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Modern Guam Rises

Art, Art, Architecture, Body Adornment, Music and Food, Artists, Historic Eras of Guam, Modern Guam Rises, People, People and Places, Performance Arts, Post WWII Era

Genevieve Perez Ploke Snow

 

First CHamoru Woman US Naval Officer. Genevieve Perez Ploke Snow (1941 -2011) was born in Hågat, Guam on 15 March 1941. As an infant and toddler during World War II, she survived the Japanese occupation of Guam, raiding of her house, capture of her father (CPO John F. Ploke, Zentsuji POW), starvation, emaciation, dysentery, witnessed the torture and execution of some of her family and friends during the forced march to Manenggon, and the near execution of her grandfather, Antanacio Taitano Perez, as a suspected American spy.

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Art, Architecture, Body Adornment, Music and Food, Contemporary Guam Era, Guamanian Era, Historic Eras of Guam, Modern Guam Rises, Music, Musicians, People, People and Places, Post WWII Era

Carmen Romualdez Dela Cruz

 

First Woman to Establish a Music and Arts School on Guam. Carmen “Meling” Romualdez Dela Cruz (1910-1995), a life long musician, is the first woman to open a school for the arts on Guam. She is the daughter of Beatriz Buz  and former Philippine Supreme Court Justice Norberto Romualdez.

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Contemporary Guam Era, Guamanian Era, Historic Eras of Guam, Island Life, Modern Guam Rises, People and Places, Post WWII Era, Villages, Heritage Sites and Island Life

Guam Liberation Day

 

Guam’s biggest celebration. After World War II was over community leader Agueda Iglesias Johnston convinced US military leaders on Guam to support a celebration to commemorate the Liberation of the island from the Japanese. It was enacted into law in 1951 in Bill 35 sponsored by Speaker Antonio B. Won Pat. This celebration continues to this day as one of Guam’s holidays – Liberation Day, which is celebrated on July 21st.

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CHamoru Quest for Self-Determination, Civic Society, Interpretive Essays, Modern Guam Rises, Politics and Government

Guam’s Political Development

 

Guam’s colonized past under Spain. When the Europeans came to the Mariana Islands in the 16th and 17th centuries, they found a vigorous and highly developed community of people with a territory, economic life, distinctive culture and language in common. These Pacific islands were settled over 4,000 years ago by a group of people who came to be known as CHamorus. They were the first group of Pacific islanders to receive the full impact of European civilization when the Spanish began their colonization of the Marianas in 1668.

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CHamoru Quest for Self-Determination, Civic Society, Contemporary Guam Era, Contemporary Guam: Politics, Guamanian Era, Guamanian Era: Politics, Historic Eras of Guam, Modern Guam Rises, Politics and Government, Post WWII Era, Post WWII Era: Politics

Organic Act of Guam

 

Granted Congressional US citizenship to the people of Guam. The Organic Act of Guam is federal legislation passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by US President Harry S. Truman on 1 August 1950. In general, the act established a non-military, civil government on Guam; granted congressional US citizenship to residents of the island at the time and their descendants; and solidified the island’s political status as an unincorporated territory of the United States. Formerly a Spanish colony, Guam was ceded to the US in 1898.

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CHamoru Quest for Self-Determination, Civic Society, Guamanian Era, Guamanian Era: Politics, Historic Eras of Guam, Modern Guam Rises, Politics and Government

Book: Secret Guam Study

 

In the 1960s the United Nations issued Resolution 1514 (XV) “Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples,” as a call to end colonization around the world. As a result, many nations began the process of decolonization as territories negotiated new political statuses and exercised their rights of sovereignty and self-government.

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CHamoru Quest for Self-Determination, Civic Society, Contemporary Guam Era, Contemporary Guam: Politics, Guamanian Era, Guamanian Era: Politics, Historic Eras of Guam, Modern Guam Rises, People, People and Places, Politics and Government

Richard Flores Taitano

 

Richard Flores “Dick” Taitano was a prominent figure in Guam politics and community service following the establishment of the civilian government on Guam. Taitano was a six-term member of the Guam Legislature in the 1960s and 1970s. He was also the first Chamorro to be appointed to serve as the director of the Office of Territories (OOT) in the United States Department of Interior.

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CHamoru Quest for Self-Determination, Civic Society, Contemporary Guam Era, Contemporary Guam: Politics, Guamanian Era, Guamanian Era: Politics, Historic Eras of Guam, Modern Guam Rises, Politics and Government

Political Status Commissions

 

In the 1960s and 1970s, several formal entities were organized by the Government of Guam to help assess the island’s political needs and desires and its relationship with the United States. It was a time of change as Guam transitioned from naval rule to civilian governance under the Organic Act of 1950

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CHamoru Quest for Self-Determination, Civic Society, Guamanian Era, Guamanian Era: Politics, Historic Eras of Guam, Modern Guam Rises, Politics and Government

Elective Governor Act 1968

 

The Guam Elective Governor Act was passed by the United States Congress on 11 September 1968 and granted the people of Guam the authority to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Guam. Known officially as Public Law 90-497, the Elective Governor Act declared that the majority of qualified Guam voters would jointly choose the Governor and Lieutenant Governor and set the first election date for 3 November 1970.

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