Copyright by Tiara Rose Naputi 2013
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Copyright by Tiara Rose Naputi 2013 The Dissertation Committee for Tiara Rose Naputi Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Charting Contemporary Chamoru Activism: Anti-Militarization & Social Movements in Guåhan Committee: Dana L. Cloud Supervisor Barry Brummett Joshua Gunn Circe Sturm Michael Lujan Bevacqua Charting Contemporary Chamoru Activism: Anti-Militarization & Social Movements in Guåhan by Tiara Rose Naputi, B.A.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2013 Dedication To Chamorus and to those who endure the ongoing legacy of colonization around the world; may we continue to persevere in a movement to protect and defend our people, our land, our language, and our future. Acknowledgements My time in higher education has been paved by a long procession of extended “family” members. It has been filled with people whom have shared advice, wisdom, and encouragement; people whom have taken the time to care, to listen, and to nurture my ideas. They have shared their homes, their food, and their unwavering support. They have profoundly influenced my ideas, arguments, critical consciousness, and growth as a person, especially during these last four years. I am so very grateful for these people and these relationships. To my dissertation committee: Dana Cloud, thank you for being such a dedicated advisor and a wonderful mentor, for advocating for me and supporting me through both the M.A. and Ph.D. programs, for leading by your example and demonstrating how to be an activist and a scholar committed to social justice. Barry Brummett, thank you for teaching me about method, an understanding of how to get into a text, and an appreciation for the little secrets of academia. Josh Gunn, thank you for guiding me through this discipline, creating a strong sense of appreciation for being a good citizen and scholar, and being a rock star example and for the kind support. For Circe Sturm, thank you for leading me to Indigenous Studies and NAISA, for teaching me about applied scholarship with my cultural community, and encouraging me as I sought deeper connections with my homeland. Thank you for supporting my goals of working for the political advancement of indigenous peoples and giving me a supportive community home. Michael Lujan Bevacqua, Saina Ma’åse for being such a strong Chamoru advocate for helping me navigate the complexities of decolonization, language, and militarization, for letting me join in on your classes, and for sharing your sharp wit and sense of humor along the way. v For those back home in Guåhan: Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in my interviews for this project, who gave me advice, who took me around the island, and taught me about our land, who shared their stories, who helped me strategize and think more deeply about the issues facing our people. Thank you to the Communication Studies Department for giving me so much assistance, encouragement, and support over the years. I am particularly grateful for everyone on the administrative staff, the excellent coaching from Susan Corbin, and the UT Debate Team. For my dear friends who have been a great source of encouragement and always live by example as strong, brilliant, caring women: Zazil Reyes García, Rachel Kraft, Ashley Mack, Danee Pye, Caroline Simpson, Valerie Thatcher, Amber Turner, and Katelyn Wood. Thank you all for being the kind of people that make friendship come easy and laughter come often. A good deal of this project was brainstormed, worked out, written, and edited around my family. From my grandparents, parents, siblings, and extended family members I have received love, encouragement, laughter, hugs, a constant supply of coffee, and home cooked meals. Saina Ma’åse to my family, wherever you are in the world—you are the best. I thank my Tatan Bihu, Vicente Benavente Naputi, who passed away on January 30, 2011 while I was starting the initial work on this project. He always believed in me, and encouraged me to get my Ph.D. or, as he called it, the “Perhaps Degree.” For my dad, thank you for helping me translate, for always joking around, and for sharing such great stories about life back home. For my mom, thank you for encouraging me to always have a zest for life and learning and for being a colossal help during the final push of this project. For my sisters (Francine, Marissa, Sara, and vi Lindsey), thank you for being four of the best women I know and for pushing me in your own ways to be a better person. For my Guerrero family (Familian Robat), thank you for teaching me the Guerrero ways, talking story, going on hikes, and encouraging me to follow the tradition of educators in our clan. For my Naputi family (Familian Kaderon), thank you for instilling in me a respect for strong voices and minds, for giving me a sense of humor and a constant supply of jokes and laughter, for encouraging me, for opening my eyes to the tradition of activists and advocates in our clan. A very special Saina Ma’åse goes to my Auntie Dora Santos Blas and Uncle Ray Blas. I cannot express enough gratitude for everything you did for me, and have done for our family. Thank you for chauffeuring me around our island, for introducing me to your (seemingly endless) social network, for helping me begin my project, and for helping me reunite with our family in Guåhan when I returned home in 2011. Finally, thank you to my best friend and partner, Chris Crowe. Words fail to express how grateful I am for you, for how you work to make this world a better place, for your love and support, and for being a person who brings out the best in me. Hu guaiya hao. vii Charting Contemporary Chamoru Activism: Anti-Militarization & Social Movements in Guåhan Tiara Rose Naputi, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2013 Supervisor: Dana L. Cloud This project examines social movements in Guåhan (Guam) and activism within this unincorporated territory of U.S. Two assumptions guide this work. First, Guåhan is the site of rhetorical struggle over identity, indigeneity, and Americanness. Second, indigenous Chamoru (Chamorro) struggles must be examined within the historical context of colonial projects, which have established a political economy of stratification. Thus, the complexities of social movement organizing might be better understood when historicized with political and economic realities. To get a more complete understanding of how indigenous social movements and activism in contemporary Guåhan are shaped by understandings of national identity, colonization, and military buildup, I analyze three sets of artifacts: (1) testimonies at United Nations from 2005-2012; (2) the texts and activities of the group We Are Guåhan and its legal action against the Department of Defense (DOD) regarding the U.S. military buildup; and (3) interviews with social movement members and organizers regarding activism in Guåhan and contending with American influence. The project argues that resistance takes place through social movement efforts centered on the issues of ancestral land, language and cultural revitalization, and self-determination for Chamorus; and these moments occur primarily viii through actions that both depend upon and reinforce communicative channels directed against the U.S. nation-state. This phenomenon is articulated through the rhetoric of both/neither that demonstrates complex and contradictory identities positioned as both part of the U.S. while simultaneously remaining exterior to it. ix Table of Contents Chapter 1: Reading Indigeneity, Social Movements, and Activism Rhetorically ...1 Situating Guåhan .............................................................................................3 Indigenous Social Movements & Communication Studies ............................7 The Texts Of Guåhan ....................................................................................10 Literature Review ..........................................................................................13 Chapter Preview ............................................................................................51 Chapter 2: Decolonizing Methodology & the Construction of Both/Neither Identities .......................................................................................................................55 Decolonizing Methodology ..........................................................................56 Rhetoric of Both/Neither ...............................................................................66 Both/Neither Constructions ..........................................................................69 Ideological Criticism .....................................................................................71 Chapter 3: Chamoru Testimonies Before the United Nations ...............................76 Charting the Cycle: UN Histories of Decolonization & Guåhan ..................79 In Our Own Words: Rhetorical Analysis of United Nations Testimonies ....84 Physical Dislocations: Pushing Chamorus to the Periphery .........................97 Cultural Dislocations: Striving for Inafa’ Maolek Among Decentered Chamorus ............................................................................................................110 My Four Minutes at the UN ........................................................................119 Assessing the Limits