CHONNEK GUATU/ HALLA' MAGI
Chapter 1:
(Introduction)
Guam has been a part of the United States for more than a century, and the political relationship can easily be traced through the history books. There can be little doubt about this. As United States law and international treaties have placed Guam firmly within the sovereign sphere of US control.
A far more difficult path exist however for tracing the nature of Chamorro identity. Guam, after being stumbled upon by Magellan in 1521, was colonized by Spanish missionaries in 1668. Interactions with the Spanish led to an almost total decimation of the Chamorro population through wars and disease, it also led to their conversion to Christianity. Chamorros intermarried with Spanish as well as Filipinos, and adopted many of their customs and rituals. When the Americans took Guam from the Spanish Empire in 1899 as a spoil of the Spanish American war, most would doubt the existence of a Chamorro culture, and most would doubt the existence of even a workable identity amongst them. They were seen as a mixed and bastardized race, lacking any purity like other islanders. So far gone was this assumption that any attempts at expressing their identities were met with scorn or contempt.1
At present the same can almost be said. Despite the fact that Chamorros have retaken their culture, and have begun to tell and re-tell their histories, many still doubt the existence of their culture and doubt a distinct Chamorro identity. These doubts linger, even amongst Chamorros themselves.
The past century of American rule has resulted in harsh confusion over the mixed and overlapping of American and Chamorro culture, causing uncertainty over which is which and what is what. The American colonial relationship with Guam has resulted in a perpetual push towards the United States, as well as a constant pulling away from the colonial center.
Tracing the movements and interactions within Chamorro consciousness is vital in understanding the current problems with Chamorro identity, most notably where they are situated in the circle of American belonging? After the tragedy of September 11th, 2001 the American people were called on to support the nation, rally together for the good of us all, wave the flag. Chamorros literally jumped at the chance to support the nation and unify. Why? Considering the history of Chamorros and their relationship with the United States, why would Chamorros join the patriotic tsunami-like sentiment which washed over the country?
The hope of this paper is to follow the shifts in Chamorro identity and culture, and there interactions with the Navy which eventually produced the current identity crisis we find today, where Chamorros are politically part of the United States (which is at least what their passports’ say) but historically and culturally the connection is not nearly as clear.