Independent Guåhan June General Assembly


Independent Guåhan’s June General Assembly focuses on issue of military dumping and vandalism in the village of Toto

For Immediate Release, June 20, 2017 –
Independent Guåhan (IG) has continued to bring decolonization outreach and education to Guam’s villages with two successful forums in Malesso’ and Chalan Pågo. This month’s General Assembly (GA) will be at the Toto Community Center on June 29, from 6:00 -7:30 p.m. The focus this month is on the troubling history of military dumping on Guam and also creative ways communities can deal with problems such as vandalism and crime.

Each meeting, IG honors a Maga’taotao, or outstanding person. This month the group will honor the legacy of Tan Deda, or Magdalena S.N. Bayani, a war survivor, master techa and pillar of the M-T-M community who passed away recently. IG honors the strength and perseverance of Tan Deda and all other war survivors as June 28 is Guam War Survivors Memorial Day.

In analyzing the impacts of World War II on Chamorros and their lands, the educational discussion for this month’s GA will focus on postwar military contamination and how it has affected our health and environment. Looking to the future, the educational presentation will focus on how we can conceive of independence through village-based approaches, much like the models of sustainability practiced by Chamorros in the past. Examples of how an independent Guåhan can use programs such as community gardens to decrease crime and vandalism will be proposed.

This month’s assembly continues a village-based outreach initiative, where the group brings informational resources and critical conversations about independence as a political status option directly into the island’s villages.

Independent Guåhan’s monthly General Assemblies are always held on the last Thursday of each month.

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