Statement from Legislative Committee on Culture and Justice on the bulldozing of Magua’, Ancient Chamorro Settlement Area

FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE (October 30, 2018 – Hagåtña) – Today, the Guam State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) confirmed that Magua’, an ancient Chamorro settlement area, had been cleared of latte, artifiacts, and other cultural evidence, and then bulldozed. This clearing and grading was in direct contravention of discussions at the Programmatic Agreement Annual Meeting with signatories in April 2018, wherein the Guam Preservation Trust and the SHPO reiterated their written and verbal efforts to ensure this particular culturally significant site be preserved in place, amongst the numerous sites being cleared for the cantonment projects/Marine base at Finegayan.

With recent base access restrictions, the U.S. has made it almost impossible for the public to enjoy and the SHPO to monitor the disturbance of culturally significant areas behind the fencelines, and DOD insists that removing and relocating every last trace of Chamorro life in this area is “mitigation” and culturally responsible action.

Post WWII, the US military took more than 1/3 of our lands, and bulldozed ancient Chamorro villages including Ritidian, Sumay, NCS/Finegayan, Tarague, and Tumon. It is unconscionable that even now, 70 years after WWII and in contravention of International Law, this continued blatant disregard and erasure of the culture, resources, and 4000 year history of the indigenous Chamorro people persists.

I am again calling on the Governor to use all resources available to stop any further destruction of our ancient villages and cultural sites. I reiterate the concerns in my letter to the Governor in May 2018, attached, echoing those raised by our State Historic Preservation Officer and Guam Preservation Trust.

With every loss of our unique cultural sites, we rob future generations of their legacy and identity, and we fail our ancestors.

For more information, please call the Office of Vice Speaker Therese M. Terlaje at (671) 472-3586.

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