Episode 6 — Revival of Traditional Seafaring in the Marianas (Part II of II)
Release Date: 11/18/2021
Episode 7 — Season Finale (Retrospective)
Memoirs Pasifika
This is the final episode of Season 1, so we decided to make it a bit different than the others by highlighting portions of interviews from past episodes that didn’t make the final cut, but that we still want to share with you. Sometimes these clips provide more context or a cool anecdote for a topic we delved into in a prior episode. Or, in other cases, they offer greater insight into the personal development of the interviewee, or their emotional state at the time of the events in question. And sometimes they speak at length about a different historical event or topic altogether than what...
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Episode 6 — Revival of Traditional Seafaring in the Marianas (Part II of II)
Memoirs Pasifika
This is Part II of Episode 6, "Revival of Traditional Seafaring in the Marianas." Part I was released in late October 2021. Through interviews with master navigators and their students, Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua discusses how, beginning in the 1980s, CHamorus began to relearn the ancient seafaring skills lost here to colonization — and how the revival of these traditions goes hand-in-hand with the CHamoru Renaissance and decolonization movement. Our anchor for this episode is Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua. He's an historian and teacher of CHamoru, the indigenous language of Guam and the...
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Episode 6 — Revival of Traditional Seafaring in the Marianas (Part I of II)
Memoirs Pasifika
Through interviews with master navigators and their students, Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua discusses how, beginning in the 1980s, CHamorus began to relearn the ancient seafaring skills lost here to colonization — and how the revival of these traditions goes hand-in-hand with the CHamoru Renaissance and decolonization movement. This is Part I of a two-part episode. Part II will be released in mid-November 2021. Our anchor for this episode is Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua. He's an historian and teacher of CHamoru, the indigenous language of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, and serves as...
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Episode 5 — Marriage Equality and LGBTQ Rights on Guam
Memoirs Pasifika
In recognition of Pride Month, Dr. Vivian Dames tells the story of Guam’s campaign for marriage equality through interviews with several people who played a role in the historic effort. They discuss how the movement gained momentum, the broader significance of the eventual legal victory, and current issues regarding LGBTQ rights and opportunities here. Dr. Dames is a retired professor of Social Work/Women & Gender Studies at the University of Guam with interest in community organizing, social justice, and social policy. She has been engaged in advocacy and community organizing related to...
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Episode 4 — Crafting a Covenant: The Founding of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Memoirs Pasifika
In our fourth episode, Congressman LJ Castro of Saipan discusses several key moments and debates from the Northern Mariana Islands’ self-determination process of the 1960s and ‘70s, including the Marianas Political Status Commission’s negotiations with the United States government to end the NMI’s status as a US-administered Trust Territory. Through the so-called “Covenant Agreement,” the Northern Marianas were ultimately able to establish the islands as a commonwealth of the United States with greater rights, autonomy, and citizenship. LJ Castro is a former congressman in the...
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Episode 3 — Operation New Life
Memoirs Pasifika
In this episode, Dr. Evyn Lê Espiritu Gandhi discusses Guam’s role as the primary way station for South Vietnamese refugees in the chaotic months immediately following the end of the Vietnam War. April 2021 marks the 46th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon — and the beginning of the massive evacuation and resettlement effort known as Operation New Life. Dr. Gandhi is an assistant professor of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (Tovaangar). Her book, Archipelago of Resettlement: Vietnamese Refugee Settlers in Guam and Israel-Palestine, is forthcoming with UC...
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Episode 2 — Cecilia Cruz Bamba: Guam’s Champion for Land Claims & War Reparations
Memoirs Pasifika
Happy Women’s History Month and Mes CHamoru! You’re listening to the 2nd episode of Memoirs Pasifika, a podcast series exploring events, movements, and people in modern Micronesian history. In our second episode, Dr. Vivian Dames tells the story of one CHamoru woman, Cecilia Cruz Bamba, who courageously took on the U.S. federal government on behalf of Guam’s World War II survivors and their descendants by championing the causes of compensation for Land Claims and War Reparations. Subscribe to the podcast, follow us on social media, and visit us at to enjoy archival materials...
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Episode 1 — Christmas Odyssey in Vietnam
Memoirs Pasifika
Welcome to the inaugural episode of Memoirs Pasifika, a podcast exploring events, movements, and people in modern Micronesian history. In this episode, Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua tells the story of Governor Carlos Camacho’s eventful trip to Vietnam — at the height of the war — to visit Guam's battle-weary troops during Christmas. The trip unexpectedly helped shape Guam’s political history, launched a practice among politicians nationwide that continues up until today, and even inspired a hit song! Dr. Bevacqua is an historian and teacher of Chamoru, the indigenous language of...
info_outlineThis is Part II of Episode 6, "Revival of Traditional Seafaring in the Marianas." Part I was released in late October 2021.
Through interviews with master navigators and their students, Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua discusses how, beginning in the 1980s, CHamorus began to relearn the ancient seafaring skills lost here to colonization — and how the revival of these traditions goes hand-in-hand with the CHamoru Renaissance and decolonization movement.
Our anchor for this episode is Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua. He's an historian and teacher of CHamoru, the indigenous language of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, and serves as curator of the Guam Museum.
Subscribe to the podcast and follow us on social media. Visit our website (MemoirsPasifika.com) to explore archival materials related to each episode.
Interviewees:
- Sandra Iseke Okada
- Dr. Larry Cunningham
- Pwo Rob Limtiaco
- Pwo Larry Raigetal
- Vanessa Toves
Music:
- Memoirs Pasifika intro/outro song - Ryan Shook
- Puluwat Hymn - Spirit of Micronesia
Team:
- Producer / Host - Tony Azios
- Audio Engineer - Ryan Shook
- Intern - Annie Fay Camacho