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Author name: Shannon Murphy

Catholic, Civic Society, Historic Eras of Guam, Religion, Spanish Era, Spanish Era: Religion

Spanish Colonialism and CHamoru Responses: The Aberigua Project

 

Addresses misrepresentations focused in missionization. The research project Aberigua investigates the impact that Spanish colonialism had on CHamorus from a decolonial-depatriarchal standpoint aimed at redressing misrepresentations of communities, territories, practices, values, cultural logic and ways of being. It scrutinizes the case-specific details of colonial strategies, with a focus on Jesuit missionization, and subsequent native responses, including processes of cultural identity, change and continuity. It endorses a long-term perspective that includes investigations on Latte rationalities to understand the real impact brought by the colony. 

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Civic Society, Guamanian Era, Guamanian Era: Politics, Historic Eras of Guam, Justice, Modern Guam Rises, People, People and Places, Politics and Government

Speaker Joaquin C. Arriola

 

Postwar leader. Joaquin “Kin” C. Arriola (1925 – 2022) was a prominent figure at the forefront of Guam’s legal history. Arriola was one of Guam’s leaders who took part in making the island what it is today. Guam’s current form of limited self-government took decades of vision, calls for justice, and tenacity by local leaders such as Arriola.

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Art, Architecture, Body Adornment, Music and Food, Food, Modern Guam Rises

CHamoru’s Love of Spam

 

SPAM® in Guam history and culture. SPAM®, the famous pink loaf in a blue square can found in kitchens around the world, has a particular place in the Guamanian household. Alongside, and maybe more so than, canned corned beef, SPAM® is probably the most versatile food item that people on Guam have handled, prepared and consistently consumed since its introduction to the Pacific islands in the mid-20th century.

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Civic Society, Contemporary Guam: Religion, Guamanian Era: Religion, Modern Guam Rises, Post WWII: Religion, Religion

Chamorro Nuns in Postwar Guam

 

Establishment of Religious Sisters in Guam. Religious sisters have been actively working and praying with Guam’s Catholic faith community since 1946. From the classroom to the hospital, the women’s shelter to the senior care home, religious sisters have had a significant presence in people’s lives here in Guam and hold an important place in the island’s history.

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Civic Society, Contemporary Guam Era, Contemporary Guam: Politics, Guamanian Era, Guamanian Era: Politics, Historic Eras of Guam, Modern Guam Rises, People, People and Places, Politics and Government

Speaker Joe T. San Agustin

 

Public servant for more than six decades. Speaker Joe Taitano San Agustin (1930 – 2021) was the epitome of a public servant and a leader in Guam for more than six decades. He was born to Candido Sanchez and Maria Taitano San Agustin of Hagåtña. San Agustin married Carmen Shimizu San Agustin. They had four children, Ann, Mary, Joe, and John.

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Art, Art, Architecture, Body Adornment, Music and Food, Civic Society, Contemporary Art, Contemporary Guam: Education, Creative Expressions, Education, Language, Modern Guam Rises

CHamoru Comic Strip: Juan Malimanga

 

“Juan Malimanga” is the first comic strip in local print news that is written completely in the CHamoru language. The comic strip, originally written by Clotilde Castro Gould and illustrated by Roger Faustino, centers around humorous observations and adventures of the character Juan Malimanga. Despite its continued publication in the Pacific Daily News (PDN), the origins of this iconic comic strip signaled a landmark victory in efforts to overturn the controversial language policies of print media on the island of Guam. 

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Civic Society, Contemporary Guam: Education, Education, Guamanian Era: Education, Modern Guam Rises

Guam’s Bilingual/Bicultural Program

 

The Chamorro Bilingual/Bicultural Program began on Guam in 1970 as a five-year test program run by the Guam Department of Education to promote the use of the CHamoru language in public schools on Guam. It served as the precursor to the CHamoru Studies Department, which continues to operate in the Guam Department of Education. This program marked the first time the CHamoru language was officially used in classrooms in the Mariana Islands. 

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Civic Society, Guamanian Era: Politics, Modern Guam Rises, Politics and Government

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in Guam

 

For Guåhan’s neighboring Micronesia islands, their designation as the United Nations’ Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) under US administration was their pathway to self-determination and decolonization. Though the process was fraught with controversy, each of these islands self-determined its current political status. In contrast, Guåhan, also a US territory, played several key roles in administering the TTPI, including hosting its headquarters for nearly a decade and serving as a model in some ways for TTPI administrators. Yet, Guåhan has not had a clear path to self-determination and decolonization and remains a US colonial possession.

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Contemporary Guam: Politics, Guam's Villages, Guamanian Era: Politics, Heritage Sites, Modern Guam Rises, People and Places, Politics and Government, Post WWII Era: Politics, Villages, Heritage Sites and Island Life

The Fight to Keep Tumon Public

 

Tumon Bay has a lengthy history and special significance for the CHamoru people whose ancestors lived and thrived in Tomhom (Tumon) area for millennia, establishing sizable villages, such as Ipao, Tomhom, Naton, Gokña, and Fafå’i. The richness of their lives there are attested by the imprints of pole and thatch structures and numerous other artifacts from the Pre-Latte era (3,500-4,000 years ago to AD 800-900) as well as abundant archeological evidence from the later Latte era (AD 800-900 to 1700s), including numerous sets of latte pillars, pottery shards, fish hooks, lusong mortars, and slingstones.

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