Preserving our Culture

Today I attended a diversity conference and one of the topics of discussion was about the importance of preserving our culture. The following question was asked: Do you think federalization of the CNMI would impact our culture?

My answer: YES, but we must stay strong and hold on to what we have left of our culture. I see the Chamorro culture on Guam and see the impact it has on the local people. Everything has been so “Americanized” and the Chamorro way of life has definitely changed. I would hate to see that happen here in the CNMI, but the only way to avoid that is to ensure that we all preserve our culture – or at least what we have left.

Language is an integral part of any culture. Our Chamorro language is definitely an area of our culture that is slowly fading away. I believe that your language really makes your culture distinctive and makes you unique. It’s something that can never be taken away from you! Okay, so I am not one to speak – LITERALLY – of the importance of speaking the Chamorro language because I do not speak the language as often as I should, but I am working on it. My “practice time” to speak Chamorro is usually at work. Since I started working at MVA, I can honestly say that I speak more Chamorro that I did before. Why? Because most of my co-workers speak Chamorro. When I speak Chamorro at work, I don’t feel like they’re judging my limited Chamorro-speaking skills. I’m sure there have been times where my Chamorro was all broken up, but my co-workers never made fun of me. I also attentively follow along the novenas in Chamorro and read Chamorro by practicing every Sunday when I read the Chamorro readings out loud from the North Star also fondly known to the man’amkos as the Matuna Si Yu’us.

Family values and respect are also an integral part of our Chamorro culture. As a kid, I didn’t understand why I had to fa’ngingi all my aunties and uncles at family gatherings. Honestly, I thought the only ones that deserved such respect were older people like my grandparents and anyone that had gray hair! But even going through that small act over the years reflected and embraced a part of our culture: respect. If my parents didn’t drag me to those parties, novenas, rosaries or funerals, I wouldn’t know who was part of my family (we’re all related anyway, right?) and I would understand the importance of respect in our culture.