Tinituhun. On 21 July 1991 at Latte Stone Memorial Park in Hagåtña, a small group of Chamorro men and women gathered to form a new organization. This organization would be comprised of a number of different grassroots and family-based groups, who were all connected through a commitment to the Chamorro people and to the protection of their lands, their culture and their rights.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Government of Guam created the Commission on Self-Determination (CSD) to continue the quest for a change in Guam’s political status as an unincorporated territory of the United States. There were two commissions mandated by law: the first was organized in 1980, and the second in 1984.
Commission on Self-Determination Read Post »
Places Guam representative in the House. On 10 April 1972, Public Law 92-271 was passed by the United States Congress, establishing the offices of Delegate of the Territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands. The groundbreaking law finally gave Guam and the Virgin Islands representation in Congress for two-year terms.
Guam Congressional Representation Act 1972 Read Post »
Madeleine Z. Bordallo served as Guam’s delegate to the United States Congress from 2002 until 2018. Originally from Minnesota, Bordallo is a longtime senator of the Guam Legislature, as well as a former first Lady. She is also the first female lieutenant governor of Guam, and the only non-Chamorro to hold this position. With strong ties to the island community, Bordallo has participated in numerous civic organizations and activities, and has lived much of her life in public service on Guam.
Madeleine Zeien Bordallo Read Post »
1974 proceedings of a seminar on political status, University of Guam. In February 1974, the Pacific Asian Studies Association (PASA) at the University of Guam (UOG) held a two-day seminar to discuss political status negotiations that had been ongoing in Micronesia for the past five years.
Richard Flores “Dick” Taitano was a prominent figure in Guam politics and community service following the establishment of the civilian government on Guam. Taitano was a six-term member of the Guam Legislature in the 1960s and 1970s. He was also the first Chamorro to be appointed to serve as the director of the Office of Territories (OOT) in the United States Department of Interior.
Richard Flores Taitano Read Post »
The Guam Elective Governor Act was passed by the United States Congress on 11 September 1968 and granted the people of Guam the authority to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Guam. Known officially as Public Law 90-497, the Elective Governor Act declared that the majority of qualified Guam voters would jointly choose the Governor and Lieutenant Governor and set the first election date for 3 November 1970.
Elective Governor Act 1968 Read Post »
Guam residents seek more self government. In an effort to address deficiencies in Guam’s relationship with the United States, two constitutional conventions were convened by island leaders. Collectively, the conventions are referred to as ConCon.
Guam Constitutional Conventions (ConCon) Read Post »
In the early 1960s when the United Nations passed Resolution 1514 (XV) declaring that peoples in colonized territories had the right to self-determination, many non-self-governing territories around the world began to negotiate new political statuses and relationships with their colonial governments. The UN asserted that this movement toward self-determination should be a voluntary and democratic process, whereby the people of the territory choose their new relationship or status based on their needs and desires.
CHamoru Registry and the Decolonization Registry Read Post »
When Guam was ceded to the United States after the Spanish-American War in 1898, the island fell under the administrative control of the US Navy. The first half of the 20th century saw thirty-two naval governors appointed to rule over the island and its people, but with no formally established civil rights or offers of citizenship for the people of Guam.
National Attention on Guam’s Postwar Campaign for Citizenship Read Post »
