Guampedia is a non-profit encyclopedic organization on the history and culture of Guam.
The Guampedia project was started in 2002 by the Guam Humanities Council with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the United States Department of the Interior. [1] [2] [3] It published 350 encyclopedia entries in April 2008. [1] In 2009, it became affiliated with the University of Guam and was registered as a non-profit organization. [1] [4] [5] It published a book, Women in Guam History in 2019. [6]
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, and the most populous village is Dededo. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States, reckoned from the geographic center of the U.S.. In Oceania, Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia.
Chamorro is an Austronesian language spoken by about 58,000 people, numbering about 25,800 on Guam and about 32,200 in the Northern Mariana Islands and elsewhere. It is the native and spoken language of the Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands. Chamorro has three distinct dialects: Guamanian, Rotanese, and that in the other Northern Mariana Islands (NMI).
Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwater to the north and the Orote Peninsula in the south. Naval Base Guam and the Port of Guam are the two major users of the harbor. It is also a popular recreation area for boaters, surfers, scuba divers, and other recreationalists.
The music of Guam encompasses a broad range of traditional and contemporary music. Modern music from Guam includes elements of American, Spanish, Filipino and Polynesian music. The Spanish and Mexicans contributed a type of song called serenatas to the culture of Guam. Some traditional Catholic songs in the Spanish language, including "Mil Albricias", "Pastores a Belen", "Santa Maria de la Merced" or "En Lecho de Pajas" and some traditional love songs including "A mi morena", "Ay que triste desventura", "Cancion de Antonio Acosta" or "Te quiero amar" are preserved. Flora Baza Quan is known as the "Queen of Chamorro Music". The state song of Guam is "Stand Ye Guamanians" by Ramon Sablan, adopted in 1919, but better known as the 1974 Chamoru translation by Lagrimas Untalan, "Fanohge Chamoru."
The Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, also known as the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, is a member-based organization and the national voice for researchers in the humanities and social sciences in Canada. Formed in 1996 through a merger of the Social Science Federation of Canada and the Canadian Federation for the Humanities, it is a non-profit charitable organization that represents more than 85,000 researchers in 81 scholarly associations, 80 universities and colleges, and 6 affiliates across the country.
The Pacific Daily News, formerly Guam Daily News, is a morning edition newspaper based in Hagåtña, in the United States territory of Guam. It is owned by Kaleo Moylan and is published seven days a week.
Carolinians are a Micronesian ethnic group who originated in Oceania, in the Caroline Islands, with a total population of over 8,500 people. They are also known as Remathau in the Yap's outer islands. The Carolinian word means "People of the Deep Sea." It is thought that their ancestors may have originally immigrated from Asia and Indonesia to Micronesia around 2,000 years ago. Their primary language is Carolinian, called Refaluwasch by native speakers, which has a total of about 5,700 speakers. The Carolinians have a matriarchal society in which respect is a very important factor in their daily lives, especially toward the matriarchs. Most Carolinians are of the Roman Catholic faith.
Miss Earth Guam is a national beauty pageant held annually in search of the most beautiful and environmental-friendly woman in the United States territory of Guam. It is one of the official preliminaries to the international Miss Earth beauty pageant. The pageant focuses mainly on promoting environmental causes and winners are chosen equally on their physical attributes as well as their understanding and knowledge of the issues affecting the Earth. Along with Miss Universe and Miss World contests, Miss Earth is one of the three largest beauty pageants in the world in terms of the number of national-level competitions to participate in the world finals. The reigning titleholders dedicate their year to promote environmental projects and to address issues concerning the environment.
Charles Alan Pownall was a vice admiral in the United States Navy and Governor of Guam. He was the third military Governor and first naval Governor of Guam following the United States recapture of the island from the Japanese. After conflict with the Guam Congress in 1948, Pownall replaced many Congressmen with his own appointments, whom the Guamanians refused to recognize. The ensuing protest persuaded President Truman to transfer control of the island away from the Navy. As a consequence, Charles Pownall was the last military governor of Guam.
Joseph F. Flores was a Guamanian newspaper publisher and politician. Flores was the fourth civilian appointed Governor of Guam, and was the first Chamorro to hold the office. He also founded the island's first locally owned newspaper, the Guam Daily News, which was the only local newspaper until 1966. He enjoyed success running many publications before being appointed Governor by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1960. As Governor, Flores pushed for increased self-governance in Guam, resigning in 1961. After his Governorship, Flores founded other businesses and became involved in numerous community organizations. He was a Knight of St. Sylvester.
The Guam Track and Field Association (GTFA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Guam.
Nerissa Bretania Underwood is a Guamanian politician who served as the senator in Guam Legislature, also former vice chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Guam, a former superintendent of the Guam Department of Education, and the wife of former Democratic Guam Congressional Delegate Robert A. Underwood. She is previously serving as the chairperson of the legislature's Committee on Early Learning, Juvenile Justice, Public Education and First Generation Initiatives and as the vice chairperson on the Committee on Higher Education, Culture, Public Libraries, and Women's Affairs.
Amanda Lee Shelton is a Guamanian politician who currently serves as a senator in the Guam Legislature. Shelton was chosen by her colleagues to serve as Legislative Secretary and Majority Whip and Chairperson of the Committee on Higher Education and the Advancement of Women, Youth, and Senior Citizens.
Underwater diving encompasses a variety of economically and culturally significant forms of diving on the U.S. island territory of Guam. Scuba diving tourism is a significant component of the island's tourist activity, in particular for visitors from Japan and South Korea. Recreational diving by Guam residents has a lesser but still substantial economic impact. Marine biologists have raised concerns about the effect of diving upon the health of some of Guam's reefs. Recreational dive sites on Guam include submerged shipwrecks, such as the double wrecks of SMS Cormoran and Tokai Maru, and natural features, such as Blue Hole.
Adelup Point is limestone promontory in Hagåtña, Guam that extends into the Philippine Sea and separates Asan Bay from Hagåtña Bay. It has been the site of the Ricardo J. Bordallo Governor's Complex since 1990. Adelup is therefore a metonym for the Office of the Governor of Guam.
Liberation Day on the U.S. territory of Guam is an annual commemoration of the invasion by U.S. military forces on July 21, 1944, which ended the Japanese occupation that had begun in 1941. Begun in 1945, it is Guam's largest celebration. Festivities include a queen contest, summer carnival, fireworks display, and mile-long parade on Marine Corps Drive in Hagåtña from Adelup to Paseo de Susana, as well as solemn memorials and visits to massacre sites. It is organized by the Guam Island Fair Committee.
Pago Bay is the largest bay on the U.S. territory of Guam, located at the mouth of Pago River on the island's eastern coast. There is extensive evidence of CHamoru settlement before Spanish colonization during the late seventeenth century. During the Spanish-Chamorro Wars, the Spanish transferred the populations of Tinian and Aguigan to the village of Pago. However, a smallpox epidemic in 1856 killed much of the village's population and the Spanish moved survivors to other villages, leaving the bay shoreline largely uninhabited. The bay is popular with fishermen and recreationalists, and was the site of new housing development in the 2000s.
An epidemic of smallpox in 1856 on the west Pacific island of Guam, then under the control of Spain, resulted in the death of over half of the population, or about 4,500 people. The population collapse led Spanish authorities to transfer the population of Pago to Hagåtña, ending a settlement dating back before colonization. It also led the Governor of the Spanish Mariana Islands to encourage immigration to Guam.
The Mariana Islands consist of two jurisdictions of the United States: the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and, at the southern end of the chain, the territory of Guam. As of December 31, 2021, the LDS Church reported 2,534 members in one stake, five congregations, one mission, and one temple in Guam. There are 897 members in a ward in the Northern Mariana Islands. There are two family history centers, one in Guam and one at the Saipan Ward building in the Northern Mariana Islands.
Famalao’an Guåhan: Women In Guam History is a 2019 publication highlighting the lives of 28 notable women who contributed to Guam's culture. The book was the second printed publication from Guampedia, a non-profit associated with the University of Guam.