Public Radio Guam: Recent Episodes
KPRG - Public Radio For Guam and the CNMI
Ep. 257 “The Tip of the Spear or the Tip of a Nuclear Bomb? A Forum on Nuclear Issues on Guam” (hosted by Dr. Vivian Dames and produced by Alan Grossman with assistance from Tom Maxedon and Manny Cruz) was recorded 2/16/17 and airs 4/7/17.
This episode provides coverage of the public forum held February 16 at the University of Guam entitled “Tip of the Spear? Or Tip of a Nuclear Bomb?”.
Guam has long been referred to as the ‘Tip of America’s Spear’ as its position on the edge of Asia makes it an ideal strategic location from which the US can project force into the Pacific Rim and Asia. The inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States has brought a new level of uncertainty to a part of the world where nuclear tensions have already been escalating. In the midst of unresolved territorial disputes in the South China Sea, last year’s unveiling of Guam Killer missiles from China, more missile tests from North Korea, the planned permanent deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile-defense systems in Guam and South Korea, and the US military’s plans to increase their presence in the Marianas, this forum afforded an opportunity to be informed about the U.S nuclear legacy and current threats in the region, to reimagine Guam’s place in the world, and reflect on one’s role in the global struggle for nuclear non-proliferation. This forum, sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, featured four panelists. It opened with a brief overview of nuclear weapons and contamination in Guam by Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua, Assistant Professor of Chamorro Studies, who also served as moderator. This was followed by remarks from: Dr. James Sellmann, Professor of Philosophy and Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, who highlighted moral considerations regarding nuclear weapons and presented a philosophical argument for nuclear disarmament. [To request a copy of the full text of this paper, contact jsellman@triton.uog.edu].
Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero, co-chair of the Independent Guåhan Task Force, who discussed her concerns, as a Chamorro and as a mother, regarding the increasing vulnerability of Guam as a nuclear target under a Trump administration.
Raymond Lujan, a Social Work senior, who put out a call to action for solidarity on nuclear disarmament. He represented Guam last year at events in Japan to remember the atomic bombings and to promote solidarity and peace. These events were sponsored by Gensuikyo (Japan Council Against A and H Bombs) which has waged various kinds of campaigns for: the prevention of nuclear war; the total ban on and the elimination of nuclear weapons; and support and solidarity with atomic survivors. [For more on Guam’s participation, download Ep. 249 “One Thousand Paper Cranes and Other Actions for Peace” which aired 9/2/16.]
Music selection : "Trump Talking Nukes" by Tim Heidecker, song #21 for Our First 100 Days, a project committed to releasing an original song every day for the first 100 days of the Trump administration.
Suggestions for future topics and guests, or requests to be removed or added to this list, may be sent to btf.kprg@gmail.com or call 671-734-8930. You can follow us on Twitter:@BTF_KPRG or like us at https://www.facebook.com/beyondthefencekprg/. KPRG streams live at www.kprgfm.com/ and has released apps for Iphone/Ipad and Android devices. Podcasts of most episodes are available for free and may be downloaded within five days of the broadcast by going to: http://kprg.podbean.com/.
Ep. 253 “Lina’la, i Hanom (Water is Life): Guåhan Stands with Standing Rock” (hosted by Moñeka De Oro and produced by Tom Maxedon) airs 12/16/16.
In solidarity with the ‘water protectors’ of Standing Rock in North Dakota, a women-led group of concerned Guåhan citizens is hosting a series of Lina’la, i Hanom (Water is Life) local fundraising events this month. A community wave was held December 9 at Kepuha Loop in Hagatna followed the next morning with a prayer ceremony at the Guam National Wildlife Refuge in Ritidian, adjacent to Anderson Air Force Base. Tomorrow, December17, a live music and art action will be held from 2-6 p.m. at Sagan Kotturu CHamoru, Ypao Point, Tamuning. These events are intended to offer prayers for the continued protection of Standing Rock and all native lands and waters everywhere, and to raise funds for the legal fees incurred fighting the pipeline. Funds will also be donated to support the Oceti Sakowin Camp at Standing Rock.
The Dakota Access Pipeline protests, started in early 2016, has grown into the thousands, drawing support from Native Americans from across the continent and the Pacific, as well as activists who joined in solidarity to protest the proposed route of the 1,172-mile pipeline. If constructed, the pipeline would threaten the water supply, destroy ancestral lands, and have harmful impacts on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
Last week these prayerful protests won a concession from the federal government: The Army Corps of Engineers announced it would deny the permit necessary to build the oil pipeline in that area and recommended that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) be conducted to explore alternate routes for the pipeline. Now, with the onset of winter, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota is asking people camping near the route to go home. However, the ‘water protectors’ wish to maintain a sustainable community at the camp.
The movement in Guam and the Northern Marianas to protect ancestral CHamoru lands and waters from the damaging effects of the military buildup is viewed as connected with the movement at Standing Rock; both movements share concerns about the viability of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the EIS process under a Trump administration.
This 30 minute episode features audio clips featuring Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero, and chants performed by Ininan I Sainata, Irensia Taotao Tåno and Taotao Lagu at the December 10 Lina’la, i Hanom (Water is Life) prayer ceremony event recorded for this program and brief interviews with Cali Fejerang and Crystal Gingras.
Ep. 252 “Study Abroad through iSchool Guam: Oral Traditions, Knowledge and Science” (hosted by Dr. Vivian Dames and produced by Tom Maxedon) airs 12/2/16.
From August 25-September 18, a diverse group of eight undergraduate and graduate students were in Guam for a five credit three week introductory course to indigenous knowledge systems and the oral traditions of Pacific Islanders offered for the first time by the University of Washington, School of Information. Through lectures, readings, discussions, field visits and Chamorro and cultural activities, these students explored the concept of information within oral traditions and the relationship to contemporary notions of knowledge and science.
The first half of this episode features an interview (recorded 9/19) with the course professor, Dr. Sheryl Day, who completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Washington and is now a senior instructor and researcher interested in the relationship of people, information, and technology. She was born and raised in Guam and is part of a growing diaspora of Chamorro academics contributing to scholarship on indigenous methodologies. She discusses her personal and academic background, her dissertation entitled “Talking Story: The Militarization of Guahan and Flows of Information in Chamoru Systems of Knowledge” and the backstory to this iSchool Guam study abroad course.
This is followed in the second half by the commentaries (recorded 9/17) of the three graduate students who participated in this course: Nikki Andrews, Maori from New Zealand, who is studying Library Science; Angie Lyons, who is interested in digital communication and the empowerment of nonprofit organizations who work with economically ‘disprivileged’ communities; and Annie Tucker, a former Peace Corps volunteer with a family legacy of military service. Each shares her personal background in relationship to ‘the fence’, motivation for taking this course, highlights of the Guam experience, and the focus of her final class presentation. As a framework for discussing Chamoru decolonization projects, students drew from the book, Decolonizing Methdologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples by Linda Tuhiwai Smith, a professor of indigenous education at the University of Waikato in New Zealand.
This episode concludes with a Chamorro spiritual chant I Fa'fa'na'gue-ta honoring a teacher of traditional arts, performed by the I Fanlalai’an Chant Group.
Ep. 251 “From New Caledonia to Guahan: Status Updates on the Decolonization Process” (hosted by Dr. Lisa Linda Natividad and produced by Tom Maxedon) was recorded 9/1/16 and airs 10/21/16.
This episode features coverage of the September 1 community forum entitled “From New Caledonia to Guahan: Status Updates on the Decolonization Process” held at the University of Guam. This event was sponsored by the Division of Social Work and featured two presenters:
Guam attorney Leevin Camacho is a main organizer of We Are Guahan and worked on the lawsuit against the US Department of Defense (DOD) on the proposed use of Pågat, the site of an ancient Chamorro village in central Guam, for a live firing range complex as specified in the 2009 Guam and CNMI Military Relocation Draft Environmental Impact Study. Their legal team won this case forcing the DOD to conduct a supplemental environmental impact study before it can proceed with its plan for the military build-up. In this presentation Camacho provides a legal perspective on Guam’s political status, recent territorial decisions, and the issue of who can vote in the self-determination plebiscite, yet to be scheduled. [for a related episode featuring Camacho, download Ep. 48 (12/31/10), "The Lawsuit to Save Pågat Village --- And More" (hosted by Dr. Vivian Dames).
Nic Maclellan is a Pacific-based journalist and researcher, a correspondent for Islands Business magazine in Fiji, and a noted expert on decolonization matters of French self-governing territories. He describes how under the Noumea Accord, the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia is scheduled to hold a referendum on self-determination in late 2018. Like Guam, New Caledonia is listed with the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, and the Front de Liberation national Kana et Socialiste (FLNKS) has been campaigning for independence from France since the 1980s. The indigenous Kanak people, like the Chamorros of Guam, have been made a minority in their homeland due to colonial settlement and ongoing migration. Maclellan discusses the ongoing transition towards a new political status: the interplay of economic, social and political tensions at a time of global crisis in the nickel industry; French strategic deployments in the South Pacific; the role of the Pacific Islands Forum and the United Nations; and ongoing debates over citizenship and voting rights, including the electoral roll for the 2018 referendum. [for a previous episode featuring Maclellan, download Ep. 159 (8/16/13) “Australians Form A Peaceful Network to Resist US Bases, Part 2 of 2” (hosted by Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero).
The powerpoint slides accompanying each presentation are available for simultaneous review at https://www.facebook.com/beyondthefencekprg/.
Ep. 250 “Tourism and the Military Buildup on Guam” (hosted by Dr. Vivian Dames and produced by Tom Maxedon with assistance from Robert Wang) airs 10/7/16.
According to the Guam Visitors Bureau 2020 Strategic Plan, tourism is Guam’s #1 industry generating $1.4 billion for the economy and 18,000 jobs. This represents 60% of our island’s annual business revenues and over 30% of all non-federal jobs on the island.
In recognition of U.N. World Tourism Day (September 27), this episode examines observed and anticipated impacts of the military buildup on Guam’s vital tourism sector, efforts to ameliorate the negative impacts, and what else must be done. Six thousand US military personnel are currently stationed on the island, but a long-delayed expansion plan as part of President Obama’s Asia-Pacific pivot would involve an additional 5,000 Marines (two-thirds on a rotational basis) and 1,300 dependents beginning in 2022.
Program guest in the first half is Fred R. Schumann, PhD, associate professor of Global Resources Management in the School of Business and Public Administration, University of Guam, where he has been a member of the faculty since 2009. He has been active as a business executive in the Asia Pacific region for over 30 years, working with various multinational retail and hospitality firms. Dr. Schumann’s primary research has been in the field of international tourism, trends in consumer spending and island sustainability. Touchstones for this conversation include a 2010 presentation (with John Peterson) entitled “War Games: Okinawa, Guam, and Heritage Preservation," as part of the Tourism Education Council (TEC) Lecture Series and his 2012 publication of “Tourism and the Military Buildup on Guam: Adapting to Change” (Asia Pacific World, Vol. 3, No. 2).
In the second half, we feature brief commentary from six key stakeholders in the tourism industry: Jon Nathan Denight, general manager, Guam Visitors Bureau; Mary Rhodes, president, Guam Hotel & Restaurant Association; Jeff Pleadwell, owner of Jeff's Pirates Cove in Ipan, Talofofo; from the Guam National Wildlife Refuge—-Emily Sablan, park ranger, and Dr. Larisa Ford, project leader for the Mariana Islands Refuges and Monument Complex; and Anthony Ramirez,historian, Guam Department of Parks and Recreation.
These commentaries were recorded with the assistance of Rosanne Perez, a BBA graduate of the University of Guan with a concentration in International Tourism and Hospitality Management and Human Resources Management.
Ep. 249 “One Thousand Paper Cranes and Other Actions for Peace” (hosted by Dr. Vivian Dames and produced by Tom Maxedon with assistance from Alan Grossman and Robert Wang) was recorded 7/31/16 and airs 9/2/16.
This episode begins with a short presentation made by 10 year old Maria Jessica Schwab to her fifth grade class at St Francis Catholic School on Guam about the book entitled Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (1977) by American-Canadian author Eleanor Coerr. This story is based on the letters of a girl who was two years old when she survived the horrific atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 but died ten years later of leukemia caused by the radiation.
This is followed by my interview with another Hibakusha, or victim of the atomic bombing. Hideko Tamura-Snider is a retired social worker who worked in the field of child welfare and mental health in the United States for forty years dealing with issues related to trauma, loss, grief and healing. Since 1979 she has been appearing before professional organizations, university classes, and community groups across the United States and in her native Japan, telling her story and encouraging people of all cultures and nations to examine the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons and to work toward peace and nuclear nonproliferation. She has authored a memoir One Sunny Day (1996) and a children's picture book When a Peace Tree Blooms (2014). In 2007 she founded One Sunny Day Initiatives to educate people about the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons and to plant seeds of peace, hope and reconciliation through educational presentations and cultural exchange programs. In 2013, she was honored by appointment as Peace Ambassador for the City of Hiroshima. From 12/23/15~1/5/16, she visited for the first time the islands of Saipan and Tinian, the launching point for the atomic bomb attacks against Japan (see http://www.saipantribune.com/index.php/hiroshima-bombing-survivor-advocates-for-peace/).
In the second half, I speak with Arthur ‘AJ’ Taimanglo and Raymond Lujan, sons of Chamorro men who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, who have represented Guam at events in Japan to remember the atomic bombings and to promote solidarity and peace. These events are sponsored by Gensuikyo (Japan Council Against A and H Bombs) which was established in September 1955. Since then it has waged various kinds of campaigns for: the prevention of nuclear war; the total ban on and the elimination of nuclear weapons; and support and solidarity with Hibakusha. The council's founding followed the first World Conference against A & H Bombs, held in August of the same year in the wake of the U.S. hydrogen bomb testing in the Marshall Islands.
AJ Taimanglo first visited Japan as a cultural exchange student while in middle school. In 2014 he returned as one of seven international delegates to participate in the nationwide anti-nuclear Peace March. This annual 90 day relay began in 1958 and covers all 47 prefectures using 11 main routes. The other delegates were from Japan, the Philippines, India, and the United States. At that time AJ was a social work student at the University of Guam. He is currently a social worker at Catholic Social Services working with the elderly and adults with disabilities who have encountered some form of abuse.
Ray Lujan was also in middle school when he first visited Japan as a Junior Peace Ambassador for the Asia-Pacific Children’s Convention. He recently returned from representing Guam at the 2016 Peace March, as well as the World Conference Against A and H Bombs held August 2-9 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He chaired two breakout sessions at this conference and also toured the Japan Red Cross A Bomb Hospital in Hiroshima. He is currently a social work senior at the University of Guam and a practicum student at the I Famaguon-ta Program at the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center where he works with at-risk children and youth and their families.
This episode includes the musical selection “Thousand Cranes” by Hiroshima, an American-Asian jazz fusion band, as well as a CNN audio clip by Will Ripley about President Obama’s May 27, 2016 visit to Hiroshima.
Ep. 248 “Decolonizing Oceania and the Festival of the Pacific Arts” (hosted by Dr. Tiara Naputi and produced by Tom Maxedon with assistance from Alan Grossman) airs 7/15/16.
This episode is dedicated to the late Eddie “Uncle Ed” Leon Guerrero Benavente, a Chamoru rights activist and longtime supporter for the decolonization of Guåhan, who passed away on July 6, 2016.
This episode features commentary from Chamorus who discuss the issue of decolonization at the 12th Festival of the Pacific Arts, hosted by Guåhan from May 22-June 4, 2016. The festival’s theme, "Håfa Iyo-ta, Håfa Guinahå-ta, Håfa Ta Påtte, Dinanña' Sunidu Siha Giya Pasifiku" or "What We Own, What We Have, What We Share, United Voices of the Pacific" provided an opportunity to consider the shared histories and contemporary realities throughout Oceania.
Commentary is provided by six of the twelve Guåhan delegates who staged a strategic action during the Festival’s closing ceremony on Saturday, June 4th calling for unity across Oceania. Standing in solidarity with the decolonization struggle of other indigenous communities throughout Oceania (especially the Kanak, Kanaka Maoli, West Papuans, and Rapa Nui), these delegates unfurled their wraps as banners that carried the message “Decolonize Oceania” and “Free Guåhan.” They share their stories, describe their roles in this political action, and discuss how decolonization was woven throughout FestPac in various ways:
• Desiree Taimanglo Ventura
• Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero
• Kisha Borja-Quichocho-Calvo
• Kenneth Gofigan Kuper
• Monaeka Flores
• Joseph Certeza
This episode also includes an interview with Monica Guzman, the Programming Chair for the 2016 Festival of the Pacific Arts, who shares her response to this strategic action at the closing ceremony, and broader political issues addressed at the festival.
For related commentary published in the Pacific Daily News written by Kisha Borja-Quichocho- Calvo, “Political Statement at FestPac Necessary” (June 9, 2016) and by Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero and Michael Lujan Bevacqua, “We Deserve to be Free” (June 19, 2016), go to: https://www.facebook.com/beyondthefencekprg/ .
Additionally, a short film is being produced by the Independence for Guam Task Force to share the story behind the strategic action that took place at the closing ceremony. To view some information about this film (anticipated for release in September 2016), go to: https://www.facebook.com/1768523633376324/videos/1798543663707654/
Guest host Tiara Naputi (Ph.D. The University of Texas-Austin) is a member of the Chamoru diaspora whose interdisciplinary work focuses on indigenous studies, rhetoric and cultural studies. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado-Boulder
Ep. 247 “The PROMESA and the Colonial Crisis in Puerto Rico” (hosted by Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua and produced by Tom Maxedon with assistance from Alan Grossman) was recorded 6/2/16 in Managua, Nicaragua and airs 7/1/16.
This episode features an in-person interview with Wilma E. Reverón-Collazo, an internationally recognized human rights activist and attorney practicing employment, civil rights, and family law in Puerto Rico.
In recent weeks the news of an economic crisis in Puerto Rico has been widely reported in the media. The local government is more than $70 billion in debt and the island is suffering with an unemployment rate of 11.4% and a poverty rate of 45%. Basic public services in health care and education have been dramatically affected and the island is experiencing a rapid brain drain as those who have the means to leave, are doing so.
What is rarely reported by mainstream media is that much of Puerto Rico’s current dire financial state is due to its long-standing history as a U.S. colony, and past and existing laws that have kept it, as some scholars suggest, as a “laboratory of neoliberalism.” This implies that certain predatory or Malthusian social and economic policies that are currently being imposed on developing countries around the world, were first piloted in Puerto Rico. Current U.S. and Puerto Rico law restrict this commonwealth’s ability to respond to its financial crisis, for example by requiring that it pay its debtors each month before it takes care of its basic services; also, by preventing it from declaring bankruptcy in order to restructure its debt.
On June 29, the U.S. Senate passed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA, which translates to promise), on a bipartisan 68-30 vote, three weeks after the House overwhelmingly backed the measure. This vote came just two days before Puerto Rico is due to make a $2 billion payment to creditors. Puerto Rico is scheduled for its next round of debt payments and is unable to meet them. This supposed “rescue” legislation affords an opportunity for Puerto Rico to restructure its debt by placing it under the control of a seven-member federal fiscal board whose authority supersedes any local law or elected official.
Attorney Reverón-Collazo discusses the colonial origins of the current debt crisis and how, in her opinion, the PROMESA only promises to create more problems.
This interview was conducted by Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua on June 2, 2016 at the United Nations Committee of 24 (Special Committee on Decolonization) Regional Seminar held in Managua, Nicaragua.
Ep. 246 “A Tribute to Daniel Berrigan: Prophet of Peace …and More” (hosted by Francis X. Hezel and produced by Tom Maxedon with assistance from Alan Grossman and Robert Wang) airs 6/24/16.
Father Daniel Berrigan—American Jesuit priest, poet, author, teacher, anti-war activist, prophet, controversial figure—died April 30, just nine days shy of his 95thbirthday.
Berrigan made his first mark on the nation in the midst of the Vietnam War–a war that increasingly divided the United States. Berrigan was one of the towering figures of that era–and perhaps one of the most divisive. Together with his late brother, Philip, the Berrigan brothers stood as radical spokesmen for peace even as their own country was waging war. They burned draft files in the parking lot of the Catonsville, Maryland draft board and trespassed onto the General Electric nuclear missile facility in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania were they damaged nuclear nuclear warhead nose cones, in acts of resistance to U.S. militarism. The Berrigan brothers' felonious forms of nonviolent protest led a nation of Catholics, and millions of others, to both loathe and love the brothers, who together made the cover of Timemagazine in 1971 for their work in opposition to the Vietnam War.
This episode features interviews via Skype with Fr. Raymond A. Schroth, a Jesuit, journalist, and teacher who was a colleague of Berrigan’s. John O’Gorman, who was a student of Berrigan’s in 1989 in a Seminar on Peace & Justice at Loyola University-New Orleans; and Gerry Drummond, a former Jesuit and friend. They share personal reflections about this remarkable man, his peacemaking legacy and impact on their own formation of conscience about war, and his wake and funeral in May.
This episode includes the poem by Berrigan entitled "Some" which he performed 6/10/06 at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City; two poems of Berrigan read by Gerry Drummond; and a clip from the film “King Of Prussia”, excerpted from Democracy Now, “Remembering Father Daniel Berrigan - A Prophet”, which aired 5/30/16. The episode concludes with the songs: “Peace, Love, and Understanding” performed by Nick Lowe and “War” performed by Edwin Star.
Guest host Father Francis X. Hezel, S.J, has lived and worked in Micronesia since 1963. At different times, he has served as a high school teacher, school administrator, pastor and regional superior to the Jesuits in Micronesia. He is now serving as parochial vicar in Santa Barbara Catholic Church in Guam after 40 years as director of Micronesian Seminar, the public education program for the Catholic Church in the Caroline Islands. He has written and spoken widely about the impacts of social change on island societies and has authored several books on Micronesian history. You may view his May 6 , 2015 commentary on Dan Berrigan at www.wheresfran.org/.
Ep. 244 “Our Pasts Before Us: Militarization in the Marianas” hosted by Dr. Lisa Linda Natividad and produced by Tom Maxedon with assistance from Alan Grossman) was recorded 5/20/16 and airs 5/27/16.
This episode features three Chamorro scholars who discuss “Militarization in the Marianas”, a panel presentation at the 22nd Pacific History Conference held May 19-21 at the Hyatt Hotel in Tumon, Guam. This year’s conference theme “Mo’na: Our Pasts Before Us” calls for an examination of the past to learn how this has shaped the present and may etch the future. This biennial conference brought together about 275 participants representing 21 countries and Guam [for more conference details, go to: www.uog.edu/phaconference/sessions-and-abstracts].
In the first presentation, “Sindålu Stories; The Role of US Military Service in Shaping Contemporary Chamorro Identity” Michael Lujan Bevacqua (Ph.D. University of California, San Diego) discusses how the US military presence on Guam has provided a means through which Chamorros have developed a closer, patriotic attachment to their colonizer, but also through various policies helped foment Chamorro desire for decolonization and greater political autonomy. Dr. Bevacqua is the coordinator of the Chamorro Studies Program at the University of Guam where he teaches the Chamorro language and the History of Guam [for coverage of Dr. Bevacqua’s ‘walking tour’ of the Guam Humanities Council Sindålu exhibit, download Ep. 194 (7/18/14), “Sindålu: Chamorro Journeys in the U.S . Military”].
When the U.S. Department of Navy announced in 2009 that the ancient village of Pågat was its preferred alternative in Guam for a Live Fire Training Range Complex, diverse groups came together in unprecedented ways to protect this sacred site. In the second presentation, “Pågat: How a Community United to Save an Ancient Village”, Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero (MFA, Mills College) discusses the community efforts that went into saving Pågat and what this critical moment in Guam’s history reveals about resistance to the military buildup. At the time of this Save Pågat Protest in 2010 (video available on Youtube) referenced in her talk, Ms. Leon Guerrero was a co-organizer with We Are Guahan. She is currently the Managing Editor for the University of Guam Press [for related episodes, download Ep. 20 (6/4/10) “Pågat Under Fire: Resistance through Historic Preservation”, Ep. 48 (12/31/10) ,"The Lawsuit to Save Pågat Village --- And More”, Ep. 160 (8/23/13) “The Marianas Under Siege: Farallon de Medinilla, Pågat, Tinian and Pagan”, Ep. 181 (4/18/14) “Theatre on Sacred Ground”, Ep. 184 (5/9/14), “From Pågat to Ritidian: The Live-Fire Training Range Complex (LFTRC) Controversy Continues”].
Tiara R. Naputi (Ph.D. University of Texas-Austin) is a member of the Chamoru diaspora whose interdisciplinary work focuses on indigenous studies, rhetoric and cultural studies. In her presentation, “Forward from the Marianas: Navigating with Our Ancestors through Waves of Militarization”, she “launches from the Marianas to navigate ancestral and decolonial strategies that challenge colonization and militarization throughout Oceania … to destabilize historical and contemporary U.S. national narratives and colonial forms of representation about the Pacific.” Formerly a member of the faculty in Diversity and Community Studies at Western Kentucky University, Dr. Naputi is assuming a new position as an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado-Boulder [for related discussions, download Ep. 95 (12/2/11) “We Are the Many - Across the Pacific Blue Continent, Part I” and Ep. 97 (12/17/11) “We Are the Many - Across the Pacific Blue Continent, Part II”].
Music selection: Oceanic Realm by Brandon Fletcher .
Ep. 243 “Guahan, Vieques (Puerto Rico), and Hawai’i: Island Relationalities and Feminist Demilitarization Movements”(hosted by Dr. Lisa Linda Natividad and produced by Tom Maxedon with assistance from Alan Grossman and Robert Wang) was recorded 5/16/16 and airs 5/20/16.
Program guest is Ms. Rebekah Garrison, a PhD candidate in American Studies and Ethnicity, University of Southern California (USC). Her dissertation research in progress is a comparative examination of how female Indigenous activists on Guahan, Vieques (Puerto Rico) and Hawaiʻi, link the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea through demilitarization, as the core of their social movements.
Vieques is an island in Puerto Rico that the U.S. Department of Defense used as a site for bomb testing and training between 1941 and 2003. Kaho’olawe in the Hawaiian Island chain was also used for similar purposes from 1941 thru 1990, which ended as a result of actions and litigation brought by the Protect Kaho’olawe‘ Ohana (PKO). Through a decolonial framework, Rebekah examines community mobilizations that resulted in the expulsion of the US military and its allies from Kahoʻolawe, Hawaii in 1990 and Vieques, Puerto Rico in 2003. She is on Guahan for extended fieldwork to explore demilitarization tactics within the contemporary Mariana Islands.
Using a combination of archival research, interviews, and participant observation, she attempts to write a history of “island relationality”, wherein she uses an alternative approach to the singular study of islands and instead, demilitarizes colonial cartographies for comparative analysis. Rebekah focuses on the International Women’s Network Against Militarism (IWNAM), and examines how members of this organization construct their own decolonial theorizations of geography. By creating a network of relations, participants redefine the parameters of thinking through islands as comparative units. In her research, she articulates how the histories of Kahoʻolawe and Vieques circulate within Guahan and cognitively map decolonial forms of island relational experiences between Pacific and Caribbean islands. The IWNAM provides a new discourse regarding the ways in which female indigenous activists across multiple islands mobilize solidarity, disrupting histories of colonialism while also imagining a future free of US military imposition.
Music selection: Canción para Vieques (Song for Vieques) performed by various artists.
Dr. Lisa Linda Natividad is an associate professor of social work at the University of Guam. She is also the organizer and chair of the Guahan Coalition of Peace and Justice, a member organization of IWNAM. She is serving as interim coordinator for Beyond the Fence.
Ep. 242 “Motherhood and Activism through Publication” (hosted by Desiree Taimanglo Ventura and produced by Tom Maxedon with assistance from Alan Grossman) was recorded 4/29/16 and airs 5/6/16.
In celebration of Mother’s Day (May 8), this episode features conversations with three creative Chamoru mothers who seek to preserve their indigenous language and culture through education, community action, and publication. They discuss the challenges of balancing motherhood and activism, their efforts in the classroom to promote awareness of local issues, and the inspiration behind their creative and published works.
Our first guest is Moñeka De Oro, mother of 7 year old Ma’ase and a Master’s student in the Micronesian Studies Program at the University of Guam (UOG). Her academic and community work focuses on the traditional healing arts, cultural preservation and environmental protection of the Marianas Islands. She is an educator who has been involved with Our Islands Are Sacred, the Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice, and We are Guahan. She is also an occasional guest host for Beyond the Fence.
She authored Amot Famalao’an: Traditional Healing and Holistic Living for Women of the Marianas in March 2014, a publication made possible with a grant from the Guam Preservation Trust. She talks about the creation of this unique work, as well as the 2011 publication of her poem Para I Lahi-hu (For My Son) in UOG’s Storyboard 11: Navigating Our Future.
This is followed by a conversation with sisters-in-law, Dana Bollinger and Simone Eugenia Perez Bollinger, both language teachers who co-authored a new Chamoru children’s book, Ma Guaiya Yu’ si Nåna yan si Tåta (Grandma and Grandpa Love Me) published by Taiguini Books, a division of the University of Guam Press. This book is beautifully illustrated by Cielo de los Reyes, artist, educator and mother of three.
Dana has been teaching Spanish at John F. Kennedy High School for over ten years and has two children, Amaya and Andrew. Simone is an English instructor at the Guam Community College who has published numerous creative works dealing with local issues, cultural identity and teaching. She is a member of the Festival of Pacific Arts Literary Arts Committee and will be representing Guam as a delegate. She received the 2015 MagPro Award for Excellence in Higher Education and was listed in the AGA Who’s Who in the Government of Guam, 40 and Under. She has also been working to develop post-secondary Chamoru language curriculum for institutions of higher education in Hawaii, Guam, and the CNMI through an ANA grant. She has a two year old daughter, Ena Ramone.
Music selection: “Nanan Mami” by J.D. Crutch
Guest host, Desiree Taimanglo Ventura, recorded the conversation with Dana and Simone in her Yigo home, where she and her guests could comfortably include their young children. Desiree is currently on leave from the Guam Community College. where she teaches English, to care for her son, Vincent, and new born daughter, Lilia Grace.
Ep. 241 “Environmental Leadership and Island Sustainability in Micronesia” (hosted by Dr. Vivian Dames and produced by Tom Maxedon with assistance from Alan Grossman) airs 4/22/16.
In recognition of Earth Day (April 22), this episode features three leaders in Micronesia who are widely recognized for their commitment to protection of the environment which is essential to the sustainability of our islands and of the cultural identities of our diverse indigenous peoples.
Program guest in the first half of this episode is Tommy Remengesau Jr., President of the Republic of Palau, who was interviewed March 4 while in Guam to present the keynote address at the 6th Micronesian Non-Profit Congress hosted by Payu’ta, Inc. (“Our Umbrella”, in Chamorro).
Remengesau is the eighth president of the Republic of Palau and the first Palauan to be elected president three times. He is running for re-election in November 2016. In 2007, Time magazine named him one of the heroes of the environment for initiatives such as the Micronesian Challenge. In 2014, the United Nations Environmental Programme, awarded him with its top accolade -- The Champion of the Earth award for his leadership in strengthening Palau’s economic resilience through national initiatives to protect its biodiversity. Also in 2014, the environmental organization, Rare, presented Remengesau with its first Inspiring Conservation Award. President Remengesau is now spearheading an historic effort to establish a marine sanctuary covering 80% of Palau’s territorial waters, providing even greater protection for Palau’s environment while further enhancing Palau’s tourism revenues.
This first segment concludes with the audio track of a video entitled “Modern Day Uab” (GEF /Pacific IWRM Project/Roll’em Productions, Palau/Secretariat of the Pacific Community) which is about a Palauan legend that mirrors what is happening today globally and in the Pacific Island region and the steps that Palau is taking to conserve natural resources for future generations.
In the second half we feature the welcome address of Dr. Robert Underwood followed by the keynote speech of Tony deBrum at the seventh regional conference on island sustainability co-hosted by the University of Guam (UOG) and the University of Alaska- Fairbanks that was held April 11-15 on Guam.
Dr. Underwood, UOG President and former Guam Delegate, established the Center for Island Sustainability (CIS) in 2009 which is becoming a focal institute for adapting and modeling sustainable technologies that meet the needs of island communities. Dr. Underwood also seeks to promote change by “leading change” through an array of Go Green initiatives on the UOG campus.
Tony de Brum has dedicated a lifetime of public service in pursuit of an independent, secure and sustainable Marshall Islands and has courageously advanced his people’s vision of a world free of nuclear weapons. As the former Foreign Minister, he and his legal team took the unprecedented step of filing lawsuits against all nine nuclear weapons states in the International Court of Justice in 2014, seeking to hold them to account for their failure to abide by the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and customary international law. For this work, they have been nominated for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. Also, as architect of the Majuro Declaration for Climate Leadership, adopted in September 2013, de Brum has also been instrumental in securing the commitment of Pacific Island States to adopt concrete measures to combat climate change.
This episode concludes with the poem “Tell Them” composed and performed by Marshall Islander Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner at the opening ceremony of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York City in 2014 and at the Paris Climate Change Summit in 2015.
[For related episodes, see Ep. 203 (10/10/14) “Marshallese Poet Speaks To World Leaders at U.N. Climate Summit” and Ep. 233 (1/5/16) “From the Front Line on Climate Change - Micronesia”.]
Special thanks to Jonas Macapinlac and Michelle Conerly, UOG Office of Integrated Marketing and Communication, for providing these selected audio recordings from the 2016 Island Sustainability Conference .
Ep. 179 “I Taotao Sumay (People of Sumay): Forced Exiles and Resistance Identities” (hosted by Dr. Vivian Dames and produced Joy White) first aired 4/6/14 and re-broadcast 4/15/16 (with assistance of Alan Grossman and Robert Wang).
Program guest is James Perez Viernes, historian and educator from the village of Santa Rita and i Taotao Sumay (people of Sumay) descendant. His 2008 master’s thesis “Fanhasso i Taotao Summery: Displacement, Dispossession, and Survival in Guam” examines the displacement of the people of Sumay village by the U.S. Navy and the pervasive “Taotao Sumay” identity as manifested in the post-World War II development of Santa Rita village.
James earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature at the University of Guam and worked for several years in the island’s government and private sectors before going to the University of Hawai’i- Manoa to complete a Master of Arts degree in Pacific Islands Studies. This thesis garnered the Norman Meller Research Award for best MA research paper in the social sciences and humanities that focused on the Pacific Islands. This research has been published in partnership with the Guam Preservation Trust as “Sumay: Rikuetdo para i Famagu’on-ta (A Legacy for Our Children).
At the time of this 2014 interview, James was a doctoral candidate in the University of Hawaii’s Department of History and an adjunct faculty of the University of Guam. Dr. Viernes is now an assistant professor of Chamorro Studies and History at the University of Guam and a member of the Board of Directors of the Guam Preservation Trust. His doctoral research examines the intersections of Chamorro masculinities and American military colonialism during the first Naval era on Guam (1898-1941).
The village of Sumay in southern Guam, once known as the “Pearl of the Pacific”, was occupied by Japanese forces during World War II and destroyed by U.S. Forces bombardment in the retaking of the island in 1944. The people of this village were relocated to a temporary refugee camp adjacent to Sumay which they went on to develop into the present-day village of Santa Rita. According to Perez, the people of Sumay became “forced exiles” and the only group of Chamorros explicitly and permanently forbidden to return to their home village after the war. This area, once a picturesque and thriving coastal village, is now enclosed by U.S. Naval Base Guam, a Navy-controlled installation that was combined in 2009 with Anderson Air Force Base, in northern Guam, to form Joint Region Marianas.
In the past, i Taotao Sumay and their descendants were allowed to visit the Sumay cemetery on All Souls Day. However, such access depends on the base commander and became more restricted after 9-11. In 2009, U.S. Naval Base Guam, in cooperation with the Santa Rita mayor’s office, began to sponsor an annual Back to Sumay Day when those outside the fence are allowed to visit and to celebrate Mass at the barren site of the former Catholic Church and what remains of the Sumay cemetery. The seventh annual Back to Sumay event was held April 9th.
Music selection is the song “Kantan Sumay (Song for Sumay)”, lyrics by Dolores Lizama and performed by Helen Claveria de Guzman from the album Ai Haga-hu, Haga-hu (Korason Productions, 1993) which tells the story of the eviction of the Sumay people and their resettlement in Santa Rita.
This episode concludes with a reading by James Viernes of his 2001 poem “Beloved Sumay” which has since been published. It is now a reading component in the History of Guam and English composition courses at the University of Guam.
Ep. 240 “WWAD (What Would Anghet Do?): Lessons from the Writings and Activism of Angel Santos” (hosted by Dr. Vivian Dames and produced by Tom Maxedon with assistance from Alan Grossman) airs 4/1/16.
On March 30, 2015, the Latte Stone Park in Hagåtña was officially renamed the Angel Leon Guerrero Santos Memorial Park to honor of the U.S. Air Force veteran, three-term senator, Democrat gubernatorial candidate in the 1998 election, and first Maga’lahi of Nasion Chamoru, who became an icon of Chamorro activism in the 1990s. ‘Anghet' fought for the implementation of the Chamorro Land Trust Act and the return of excess federal land, uncovered toxic wastes on private properties kept quiet by military authorities, wrote and lectured on the social injustices of the Chamoru people, and championed human rights, especially for indigenous peoples. He passed away on July 3, 2003 at the age of 44, amidst rumors that he was poisoned while in federal detention for a misdemeanor charge of violating a court order to vacate land that once belonged to his grandfather. His death left, what some describe, as a void in the Chamorro rights movement. Who was this remarkable Chamorro man? What is his legacy? And what would he be doing now, at age 57, if still alive ?
This episode features a March 24 interview with Royce Kiniki Palomo Camacho, a 2015 graduate of the Master of Arts in English program at the University of Guam (UOG). His thesis, entitled “The Writing on the Wall: 21st Century Imaginings of a Chamoru Rights Activist” received the UOG Presidential Thesis Award. Camacho discusses the impetus for this research on the “language of resistance” of Angel Santos, the method of rhetorical analysis, the texts and framework for this analysis, and his “discoveries” and “imaginings” as a researcher. Royce is now an adjunct English instructor at UOG and also in training for a black belt in the martial art of jiujitsu. This interview includes the song "Ko' Gaige Hamyu (Are You There?)” by Ron Eclavea and Tony Sanchez featuring a spoken word performance by Angel Santos. This song, which Camacho references in his thesis, is a call to Chamorros to remember their past and fight for their future. A copy of this thesis is available at the RFK Library, University of Guam.
This interview is followed by brief comment from several individuals who knew Angel Santos in various capacities: Ed Pocaigue was a staff assistant to Senator Santos in the 26th Guam Legislature when the senator co-chaired (with Senator Mark Forbes-R) the Blue Ribbon Panel Committee that commissioned an action report which provided evidence of radioactive contamination on Guam as a result of U.S. nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands. Speaker Judith Won Pat was a fellow Democrat in the 23rd, 24th and 26th Guam Legislatures (1994-1998, and 2000-2002). Danny‘Pågat' Jackson is the current Maga' lahi of Nasion Chamoru, and his wife, Josephine Jackson, is the secretary. Scholar-activist Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua attended church services with Anghet and has written several pieces on his life and activism, including an interpretive essay for Guampedia and “Jumping the Fence: An Evaluation of Nasion Chamoru and Its Impact on Contemporary Guam”, a lecture presented at the 2nd Annual Marianas History Conference. August 30-31, 2013 [broadcast as Ep. 162 (9/6/13) “Historicizing Chamorro Resistance, Subversion and Activism”]. Although Luke Duenas did not know Anghet personally, he represents a new generation of advocates who carry on his legacy. A UOG social work senior, Luke organized student participation in a March 16 rally to oppose the Chamorro Land Trust Commission’s leasing of properties for commercial use and presented this as a case study in cause advocacy at the March 2016 Social Work Conference held on Guam.
Ep. 238 “Lukao Fuha: Chamorro Ancient Ritual, Spirituality and Self-Determination” (hosted by Moñeka De Oro and produced by Tom Maxedon with assistance from Alan Grossman) airs 3/18/16.
For the past three years, the grassroots group Our Islands are Sacred has organized an annual pilgrimage and ceremony in the village of Umatac to celebrate the ancient culture, traditions, and resilience of the Chamorro people despite waves of colonization since the 16th century.
In celebration of Guam History and Chamorro Heritage Day (March 7), this episode features interviews with three Chamorro educators who are co-organizers of this year’s Lukao Fuha (or Fuha pilgrimage) on February 13 to the large rock pillar in Fouha Bay, believed to be the cradle of creation for the people of the Mariana Islands and, in some accounts, for all of humankind.
Joseph ‘Joey’ Certeza, Eva Aguon Cruz, and Shannon Siguenza discuss the significance of the Chamorro creation story of Puntan yan Fu’una and this cultural re-enactment ceremony in relation to Chamorro spirituality, ‘reclaiming the sacred’, and self-determination. This episode begins with the chant Fanlalai'an's "I Tinituthon" and concludes with Jocelyn Toves' call to action with her song “Kottura-ta.”
Guest host Moñeka De Oro is a co-organizer with Our Islands are Sacred and a M.A. candidate in the Micronesian Studies Program at the University of Guam. Her academic and community work focuses on the traditional healing arts, cultural preservation and environmental protection of the Marianas Islands.
Ep. 235 “Record of Decision - Not Guam’s Decision” (hosted by Dr. Vivian Dames and produced by Dance Aoki with assistance from Alan Grossman) aired 2/19/16.
This episode provides partial coverage of the October 20, 2015 meeting with the Governor of Guam sought by several local groups concerned with the impacts of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Guam military buildup signed by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy in late August 2015. This meeting was formally requested in a September 11 letter submitted by Our Islands are Sacred. Supporting letters were later submitted by I Nasion Chamoru and Fuetsan Famalao’an. The Taotaomona Native Rights group, Ritidian Families Association, and the Guam Fishermen’s Co-op were also represented at this meeting.
The signing of the ROD is the final part of the required NEPA process that the Department of Defense (DOD) had to complete to begin construction on things like the main cantonment, housing and live fire training range areas for the U.S. marines to be relocated to Guam from Okinawa. The ROD for the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) officially selects the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, Finegayan (in the densely populated village of Dededo) as the site for the main cantonment, Andersen Air Force Base (AAFB) as the site for family housing, and AAFB Northwest Field as the site for the live fire training range complex. Andersen South is selected as the site for a stand-alone hand grenade range. Considered ‘excess’ by the Air Force, Congress approved the transfer of most of this abandoned housing complex to the Marine Corps in 2002. Located in the central village of Mangilao, it now serves as the Marines Corps' largest urban combat training facility.
In their September 11 letter to Governor Eddie Calvo, Our Islands Are Sacred highlighted an array of concerns, many of which are cited in the FSEIS and the ROD. They emphasized that the ROD is a Department of Defense decision —-not Guam’s decision — and appealed to the Governor to become more critical of the buildup. They requested that local experts and responsible Government of Guam agencies provide accessible information to the public about their assessment of anticipated impacts, alternatives and mitigation measures. They also proposed specific actions the Governor could take to demonstrate that he is a maga’lahi, a chosen leader who will truly “protect and defend our island and our way of life.” This, they urge, must include working in solidarity with regional leaders, especially the new Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands and the Governor of Okinawa, Japan.
The October 20 meeting opened with a chant “Tumotoghe I Lahi” performed by Moñeka de Oro (written and composed by Leonard Z. Iriarte) and a presentation of gifts from the Marianas by Anne Lizama. This was followed by the statement of Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero (representing Our Islands are Sacred) and Catherine Flores McCollum (Maga Ha’ga’ I Nasion Chamoru).
In the second half, we present Governor Calvo’s response at this meeting. Although he assured those present that he would assign staff to address their concerns, four months have passed with no response. Attempts by Beyond the Fence to obtain a status report from his office were unsuccessful. Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero, Catherine Flores McCollum and Shannon Siguenza, a University of Guam graduate student, provide recent comment on the October 20 meeting and the Governor’s inaction to date.
Ep. 236 “U.S. Nuclear Weapons Testing Legacy Continues to Reverberate in the Marshall Islands” (hosted by Giff Johnson and produced by Tom Maxedon with assistance from Alan Grossman) was recorded by Jack Neidenthal in Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands, on 2/18/16 and aired 3/4/16.
In recognition of Nuclear Survivors Remembrance Day (March 1) in the Marshall Islands, this episode features Bikini Islander Lani Kramer and Ailuk Islander Rosania Bennettexplaining how the traumatic events sixty-to-seventy years ago continue to impact daily life for many Marshall Islanders today.
Rosania and Lani are founding members, and President and Treasurer, respectively, of a new organization Radiation Exposure Awareness Crusaders of Humanity — Marshall Islands (REACH-MI) [emailinfo@reach-mi.org / ]. The group was formed in late 2015 to both raise awareness locally of the history and legacy of the 67 U.S. nuclear weapons tests conducted at Bikini and Enewetak atolls from 1946 to 1958 and to reach out to the American people to help promote Marshall Islanders’ claims for justice with the U.S. Congress.
A total of 167 Bikini Islanders were relocated 70 years ago in March to make way for the first post-World War II nuclear weapons tests. The March 1 national holiday in the Marshall Islands is the 62nd anniversary of the 1954 Bravo hydrogen bomb test at Bikini, the largest H-bomb at 15 megatons ever tested by the U.S. It spewed radioactive contamination across many inhabited islands in the Marshall Islands.
Today, Bikinis and Rongelap Islanders still cannot live safely on their home atolls and while Enewetak Islanders moved back to the southern islands in their atoll in 1980, the northern half of Enewetak is still not safe for habitation and use. The U.S. government only acknowledges four atolls as being nuclear test-affected, despite the fact that declassified U.S. government reports show many more inhabited islands in the region were exposed to fallout not only from Bravo but other hydrogen bombs tested at Bikini. Only the four atolls recognized by the U.S. as nuclear test affected — Bikini, Enewetak, Rongelap and Utrik — receive medical care and compensation.
The ongoing exile of islanders from their home atolls remains problematic for many islanders, as does the lack of medical care and compensation for people from outside of the “four atolls.” These issues are covered in detail in this interview with Rosania and Lani.
This U.S. nuclear legacy and claims for reparative justice continue in Guam as well. Since 2005, the Guam Legislature has passed six resolutions for the U.S. Congress to amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 (RECA) to include Guam as 'downwinders' and to improve and increase compensation for those affected by ionizing radiation caused by nuclear testing in Nevada and the Marshall Islands.
Guest host Giff Johnson edits the weekly Marshall Islands Journal in Majuro and is a regular contributor to several regional news media. He is a writer, journalist and author of Don’t Ever Whisper - Darlene Keju, Pacific Health Pioneer, Champion for Nuclear Survivors (2013), a biography about his late wife. His other books include Collision on Course at Kwajalein: Marshall Islanders in the Shadow of the Bomb (1984), Nuclear Past, Unclear Future (2009) and Idyllic No More: Pacific Island Climate, Corruption and Development Dilemmas.
This interview was recorded by Jack Neidenthal, Trust Liaison for the People of Bikini Atoll, filmmaker, and founder of Microwave Films for the Marshall Islands.
Ep. 234 “Power, Social Media, Chamorro Identity and Cyberactivism” (hosted by Dr. Vivian Dames and produced by Dance Aoki with assistance from Alan Grossman) airs 1/22/16. This day is the sixth anniversary of Beyond the Fence.
This episode features individual interviews with Manuel L. Cruz III, Cara Flores-Mays and Moñeka de Oro.
While an undergraduate at the University of Guam, Manuel L. Cruz III, authored a research paper entitled, “I A’adahi: An Analysis of Chamorro Cyberactivism”, which serves as a touchstone for these conversations about power, social media, Chamorro identity and cyberactivism. I A’adahi is used by Cruz to refer to those who are vigilant or watch out for others. From January-March 2014, Cruz investigated the types of content Chamorro cyberactivists use to reach their audience, recruit new members, organize, and mobilize individuals to action. He looked at the on-line content of eight Chamorro SMOs (social movement organizations) and persons, or groups, with political and cultural interests: We are Guahan (WAG), Hinasso, Our Islands are Sacred (OIAS), Adventures in Chamoru, Pa’a Taotao Tano (Pa’a), Inetnon Gefpågo (IG), the website Arkiology, and the blog Minagahet Chamoru. Cruz and his professor, Dr. Lilnabeth Somera, presented this research paper at the 2014 Pacific & Asia Communication Association Conference held in Bandung, Indonesia.
Cruz received his B.A. in Communication with a minor in Chamorro Studies from the University of Guam in 2014. He is now a news reporter for Hit Radio 100 and a graduate student in the UOG English Program. One of his current research projects is an analysis of the arguments for an environmental ‘watchdog’ for Guam. This builds on his earlier work as a communicator with the UOG Sea Grant, and liaison with local and federal environmental agencies.
Cara Flores-Mays is a core member and organizer for We Are Guahan. She is a Chamorro mother and small-business owner specializing in media planning and production. She was instrumental in We Are Guahan’s work to sue the Department of Defense over its proposed use of the ancient village site of Pagat for military training activities. She also produced We Are Pågat with Jason Triplett, a short film that documents the efforts to save Pågat. She is co-founder of Duk Duk Goose, Inc., a local nonprofit that produces Nihi, a children’s show that features Chamorro language and song, for which she is director/producer.
Moñeka de Oro, another daughter of the Marianas, is a mother, educator and core member and organizer of Our Islands are Sacred. She has an undergraduate degree in anthropology from the University of Guam and is currently a graduate student in the Micronesian Studies Program with an interest in indigenous Chamorro health and healing practices.
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