Fine Arts Building |
11 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. |
Panel 1: Magellan O. Brunal-Perry, Micronesian Area Research Center F. Quimby, Department of the Interior R. Underwood, University of Guam |
Fine Arts Building |
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. |
Lunch |
Cafeteria |
1:30 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. |
PANEL 2 |
|
A: Rethinking I Tiempon Españot D. Atienza, University of Guam M. Bevacqua, University of Guam M. Clement Jr., University of Guam |
SBPA 129 |
|
B: Kumision I Fino’ CHamoru Presentation |
SBPA 131 |
|
3 p.m. – 4:10 p.m.
|
PANEL 3 |
|
A: Chamorro Struggle in Global Contexts A. Hattori, University of Guam K. Oberiano, Harvard University C. Smith, Guam Department of Education |
SBPA 129 |
|
B: War and Warriors In History J. Balajadia, Pacific Historic Parks N. Kaneshi, Pacific Historic Parks J. Mafnas, Pacific Historic Parks R. McNinch, University of Guam |
SBPA 131 | |
4:10 p.m. – 4:20 p.m. |
Break |
SBPA Atrium |
4:20 p.m. – 5:10 p.m. |
PANEL 4 |
|
A: Militarization of Guåhan K. Kuper, University of Guam H. Sablan, University of Guam |
SBPA 129 | |
B: Manhoben Para Guåhan M. Bevacqua, University of Guam E. Leon Guerrero, University of Guam L. Lizama, University of Guam M. Phelps, University of Guam |
SPBA 131 | |
5:10 p.m. – 6 p.m. |
Merienda and Raffle |
SBPA Atrium |
TIME |
SESSION |
LOCATION |
8 a.m. – 9 a.m. |
Continental Breakfast |
Fine Arts Building |
9 a.m. – 9:50 a.m. |
Keynote Address Jessica Jordan, Air Force Cultural Center |
Fine Arts Building |
9:50 a.m. – 10 a.m. |
Break |
Fine Arts Building |
10 a.m. – 11:10 a.m. |
PANEL 5 |
|
A: History as Storytelling J. Flores, Micronesia Area Research Center S. Frain, Auckland University of Technology J. Marbrook, Auckland University of Technology Guampedia |
SBPA 129 |
|
B: Indigenous Voices M. Flores, Independent Guåhan E. Leon Guerrero, University of Guam V. Leon Guerrero, Independent Guåhan |
SBPA 131 |
11:20 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
|
PANEL 6 |
|
A: Literature and Revolution J. Bevacqua, University of Guam M. Bevacqua, University of Guam E. Morei, Palau Community College P. Onedera, Indigenous Literatures of Micronesia |
SBPA 129 |
|
B: Shifting Social Spaces and Demographic Transformations M. Barriga, Waseda University D. Farrell, Retired, CNMI State Board of Education M. Guzman, Galaide Group F. Shimizu, Guam Nikkei Association |
SBPA 131 |
|
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. |
Lunch |
Cafeteria |
1:40 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. |
PANEL 7 |
|
A: Kantan Chamorrita M. Clement Sr., Tiyan High School M. Clement Jr., University of Guam R. Barcinas, Eskuelan Danderu T. Flores, University of Guam E. Santos, University of Guam |
SBPA 129 |
|
B: Intellectual Property Rights K. Marsh Taitano, Legislature of Guam L. Souder , Guam Trademark Commission |
SBPA 131 |
|
3 p.m. – 4:10 p.m. |
PANEL 8 |
|
A: I Tiempon Latte Yan Såkman M. Borja, Sakman Chamorro Project - Guam B. Dixon, Cardno D. Lotz, Guam Review Board for Historic Preservation |
SBPA 129 |
|
B: Displacement and Persistence A. De Oro, Northern Marianas College M. De Oro, Our Islands Are Sacreds L. S.A. Naholowa’a, University of Guam |
SBPA 131 |
|
5 p.m. – 9 p.m. |
Closing Ceremony |
Guam Museum |
Omaira Brunal-Perry
Richard Flores Taitano-Micronesian Area Research Center
Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480-1521) set out from Spain in 1519 with a fleet of five ships to discover a western sea route to the Spice Islands. This presentation is based on the facts of Magellan’s life and character researched by Historian José Toribio Medina and published in Santiago de Chile in 1920. The work of J.T Medina is so monumental that has guided the study of many historians in the XX Century. In this paper the author is selecting passages of Magellan’s Memoria and translating them to illustrate his ambition and goals of the expedition that change navigation forever.
Frank Quimby
Department of the Interior
Antonio Pigafetta’s narrative of Magellan’s circumnavigation has been the primary source for all subsequent accounts of this seminal event in world history. Unfortunately, his pejorative description of the expedition’s March 7-9, 1521, visit to Guam has been uncritically accepted and generally repeated in most histories of this historic first meeting of Pacific Islanders and Europeans.
Other eyewitness accounts of the expedition’s visit differ substantially from Pigafetta’s Guam narrative, offering an alternative view of this meeting. Moreover, the pervasive pro-Magellan bias guiding Pigafetta’s selection and interpretation of the circumnavigation’s significant events underscores the need for a critical approach to his depiction of Chamorro interaction with the expedition.
This article attempts to place Pigafetta’s account of the Guam visit in the larger
context of the expedition’s politics and his Boswellian view of Magellan and to suggest
why he chose to cast the encounter in such a stereotypically negative light.
Robert Underwood
University of Guam
The circumnavigation of Magellan and Elcano has been described as one of the most significant historical events in human history. It has been described as an initial step towards globalization and analogized to the moon landing. On the opposite end, the anthropologist, Douglas Oliver, stated that the rape of Oceania began with Guam. Of course, this meant that it began with Magellan. But it didn't end there and the confluence of historical forces which played out in Guam and the Marianas Islands in the following five centuries are clearly the most significant of any group of islands in the Pacific. This makes the Magellan voyage and his visit to Guam much more significant than the landing on the moon. The most obvious difference is that there are no people in the moon to interact with and to leave the scene by calling them thieves. The interpretation of Magellan's visit to Guam in 1521 is the single most significant historical contact between Pacific Islanders and others. It deserves our attention and our understanding.
David Atienza de Frutos
University of Guam
Mainstream history of the Mariana Islands presents CHamoru as indigenous people who
were transformed after the conquest (1668–1700) into a hispanized population. I instead
emphasize the role of CHamorus during these years as active participants in their
history and vehicles of what I call "adaptive resistance." In this paper I present
some of the ideological interpretations that have been accepted and included into
the historical narrative without conducting a critical analysis of the sources.
Michael Lujan Bevacqua
University of Guam
During the height of the popularity of the Game of Thrones television show one of
my students asked why I didn’t like the show? My response was that I like Guam History
and there is enough action in Guam’s History to fill an epic series of its own. As
a professor at the University of Guam for more than a decade, working to connect Chamoru
students to their history, culture and language, my pedagogy has often focused on
trying to bridge the gap between indigenous culture and popular culture. This means
finding ways to appeal to youth raised on video games, comics and television and instill
an interest in their heritage. This presentation will take the form of a Hollywood
pitch meeting, where I will highlight the epic aspects of a potential show “Game of
Bones” based on the Chamoru-Spanish war period of Guam History.
Michael Clement Jr.
University of Guam
Census data from 18th century Guam and Rota paints a picture of a segregated society in which different segments of the Chamorro population had radically different life experiences. The most obvious distinction was that between the ethnically mixed community of Agadña and the more homogenous indigenous communities of the surrounding barrios and rural villages. This presentation examines ways a dominant “Hagatña narrative” obscures these differences. Utilizing Prasenjit Duara’s critique of nationalist history, I argue that a “bifurcated” history of the 18th century Chamorro experience brings greater understanding to processes of political and cultural continuity during these years.
The Kumision i Fino’ CHamoru Yan i Fina’nå’guen i Historia Yan i Lina’la’ i Taotao Tåno’ or the Commission on the CHamoru Language and the Teaching of the History and Language of the Indigenous People of Guam was re-established in 2016 through the CHamoru Heritage Commission Act by the 33rd Guam Legislature. The Act set 14 mandates to guide the work of the Kumision. The sitting members of the Kumision will provide an overview of the enabling legislation and highlight the projects and programs that have been accomplished since the Kumision’s inception. The Panel is designed to feature the work of the Kumision and to share efforts to lead CHamoru language revitalization with strategic partners. The Kumision has also reached out to its counterpart in the CNMI. This and other ongoing efforts to collaborate on language documentation will be discussed. The Kumision hopes that participants will provide vital feedback on how to strengthen and improve strategies for executing its mandates.
Anne Perez Hattori
University of Guam
In November and December 1918, over the course of just six weeks, approximately 780
people on Guam died from influenza, roughly 5% of the island’s population of 15,000.
Among the deceased were the two sons of my great-grandmother, Luisa Uncangco Leon
Guerrero, known to us as “Nana Lisa.” Their deaths, as well as the influenza-related
death of her husband shortly thereafter, deeply affected the course of my family’s
history. Beyond Guam, of course, the Influenza Pandemic was a significant event,
killing between 50 and 100 million people worldwide -- more deaths than an entire
century of the Black Death or the Plague, in Europe, and even more than World War
I. Yet despite its severity, few historians have paid it just attention. This paper
reflects preliminary research on the subject, offering a glimpse at some of the ways
in which influenza, while not physically scarring, nonetheless left its mark on Guam.
Kristin Oberiano
Harvard University
This presentation will historicize Filipino revolutionary hero Apolinario Mabini’s
incarceration on Guåhan from 1901-1903, and the simultaneous drafting and petitioning
for a civilian Guamanian government by Chamoru elite in 1901. Guåhan’s role
as a penal colony demonstrates the transition of Spanish and American imperial
regimes. During the Philippine Revolution, the United States deported Filipino revolutionaries
to Guåhan. Meanwhile, the Chamoru people of Guåhan sent the first petition for a civilian
government in 1901. Some of the signers had direct relationships with Mabini. We can
only speculate if they discussed American colonialism in the Philippines and Guåhan,
if they made plains to aid each other’s anti-colonial struggles, or if they were silenced
by the guards standing outside the prison. Yet, that they did meet disrupts notions
of the completeness of imperial power, and shows how even in spaces of dominance and
incarceration, there can be, too, places of resistance.
Carla Smith
Guam Department of Education
During an interview on March 27, 2015, Dr. Robert Underwood, stated, “…The most salient
example that you have to draw from American society about anything that has racial
or ethnic dimensions or issues related to discrimination or unfair treatment is almost
always rooted in the African American experience…That’s what makes the African American
experience so powerful.” Accordingly, in this presentation, we will examine how the
African American experiences of slavery and segregation provided the historical framework
for the colonization of the CHamorus under the American administration. We will also
discuss the intersections of African American and CHamoru struggles from the early
twentieth century throughout the civil rights/decolonization movements. Finally, this
presentation will encourage scholars to think outside the box and expand the analysis
through which local issues are investigated.
Jaclyn Balajadia
Pacific Historic Parks
Pacific Historic Parks (PHP) is a non-profit organization that perpetuates the memory of events and honors the people involved in World War II on Guam through supporting and conducting education and interpretive programs, research, preservation, and restoration. During Spring Break 2018, PHP hosted an education program for 23 middle school students titled, “Monuments, Memorials, and Public Memory.” For five days, students toured historic sites on Guam, observing the former battlefields and historic structures that all served as silent reminders of the bloody World War II battles that took place in 1944. On the last day, students presented their own design proposals of a monument commemorating World War II events. This paper will explain the pedagogy of the education program in exploring questions of what we commemorate and why, samples of the students’ designs, and a reflection of this education program in understanding how youth construct new narratives of the past
Nataline Kaneshi
Education Coordinator – Pacific Historic Parks
Jovannalyn Mafnas
Education Specialist – Pacific Historic Parks
World War II greatly impacted the Mariana Islands. Thousands of people lost their
lives and our islands were forever changed. Throughout the Mariana Islands there are
significant WWII sites that help to tell the history of what took place. At these
sites, we remember the brave people who fought for their country and those who were
caught in-between.
Pacific Historic Parks (PHP) is a non-profit organization that perpetuates the memory of events and honors the people involved in World War II in the Pacific through supporting and conducting education and interpretive programs, research, preservation, and restoration. In the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), we work with schools on the islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota to conduct education programs that bring focus to our islands’ history. These programs teach students about World War II in the Marianas and encourage them to explore their islands and learn more.
Ron McNinch
University of Guam
In the classic military treatise, The Art of War, the Chinese military philosopher Sun Tzu said that it is best to capture an enemy rather than destroy them. During World War two, there was a general belief that Japanese troops and civilians would not surrender and would fight to the death instead. During the Battles of Saipan and Tinian, Guy Gabaldon, a young US Marine defied conventional wisdom and was credited with capturing over a thousand enemy combatants and civilians, thus saving their lives. This presentation will discuss various aspects of Gabaldon's efforts and how lasting wisdom of his approach endures over seventy years later.
Kenneth Gofigan Kuper
University of Guam
American Naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan once wrote, “No situation in our possession equals Guam to protect every interest in the Pacific.” His proclamation is reflected in the various militarized uses of Guåhan throughout history, from a coaling station to the site of a military buildup today. In this presentation, I examine the intimate entanglement of the strategic value of the island with our current status as an unincorporated territory, using examples from history and the works of military strategists to show how militarization has frequently been the priority over genuine political security. In doing this, I trace the history of military use of the island and demonstrate how the military’s quest for operational unilateralism is a significant factor in the preservation of the political status quo, from an American perspective. Lastly, I demonstrate how American national security has historically been invoked to create favorable conditions for further militarization of the island.
Hannah Sablan
University of Guam
This paper will discuss the gendered narratives of militarism and tourism throughout Guåhan’s colonial history and how they have been internalized and perpetuated under American rule. These narratives were forced upon the CHamoru people and have emasculated them into a position of inferiority and sacrificial hospitality that serves the interests of the U.S. military and tourism industry. This new collective identity works against efforts of decolonization with status quo and integration continuing to be the preferred options of self-determination. Dependency goes beyond finances and security - it is psychological too. To counter the colonial canon, certain questions must be asked: What qualities do the CHamoru people possess outside of what they provide and need from militarism and tourism? How have they remained masculine despite the narrative that they have been emasculated? A counter narrative already exists and must be remembered and embraced to move forward in empowerment.
Michael Lujan Bevacqua, (Moderator) – University of Guam
Edward Leon Guerrero - University of Guam
Lawrence Lizama – University of Guam
Mikhael Phelps – University of Guam
One of the most fascinating shifts in Guam community discourse since the 1970s deals with the topic of militarism and militarization. Chamorus emerged from Japanese occupation seemingly ready to fulfill a role as militarized colonial citizens. They served in the US military in record numbers and expressed support for US military actions and bases at higher levels than average citizens in the US. Since the 1990s there have been dramatic shifts in community discourse around military bases and militarism in Chamoru life. Protests or public criticism of the US military, once considered to be unthinkable on Guam, is now a regular part of community debate. Despite these shifts Guam remains a heavily militarized island, where critical discourse can result in social stigmatism. This panel will feature youth activists working promoting decolonization and demilitarization, who will share their thoughts on conducting this type of still controversial work.
Judith S. Flores
Richard Flores Taitano-Micronesian Area Research Center
Bill M. Paulino
Retired, Chamorro Studies and Special Projects Division Administrator
Father Jesus Baza Duenas was an important model of courage, persistence in faith and resistance to the Japanese during their occupation of Guam from 1941 to 1944. World history publications say very little about Guam, and rarely mention the name of this priest. Local publications list the facts of his ordination and particularly his religious leadership, ending with his torture in Inalahan and beheading in Ta’i on July 12, 1944. The particulars of his life continue to be told as oral histories, less frequently as the years go by and witnesses of that time pass away. The people of Inalahan retain a significant body of knowledge about Father Duenas, some of which has been recorded in personal journals by village historians. 2019 being the 75th anniversary of his death, it is especially important to mark this passage with a compilation of stories that contribute to our knowledge about him. As these stories unfold, we begin to get a sense of the personhood of this man, his courage to be true to his faith, to protect and comfort his parish community, and to use his position and resources to keep communications flowing among local underground resistance members. Through sharing of this collected knowledge, we can perhaps encourage small-group discussion and the collection of additional stories. Our goal in this endeavor is to provide a written archive of the activities and achievements as recalled and commented on by those who knew and observed him. Moreover, it is hoped that the collected knowledge can lead to the beatification of Guam’s own hero and martyr.
Sylvia C Frain
Auckland University of Technology
Jim Marbrook
Auckland University of Technology
As a researcher and filmmaker, we strive for digital cultural preservation through the combination of Oceanic knowledge(s) and new technologies. Our aim is to collaboratively develop digital storytelling methods and document moving images of culture and audio recordings of oral histories of the Marianas Archipelago. Conceptualized as a form of digital participatory action research, our approach includes the communities’ input and vision at every stage to record the forms of knowledge(s) which they deem important for future generations. Our contribution is through technical knowledge and filmmaking expertise combined with access to professional filming equipment and informs our new media research. Visual and audio data collection may include multigenerational interviews, aerial perspectives, drone footage, as well as underwater shots. The intended outcome is to create a Marianas methodology of cultural preservation for digital dissemination and accessible archives across new media platforms.
Monaeka Flores
Independent Guåhan
Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero
Independent Guåhan
At each General Assembly, Independent Guåhan honors a maga’taotao: a hero or notable figure that has helped guide the island and the Chamoru people on their quest for self-determination. Independent Guåhan draws from a diverse array of Chamoru leaders and community members, highlighting the historic and political context that informed or provoked their wisdom and work to further broaden or complicate conversations about self-determination. Family members of each maga’taotao share their insight and reflect on the lives and contributions of each individual. A wide range of critical issues are examined and demystified through their stories including environmental stewardship, political autonomy, protection of historic and cultural resources, economic development, land use, sustainable agriculture, security, Chamoru language advocacy, education, Chamoru identity and survivorship to name a few. This presentation will highlight the maga’taotao celebrated in the Independent Guahån series and the important roles they have played in the progress of our people.
Monaeka Flores
Independent Guåhan
From glossy covers, photo essays, articles and editorials, Chamorro magazines have created spaces for indigenous representation in media. These magazines reflect the political and historical context of the period in which they were created, while also demonstrating the ways in which Chamorro society has shifted from an American-centric media sphere to an indigenous media sphere, one that examines and reflects the complexities of a colonized society that operates, exploits, and consumes “Western” forms of media. Magazines potentially serve as critical texts or primary sources that chronicle indigenous accounts of and responses to significant moments in history and social, political, artistic and cultural movements. This presentation will provide an overview of some of the overarching themes identified in the magazines and discuss some of the ways the publications promoted indigenous agency by featuring marginalized and counter narratives on political identity, cultural survivorship, indigenous queer experiences, art, and more.
Edward Leon Guerrero
University of Guam
It is no secret that the CHamoru language has been exponentially declining with each subsequent generation. For the generation of CHamorus who grew up without the language, what the language means for their CHamoru identity is speculation at best as there has not been a comprehensive study on this subject. This thesis examines whether or not CHamorus millennials and Z's are articulating their identity with the language. It demonstrates this by exploring how CHamorus conceptualize their CHamoru identity from the data gathered from twelve CHamorus. A theoretical model emerges that maps out the relationships in these conceptualizations to understand the processes of CHamoru identity articulations by laying out the various motivating and inhibiting variables that converges to actively learning the language. The model may prove useful for CHamoru language advocates and policy makers in perpetuating the language.
Evelyn Flores
(Convener) University of Guam
Literature and revolution go hand-in-hand. Whether it’s Maga’låhi Hurao challenging 2,000 warriors to fight for their culture or Madame Defarge in Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities knitting into her tapestry the names of those who are to die in the French Revolution, the word, either written, spoken, danced, or visualized, catalyzes world-shaking shifts in perspective, which can materialize into physical battles, as it did in both the French and American revolutions, but also more quietly into huge paradigm shifts in values and beliefs, as it has done and as we continue to try to do here in the islands.
The presenters on this panel are all activists who have dedicated their lives to such a change---to take away, to take back and to hold ground that has been gained. They will be discussing their experiences and the role that literary production has played in each of their revolutionary movements.
Michael Lujan Bevacqua
University of Guam
Jack Bevacqua
University of Guam
The Guam Bus was a creative company started in 2015 by brothers Michael and Jack Lujan Bevacqua. The aim of The Guam Bus is to empower the Chamoru people through the publication of creative works such as comics or books that are designed to educate them about their heritage and inspire them as to their possibilities as a people. As of today, The Guam Bus has published two Chamoru-themed comic books, two bilingual Chamoru children’s books and a set of Guam-animal flash cards. In this presentation, Michael Lujan Bevacqua will discuss ways in which scholarly sources and methods of inquiry are woven into their products, in order to help youth to question and think more about the state of their island and direction for the future.
Elicita “Cita” Ngirmang Morei
Palau Community College
In July 1979, Palauan voters, by an overwhelming 92%, adopted the worlds’ first Nuclear-Free Constitution. However, that wish for Palauan people and their posterity came true only after decades of struggle, intimidation, fire bombings, death threats and even murder. The late Mirair Gabriela Ngirmang of Koror and women elders rose up to defend their nuclear free constitution, when all else failed. In this presentation, Cita (Gabriela Ngirmang’s daughter) discusses Belau’s conflict/conflict resolution and the role that writing and academia had to play in the political struggle that a resolute group of women took up against the desires of the most powerful country in the world. Cita will also share Palau’s experiences trying to keep the balance between being a “nuclear-free” nation during a period of intense military build-up and continuous military exercises in the region.
Peter Onedera
Master Storyteller
A two by four ply board sign with red lettered text hung from the ceiling of the hallway of my village elementary school. It read “Prubido Fumino’ Chamorro,” when I entered the first grade. That sign was among three or four more spread throughout the campus and it stayed put as a reminder to us village children for the rest of our elementary years.
I felt lost. That sign meted punishment after punishment in those early years. I was educated into thinking that CHamoru was a nothing and a waste of time. Other CHamorus, starting with the teachers, bought into it and it was to be a tremendous embarrassment with reminders and constant reprimands to not speak the language I grew up with.
That feeling is still there today.
Maria Cynthia Barriga
Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies - Waseda University
Islander stories are expanding the historiography of the Pacific War, presently dominated by US imperial-military narratives. The image of the islander, however, remains singular; its complexities, yet to be examined. My paper traces how this singular, homogenized image came to be. Employing historical analysis, it focuses on Guam’s prewar Japanese who had, for decades, been straddling between the US, Japan, and the island. It finds that Guam’s Japanese initially mediated between the Japanese military and the local community. However, wartime policies etched a divide between the two “races,” compelling Japanese islanders to choose one. After the war, US racial discourses crystalized these categories, creating homogenized images of “the islander” and “the Japanese.” Through the shifting dynamics of Guam’s Japanese with other islanders, this paper traces the origins and development of the present-day image of “the islander,” showing how the war transformed the island society, and invites further nuancing of this concept.
Don A. Farrell
Author/ Retired, CNMI State Board of Education
Volumes of work have been published regarding the history of Guam from “The Liberation” in
1944 to civilian government in 1950. This work uses original documents from local and U.S.
federal archives to paint a collective picture of this tumultuous period.
“Operation Stevedore,” the plan to capture and utilize Guam to prosecute the war with Japan, brought thousands of U.S. Seabees to Guam. They constructed a massive naval station at Apra Harbor, B-29 bases on northern Guam, helped relocate Guam refugees into temporary housing, provided a highway for military vehicles to carry supplies from south to north, and rebuilt the village of Hagatña.
When the war was over, the DOD and DOI fought over control of Guam. DOI won. Yet, with civil war in China and the Korean War developing, military development continued -- side-by-side with political development.
Monica Okada Guzman
Galaide Group
Frank S.N. Shimizu
Chairman, Guam Nikkei Association
The first known record of Japanese arriving into the Marianas was on May 3, 1868 when the British ship, “E.M. Trader” left Japan bound for Guam. Aboard were 40 men and one wife and daughter. The contingent ranged in age from their teens and in their 20’s and 30’s and were paid 3 ryo for travel related expenses.
After 33 days at sea, they arrived in Agaña, Guam on June 8th, 1868 as the first Japanese immigrants to Guam. After fulfilling their 3-year long contract, 28 people returned back to Japan at varying times over a period of 2 years.
Subsequent arrival in the late 1800’s of Japanese farmers, fishermen and individuals looking for adventure and a better life overseas. 53 made Guam their home, learning the Chamoru language, marrying local women and starting families. These CHamoru Japanese descendants include prominent business men, educators, career government employees and elected officials.
Although a majority of these descendants have lost touch with their Japanese families, there is still a desire and interest for many to rekindle these familial relationships and reacquaint with their Japanese heritage. The formation of the Guam Nikkei Association provides an avenue for this connection.
A few families such as the Tajima, Onedera, Shinohara and Shimizu’s remain in touch with their
Japanese relations.
Spanning both Guam and Saipan, the legacy of Kazuji Shimizu lives on in the family and business enterprises, contributing to building Guam’s economy and furthering Japanese American CHamoru ties. The presentation for the 4th Marianas History Conference will focus on the migration to Guam, the Guam Nikkei Association and the contribution of the Japanese CHamoru family of Kazuji Shimizu.
Michael Clement Sr.
Tiyan High School
This updates research on ancient and colonial influences on Chamorro song in the Marianas Islands, specifically, the origin of the extemporaneous song debate melody “An gumupu si paluma” (“Agsp”), and its role as the defining element of Kantan Chamorrita (tsamorita singing). Musical examples link the “Agsp” melody to a folk song introduced in Guam by missionaries and influenced socially by Mexican criollos. This gives an intellectual structure, chronology and historical depth to the development and evolution of this song form. It speaks to the function of song in the Chamorro culture. Musical examples will be presented and compared.
Elyssa Santos, Michael Clement Jr., Teresita Flores, Anne Rivera and Ray Barcinas
Kantan Chamorrita is a traditional Chamorro song form once central to daily life in the Marianas. Today, few possess these ancient skills, but those who do, relish the chance to practice their artform. This short film, originally produced for the Festival of Pacific Arts in 2016, chronicles the life experiences of three singers versed in this art. Teresita Flores, Anne Rivera and Ray Barcinas each grew up within families that kept older musical traditions alive and each share strong feelings about the importance of perpetuating kantan chamorrita in the modern day.
Kelly Marsh Taitano
Legislature of Guam
Laura Souder
Guam Trademark Commission
Intellectual Property Rights are a growing concern in the Pacific Islands. Infringements happen to Indigenous bodies of knowledge and arts as well as to that which is produced or created in their islands. Efforts in the Pacific are underway to protect Indigenous and local intellectual property rights. Among those efforts, the Guam Product Seal was conceived as a mechanism to protect local entrepreneurs and their creations. Additionally, a Guam Trademark Commission has been formed to develop policy direction towards developing a Guam Trademark and Intellectual Property Rights Act and a Guam Cultural Trademark Act.
This panel explores how one, through legal instruments, safeguards tangible and intangible aspects of culture, art, and locally produced or conceived items. Explored will be questions such as: Where does the line of cultural appropriation begin and end? Who within a culture determines the rights to a body of knowledge? Given our limited capacities, to what degree does something have to be conceived of or created in the islands to be considered local?
Mario R. Borja
Sakman Chamorro Project-Guam
Building a canoe does not make you a sailor; but it sure can help. This is about the discovery of an angle we stumbled upon in our quest to build the sakman, a single-outrigger canoe our Chamorro ancestors once built and sailed nearly three centuries ago. It starts with our curiosity about canoes once used to travel from one island to another. Our research led us to uncover more details of our own illusive seafaring history that would provide the data to begin our canoe project. One discovery after another has brought us to Guam with the canoe we have built. It was here in Hagatna Bay that we discovered the purpose of an imbedded angle that laid beneath their very feet, an angle we constructed following ancestral design, an angle that would teach us how to sail the sakman.
Boyd Dixon
Senior Archaeologist, Cardno
The historical record of Early Modern Spanish Colonialism on Guam is reasonably well detailed when using primary and secondary literature to reconstruct significant events, policies, and personalities that affected the general population from 1521 to 1700. It is however, biased from the perspective of the only witnesses who could leave a written record at the time – early maritime chroniclers, later Jesuit priests, and eventual Colonial administrators. The historical record of what exactly was exchanged between Spanish clergy or government officials, Philippine or Mexican military, and Chamorro inhabitants is far less explicit in the literature. This vacuum, if indeed it can be partially filled by archaeological inquiry, is the topic of this paper.
Dave Lotz
Vice-Chairman of the Guam Review Board for Historic Preservation and the Guam Preservation Trust
Board
Latte, the iconic cultural images of the Mariana Islands, are found on at least seven of the archipelago’s islands. Since western presence about 500 years ago, destruction of the latte has occurred under the various colonial rulers: Spain, Japan, and the United States.
Loss of latte occurred with Japanese agriculture efforts on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota later followed by World War II and the subsequent Cold War. Since 2000, the military buildup of Guam and military threats to Tinian and Pagan intend to change the islands’ landscape including destruction of latte sites. However significant numbers of preserved latte still remain.
This presentation, based upon available documents, current events, and site visits document the disappearance of a number of latte sites, preservation accomplishments, threats of further destruction, and preservation proposals.
Arthur A. De Oro
Director, Community Development Institute – Northern Marianas College
The one Chamorro technological achievement that was revered by European explorers of the 16th through 18th centuries was the Chamorro flying proa or sakman. From Magellan’s first sighting of the Marianas to Anson’s drawings of 1742, the sakman was regarded as the Ferrari or Porsche of the sailing world. It was a thing of beauty, speed, and craftsmanship. Chamorros were highly regarded as expert boat builders, sailors and fishermen. That knowledge, skill and innovation was nearly lost when colonization of the Marianas was complete. Fast-forward to the 21st century to find the Chamorro renaissance of the celebrated sakman. 500 Sails, a Saipan based non-profit organization is writing a complete history of the sailing traditions of the Marianas. It includes European accounts, a Chamorro lexicon of nautical terms and parts of the sakman, a sailing curriculum, and the people and organizations that are leading the revival of the Chamorro flying proa.
Moñeka De Oro
Our Islands Are Sacred
The four main islands of the Marianas are all located in the southern end of the archipelago. Together Rota, Saipan, Tinian and Guahan and the lone uninhabited island of Aguigan/Aguijan make the "Laguas" portion of the Marianas. All islands north of Saipan collectively create "Gani". This presentation will provide vignettes of history focusing on Aguigan. There is so much significant historical and ecological stories that are not widely shared about Aguigan. For example, Aguigan island is the location of one of the last major battles in the Spanish Chamorro Wars. Aguigan is also the only place where the endangered sheath bats and countless other plant and animal species still exists today. Commonly referred to as "goat island", today there is so much more to know about this island than the invasive goats that inhabit it today.
Leiana San Agustin Naholowaʻa
University of Guam
The Sons and Daughters of Guam Club in San Diego, California, is the oldest Chamorro
community organization outside of the Mariana Islands and serves the largest population
of the Chamorro diaspora. Begun in 1953, club meetings took place in a veterans’
building in downtown San Diego and would shift to their own community space, becoming
the only Chamorro community clubhouse in the diaspora. Early festivities include the
hosting of dinner balls celebrating Guam Liberation with its military community, and
this tradition continues with Liberation Queen candidates who raise money for the
organization. Fiesta groups extend the spiritual and celebratory traditions of home
villages and provide “a home away from home.” Community members have gone on to form
other groups in the area such as Chamorro Hands in Education Links Unity (CHE’LU)
and the Chamorro Optimist Club, and the club has hosted many events and educational
opportunities.
Dates: August 31 - September 1
Time: 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.
Location: University of Guam,
Fine Arts Auditorium & SBPA
10 and 12 on the Campus Map
Date: September 1
Time: 5:00 P.M. - 9 P.M.
Location: Guam Museum
Unibetsedȧt Guåhan
UOG Station
Mangilao, Guam 96913
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