Are Hawaiians and Chamorous Native American..?

[muskrat_skull]

The question should be, "What is a 'regular' American? And after 'regular' American is defined, is every other American 'irregular'???

I think the irregular Americans are the ones you get from Big Lots.

I like the "more Constitutional rights part"... doesn't the Constitution protect all Americans right to be racist (at least in speech)?

[AmigoKumeyaay]

Been a while since I lived on Guam. When I retire, a trip to Guam is on the bucket list.

The Guam people are now busy fighting about plans for their first casino. Strong local opposition.


Meanwhile, the island of Rota, just north of Guam, wants that gambling money and now has an outside company financing and building a new casino resort.

Sounds familiar?

[Ananse]

Can they build a casino on their tribal land??? LOL. j/k

This topic makes for a good discussion. Are we talking 'political' Native Americans'? 'Ethnocentric' Native Americans? Do they want the same status as Federally Recognized tribes? If they do want federal recognition, should they receive it before the Lumbees and other 'indigenous to the land' tribes who are currently petitioning the government for Federal Recognition?

If they can't answer it in Washington, we can sure answer it on Powwows.com!!!


Zeke?

Actually this is one of the reasons I wanted to see what opinions on the subject were! There was a brief period of time (I believe back in 2007) where the Chamorros aspired to officially be considered Native American. In the CNMI (Rota, Tinian, Saipan) they actually have their own versions of tribal enrollment and even have their own blood quantum system, where via proof of direct lineage to the specific island you are from gives you residential and farm land. Tinian has a casino, and Rota was pushing for one but, due to the prevalence of catholocism progress in this endeavor is slow, and who really knows if it will actually ever be completed.

One of the debates my ex and I used to often encounter revolved around his wanting to powwow as a Chamorou. It wasn't in the sense of mockery or anything of that nature, but he simply wanted to experience being around other Native people in the celebratory sense and wanted to represent himself as the proud Chamorro that he is (was, being that we are divorced now) and didn't see anything wrong with this picture because he considered himself to be "Native American" too. Which, at the time I thought would be inappropriate, but now as I am no longer living on the islands and am reconnecting with my own culture I find myself second guessing what I formerly thought as inappropriate. Part of me thinks it would be wonderful to let my daughter wear her Chamorou regalia at a powwow and dance alongside me.

[Ananse]

Thank you everyone for the replies, btw! It is a complete pleasure to read opinions on this!

[blueberry111]

I'd consider any "native" culture in the Americas as "indigenous American." Hawaii is a bit different from the Americas a way culturally (but is part of US)... For sake of clarity, I'd refer to them indigenous Hawaiian . Just like indigenous Australians, indigenous Mongolian, etc.

[AmigoKumeyaay]

Actually this is one of the reasons I wanted to see what opinions on the subject were! There was a brief period of time (I believe back in 2007) where the Chamorros aspired to officially be considered Native American. In the CNMI (Rota, Tinian, Saipan) they actually have their own versions of tribal enrollment and even have their own blood quantum system, where via proof of direct lineage to the specific island you are from gives you residential and farm land. Tinian has a casino, and Rota was pushing for one but, due to the prevalence of catholocism progress in this endeavor is slow, and who really knows if it will actually ever be completed.

One of the debates my ex and I used to often encounter revolved around his wanting to powwow as a Chamorou. It wasn't in the sense of mockery or anything of that nature, but he simply wanted to experience being around other Native people in the celebratory sense and wanted to represent himself as the proud Chamorro that he is (was, being that we are divorced now) and didn't see anything wrong with this picture because he considered himself to be "Native American" too. Which, at the time I thought would be inappropriate, but now as I am no longer living on the islands and am reconnecting with my own culture I find myself second guessing what I formerly thought as inappropriate. Part of me thinks it would be wonderful to let my daughter wear her Chamorou regalia at a powwow and dance alongside me.

Depends on location of the powwow, but at 2012 Gathering of Nations, there were Maori people in the Grand Entry, members of reggae band NRG Rising. You can see them on YouTube (Hint-Hint!)

Out here in California, I have seen Islanders step into the Circle for inter-tribal.

The Upcoming San Diego State Powwow on April 6, 2013 will feature Islander dancing & singing during the dinner break.

Day Two on April 7 at San Diego State will be all Bird Singing & Dancing.

[AmigoKumeyaay]

Guam CHamorro Cultural Festival San Diego

Here's a video showing the people of Guam - Chamorros - at 2013 CHE'LU Festival in San Diego
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Chamorro Cultural Fest - YouTube
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/enqLSRAV-kI?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Ananse]

Ahh, Thank-you so much for sharing, Amigokumeyaay! You've blessed me with such an amazing wealth of information!

It warms my heart to see Maori at the Gathering of Nations!

A whole day dedicated to bird singing and dancing--that sounds spectacular! It's been such a long time since I've seen bird singing and dancing. The San Diego State Powwow sounds so nice! Definitely need to make a point of going next year!

[reocurringdream]

I don't know about the term "Native American," it might be more a US gov. decision rather than public opinion. But, I would definitely include them apart of the "brotherhood/sisterhood".

However, from my experience, it seems to take more skill to draw a circle than a line.

[reocurringdream]

Thanks for the vid Amigo Kumeyaay.