Guam (Guahan), United States

Guahan (Guam) is a beautiful, tropical island where Claire's maternal Nana and Tata were born and raised. Guahan is one of the many Marianas Islands in the Pacific and is home to indigenous CHamorus/CHamorros as well as many settlers. It is considered a "territory of the United States". While Guam remains a colony, folks who reside on island have second class citizenship as they cannot vote in the main U.S. presidential election or vote in Congress. In recent years, there has been a growing movement for self-determination and a "cultural renaissance" and commitment to connect to pre-colonial, ancient practices as many CHamorus across the Marianas as well as in the diaspora are committed to keeping the language alive, reconnecting with and protecting the land and waters from U.S. military overreach, and promoting cultural values of chenchule' (reciprocity), inafa'maolek (restoring harmony/balance), and inagofli'e (the highest level of love).