Guam Culture
In Focus: Jillian Leon-Guerrero
Guam’s population is a mixture of native Chamorro people, who are believed to be originally Austronesian, and other groups that have immigrated to the island. Leon-Guerrero says, “It’s definitely an American culture, but also with that, you mix in the Chamorro indigenous culture, and the Filipino, so it’s a mélange of a lot of different places.” ... When Leon-Guerrero became the Guam Humanities Council’s executive director in 1999, the Humanities Council was operating on a rudimentary level. “The office was comprised of a computer in my living room,” she says. She is working to revitalize the island’s humanities programming, beginning with the council’s newest project, “Our Island Home.” According to Leon-Guerrero, the program will encourage Guamanians to explore their culture and to ask questions about their community. “Who lives in their villages, what are their stories, what are their histories, what makes that village unique compared to other places?” ... [Read More]
CIA - The World Factbook -- Costa Rica
agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.) ... agriculture: 8.5% ... deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; coastal marine pollution; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution ... [Read More]
USA Freedom Corps: About USA Freedom Corps: Newsroom: Press Releases & Announcements
The past 10 years, Guam AmeriCorps has been successfully operating a program from the Office of the Governor. The current program has 46 AmeriCorps members working to promote literacy with the Guam Public Library; provide mentoring to at-risk youth with the Department of Youth Affairs; environmental and watershed restoration with the Department of Agriculture (Forestry & Soil Division); and after-school / summer-break youth activities with the Department of Parks & Recreation. ... [Read More]
PSRML Regional Information: Pacific Basin
Philippine Cultures , provided by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) of the Philippine Islands, has cultural information related to the Philippine Islands and Filipinos. ... [Read More]
War in the Pacific NHP: Liberation - Guam Remembers
The invasion detachment departed Guam January 14,1942, sailing to Truk (now Chuuk) with carriers and other ships ofJapan's 4th Fleet; this force would later take Rabaul and make it one ofthe empire's major military bases in the Pacific. Left to administer Guam was the keibitai, theJapanese naval militia with less than 500 men. Directly managing thepeople were the minseibu, the keibitai's cadre of policemen andinvestigators. Under the minseibu, life on island was relativelyquiet. However, there were still attempts to convince theChamorro populace of Japan's superiority over the Americans. After everyJapanese conquest in the Pacific or Far East, military parades were heldthrough the streets of Agana. When Singapore fell on February 15, 1942,sabers rattled through the narrow streets of the barrios of San Ignacioand San Nicolas; the march of soldiers would end at a Buddhist shrine ona hillside above Agana. Other shows of might by the Japanese militarywere given when General Douglas MacAr ... [Read More]
War in the Pacific NHP: Liberation - Guam Remembers
The one characteristic of the World War II Japanesesoldier that would never fail to amaze, confound, arouse fear in his foewas his dedication to the code of Bushido, the way of thewarrior. The code was Japanese chivalry in practice, withmembers of the Japanese army and navy its greatest followers,particularly officers. Emphasizing discipline, loyalty, courage anddeath before dishonor, the Bushido ethic of the samurai of feudalJapan was entrenched in the mind and in the soul of the20th century Japanese soldier. So many would give their lives insuicidal charges thought to be honorable, their lives given in sacrificefor the Emperor and Japan. To Marines and soldiers who experienced a banzaicharge, it was fearful. "Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. It was themost traumatic experience I ever had," said retired Marine Capt. JackEddy, a veteran of the battles of Bougainville, Guam, and Iwo Jima. Onthe night of July 25, in Guam, Eddy and his platoon repulsed the chargeof not one, not two, ... [Read More]
War in the Pacific NHP: Liberation - Guam Remembers
While this difficult period deprived those of mygeneration most of our tender teen years, it taught us more about life,family and ourselves than I, for one, had ever learned before or sincein all the schools I have attended. The Chamorro spirit was not anabstraction; rather, it was demonstrably real during those years and Ihave drawn inspiration and sustenance from that reality my entirelife. Our World War II experience was harsh by anystandard. Severe deprivation, indignities, and punishment were commonplace. There was always that pervasive sense of personal insecurity.Most members of my generation as well as the older generation prefer notto dwell on the scars of those difficult years. But those of us who survived the trial of the waryears bear witness to a side of the occupation that I will call the"inner Guam," one that the enemy was never privileged to enter. It wasthe purest product of that cauldron of war, the brightest star in thedark sky of those traumatic times. They would ... [Read More]
FEMA: New Region IX Partners - Guam
The native culture is Chamorro, which is a mixed heritage of Micronesian and Spanish. Less than one-half of the island’s residents are Chamorro. ... [Read More]
Brief History of the Island Areas
Diseases and conflicts resulted in the near annihilation of the original Gua-manians, known as Chamorros. Intermarriage of Spaniards and Filipinos with Chamorros during the 18th and 19th centuries gave rise to the modern Guamanian race and culture, and Chamorro is still commonly spoken in Guam. Over 90 years of American influence also has had its effect on modern-day Guam, as did the Japanese occupation during World War II. Guam became a major military site for the United States after its liberation in August 1944. In fact, since the end of World War II, approximately one-third of Guam's land area has been owned by the Federal Government, most of it in military reservations; in 1980, almost 20,000 people, or over 18 percent of Guam's population, lived on military bases--primarily Andersen Air Force Base, Finegayan Naval Communication Station, and Apra Harbor Naval Reservation--and on U.S. Navy ships for which Guam was the home port. ... [Read More]
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