GUAM to GUÅHAN
by
Norbert Perez
“a most practical and responsible direction”
Changing our island’s name from GUAM to GUÅHAN is not
just a political choice but a practical decision. Of course, it will restore our ancient identity and bring us closer to our
sacred roots. Most importantly, though, it will begin the process of reversing the negative muse and social perversion resulting
from generations of ethnic cleansing.
300 hundred years of Spanish atrocities have forced our people
into a dysfunctional cultural quagmire. Our ancient Chamori society was matriarchal, while the Spanish society was patriarchal;
a complete reversal in social norms. If you notice the present framework of our island society and how we identify ourselves,
there is a lack of identity & cultural continuity. The people of Umatac, sponsored by Guam Visitors Bureau are promoting
the Discovery Day or Magellan Day celebration…including a re-enactment of the first western landfall. Considering the
atrocities committed by our Spanish colonizers and missionaries upon our people, it is a grievous and sanctimonious conduct.
They raped our women. They vilified our forefathers, calling them devils. They forced their Christian religion upon us. They
murdered our ancestors in the name of GOD. If Jihad was a word in the 15th and 16th centuries, these
would be intrinsic classifier for those abuses. While the Catholic Church continues to ignore these atrocities claiming we
are a better people because we forgave our abusers and our murderers, it is a legacy that keeps us trapped in denial, morally.
To further ignore and suppress the molecules of our ancestral roots is an omen; a sad and ignoble state of affairs. Please
ponder on the many ills in our society today, domestic violence; rapes, murders, robberies, pornography, food stamps &
welfare; begging; and the lost of our dignity and honor.
Imagine if the Jewish people build a monument for Adolf Hitler
in Jerusalem, ignoring the Holocausts and the murder of millions of their kind. Imagine New York City or Oklahoma City residents
promoting their state respectively with a statue of Timothy McVey or a memorial plague for Mohammad Atta. Consider a re-enactment
of the TINTA MASSACRE in Malesso’ to entice the Japanese Tourists to visit our island and celebrate the cruel beheading
of our people? These kinds of actions are ABNORMAL, DESPICABLE and highlight our society as dysfunctional and completely LOST.
In 1898 Naval Governor Richard O’Leary, through an Executive
Order, changed our island’s name from GUÅHAN to GUAM. It started the long-standing crime of Ethnic Cleansing and the
annihilation of our Chamori race and Identity. The United States Congress perpetuated the crime by fomenting the name GUAM
to our Organic Act (the enabling legislation creating our local government, our so-called Constitution). To this very day,
the name of GUAM defines our people and our island, which is not our sacred identity and not the historical name of our island.
In our ancient language, our island was known as “Tano’ Guinaha” or Island of abundance. We are CHAMORI
from the Paradise Island of GUÅHAN.
The United States government, in as much as it improved the
education and living conditions of our people by making GUAM an American Territory and making us American citizens in August
1950 has not fundamentally helped our island to become self reliant and self sufficient. Instead, America fostered a policy
of keeping us dependent on socialized programs like food stamps and welfare. These assistance based menus destroyed our ancient
identity and culture and thus robbed us of our dignity and honor. Additionally, it forced us to become addicted to some of
the most unhealthy foods, such as Spam and Corn-beef, which exploded the number of Chamori afflicted with coronary and heart
diseases, including diabetes.
These dependency programs extended further to our social and
political endeavors which served to limit our ability and motivation to work collectively with our neighboring countries,
governments and islands.
