GUAM GOVERNOR PUSHES FOR ‘GUAHAN’ NAME CHANGE
Island’s native name should replace ‘Guam’
Island’s native name should replace ‘Guam’
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
HAGÅTÑA, Guam (Marianas Variety, Feb. 17, 2010) – Governor Felix P. Camacho on Monday sought the adoption of "Guahan" as the territory’s official name, highlighting the newfound cultural activism sparked by the islanders’ resistance to the influx of American troops.
"‘Guahan’ means ‘we have’ and we have the right to do so," the governor said in his final state of the island address yesterday.
In an executive order signed after
delivering his last annual address, the governor ordered that all "Guam"
references in official documents be replaced with "Guahan," the
island’s indigenous name.
Camacho also asked the Legislature to enact the pertinent measure to adopt the official name-change.
The governor’s deputy chief of staff,
Shawn Gumataotao, said the executive order was the first step toward the
lengthy process of officially renaming the territory.
"It requires a change in the Guam Code
Annotated and the Organic Act. It also requires national international
recognition and congressional action," Gumataotao said.
The governor’s bid for reversion to the
island’s indigenous name came as "We Are Guahan," a new movement that
seeks to educate the community about the impact of the military buildup,
became a household word overnight.
"Reclaiming the name ‘Guahan’ enhances
the practice of Chamorro language and promotes the historic and cultural
connection to the island," the executive order states.
The island has always been known as "Guahan" to its natives.
The American started referring to the
island as "Guam" when they came over in 1898. It had since become the
official reference to the island.
On February 23, 1900, the first naval
governor, Richard Leary, requested that the island be officially
designated as "Isle of Guam."
"As a native son, and as the elected
governor of our people, I hereby request that we reclaim our indigenous
name of Guahan," Camacho said in his address.
"As we quickly move in to this time of
rapid growth and development that may forever change our island, our
sense of identity, family and place, it is important that we reaffirm
our identity as a people," the governor added.
Micheal Lujan Bevacqua, a cultural
activist and an instructor of Guam History at the University of Guam,
described the governor’s executive order as "a step toward keeping the
heritage and language of the Chamorro people."
Marianas Variety: www.mvariety.com
Copyright © 2010 Marianas Variety. All Rights Reserved
