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We invite you to explore Guampedia’s special projects, which offer deep dives into compelling and defining eras in our island’s history. Here, you explore our diverse range of special projects to access powerful testimonies and first-hand accounts of the Japanese occupation from Chamorro war survivors, learn about influential women who have shaped Guam history, traverse Micronesian milestones, and more.
Discover thousands of topics, categories, digital records, images, videos, audio files, and more!
Guampedia collaborated with the Richard F. Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center, the University of Guam, and the Guam Preservation Trust to produce this collection of essays on archaeological knowledge of the Mariana Islands. The essays offer insights into ancient CHamoru/Chamorro life, based on theories and concepts from the study of archaeological findings and material culture. In this section, you can also learn more about how archaeological studies developed in the Marianas, and how archaeologists conduct their work to discover clues that can piece together what life was like for ancient Chamorros.
This special section is dedicated to the stories of Guam’s war survivors, and also explores the complex meanings of Liberation Day in Guam. Following the end of World War II, community leader Agueda Iglesias Johnston convinced US military leaders to support an official commemoration of Guam’s liberation from the Japanese occupation and the return of US forces. Emerging from the tragedy and hardship of war, the day was originally envisioned as a testament to Guam’s loyalty to the United States. Over time, commemorations of the war were reclaimed by Chamorros to focus more on Chamorro resilience and stories of survival. As a people caught up in a war not of our making, Liberation Day has come to serve as a day to honor Chamorro war survivors, as well as the complicated legacies of World War II.
The years following World War II transformed the island and its people. While many Chamorros were grateful for the return of the Americans and the end of the Japanese occupation, this return was also turbulent as the US military solidified its presence in Guam. Large tracts of land (including the entire village of Sumai) were taken for military use, and Chamorros were often unfairly compensated or refused compensation in protest. Chamorros also struggled under the control of US naval governance, and successfully fought for greater self-governance. 1950 was a pivotal year which marked the passage of the Organic Act and establishment of the Government of Guam. Chamorros also worked to protect their language and culture, and Chamorro language instruction was established in the education system.
In this section, you can learn more about key political figures in the early years of the Government of Guam, the establishment of modern, post-war businesses, and the creation of many institutions that make up the social and political landscape of Guam as we know it today.
For many years, key figures in Guam history were primarily recognized as outsiders who brought changes to Guam — people like European explorer Ferdinand Magellan, or Jesuit missionary Father Diego Luis de San Vitores. When we think of well-known Chamorro historical figures, most people would immediately name influential Chamorro men like Chief Kepuha or Chief Hurao. But what about Chamorro women? How many women in Guam history can you name? Community projects like Guampedia aim to bring more Indigenous Chamorro and Pacific voices to the front, elevating Indigenous knowledge practices and perspectives on our history. The Women in Guam History section was created when Guampedia staff realized that Chamorro women and their many contributions to the island’s history were underrepresented. In this section, we build from Guam’s matrilineal legacy and offer an ever-expanding series of profiles on women in Guam history who made a lasting impact on our island and people.
In 2016, Guam hosted the 12th Festival of Pacific Arts (FestPac). As a rotating arts festival, FestPac was created to celebrate and preserve Pacific traditional arts, and offer a space dedicated to creative and cultural expression, by and for Pacific Islanders. In anticipation of the 12th FestPac in Guam, Guampedia launched POP Cultures: People of the Pacific. This series of entries was produced through support from CAHA, and provides facts about the islands in the regions of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. This section was designed to help our community learn more about the fellow islanders who were set to visit us for FestPac, and remains as a resource to strengthen connections throughout our Pacific region. Here, you can learn about the histories, geographies and cultures of the islands that make up Oceania.
The Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency (CAHA) spearheaded the organization of FestPac 2016, which marked the first time that the rotating Pacific arts festival was held on Guam. In anticipation of FestPac, CAHA provided a series of workshops aimed at local artists, artisans, and cultural practitioners. Here, you can access CAHA workshops on topics ranging from Cultural Design with History in Mind to Chamorro Cultural Values.
Masters of Tradition
Masters of Tradition celebrates cultural practitioners who use their artistry and craftsmanship to perpetuate Guam’s history and unique cultural traditions.
As a community driven project, Guampedia consulted with traditional knowledge bearers and local scholars to begin strategizing how we would present the nuance of Guam’s history in a way that would be compelling to our readers and useful to our island community. As part of this effort, we came up with a system for dividing Guam history in seven historic eras. Organizing Guam history into distinct eras can help us analyze historic trends and transformations over time in order to learn more about Chamorro life, cultural practices, and the evolution of government and civic life in Guam.
Located in the heart of Hagåtña, the Senator Antonio M. Palomo Guam Museum and Educational Facility tells the story of the Chamorro people of Guam. The museum was designed to reflect the complexity and resilience of Guam and the Mariana Islands. The museum’s permanent home opened in 2016, and currently houses over 250,000 historically significant artifacts, documents, and photographs. In this section, you can learn about the history of efforts to open a Guam history museum, and access unique educational material that can be paired with a visit to the museum’s collections.
