THERE has been a lot of public discussion lately regarding the ever controversial Article 12. Article 12 of the CNMI Constitution basically states that land ownership in the commonwealth shall be “restricted to persons of Northern Marianas descent,” meaning that only people with at least 25 percent Northern Marianas Chamorro or Carolinian blood can legally own property in the Northern Marianas. Some people argue that this is necessary because of the limited land resources in the CNMI. Other people say that locals need protection from wealthy foreigners who might take advantage of them. Imagine a millionaire or a billionaire from Japan, China, Korea, the United States or elsewhere coming to our islands in these desperate times and flashing thousands, if not millions of dollars in your face. If recent history teaches us anything, the desperate landowner will most likely sell his or her property in order to make a quick buck. And if Article 12 wasn’t in effect, that land would be lost forever. Some people also argue that Article 12 limits economic development because it is discouraging for an investor to have to invest millions of dollars in a locale knowing that after a certain period of time — in our case a maximum of 55 years for private property — that land would revert to the original owner. It’s ironic that this wasn’t a main concern for investors during the boom years of the ’80s and early ’90s. Moreover, some people go as far as saying that Article 12 is just another form of racial discrimination because it singles out a certain group of people — Chamorros and Carolinians — and grants them the sole right to own real property in the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
It is my opinion that Article 12 is absolutely necessary in order to protect and maintain the uniqueness and distinctiveness of our indigenous cultures and more importantly to preserve our limited land area for future generations. These are our indigenous lands. Our Chamorro ancestors have lived and died here for nearly 4,000 years. Their bones are buried in this soil. In the case of the Carolinians, their people have been here for almost 200 years. We have survived centuries of foreign domination by a total of four different colonial powers: Spain, Germany, Japan, and the United States. Despite all of this, our cultural traits have remained strong and we are very able to adapt to the changes that have been forced upon us throughout the years. Until the Americans introduced their form of government, our people were systematically marginalized and subjugated by foreigners who didn’t really care that much about the indigenous people because they had their own interests — religious, economic, or military — in mind. Today, thanks to the Americans, we are a free people. We decided on our own through the ballot box that we wanted to become members of the American political family. We were not forced to become U.S. citizens. We asked for it and we got it. The Americans wanted us to become a permanent part of the United States as well. Since the very beginning, right after World War II the U.S. military wanted to annex the islands immediately. President Truman, however, decided that the islands would be placed in a United Nations “strategic trusteeship” which ultimately guaranteed our right to self-determination. After a long negotiation process, the U.S. and the Northern Marianas came up with a unique agreement known as the Covenant. The Covenant is unprecedented in many respects. Never before has the United States negotiated the terms under which an insular area was to become a part of the U.S. Puerto Rico and Guam were ceded to the U.S. by Spain after the Spanish-American War. The Virgin Islands was bought from Denmark. American Samoa came under U.S. rule in a different manner as well. The Northern Marianas actually negotiated its commonwealth agreement with the United States and this is where the idea of restricting land ownership in the Northern Marianas came up. It is important to point out that the idea of Article 12 came not from the Northern Marianas but from the United States. They rightfully felt that the people of the new commonwealth should have at least a generation — 25 years — of economic development after the termination of the trusteeship with land ownership restrictions so that they can then decide for themselves whether or not Article 12 is necessary. The trusteeship was terminated in 1986 and we became U.S. citizens by presidential proclamation that same year. Therefore, in 2011 Article 12 will be placed on the ballot and the people will decide whether or not some changes are in order.
There are some people in our community who feel that the entire concept of Article 12 is completely un-American. How can we claim to be “American” when we deny people of other ethnicities — U.S. citizens or otherwise — the right to permanently own property in our islands? This is U.S. soil isn’t it? I would like to point to the experience in Hawaii where the native Hawaiians are now a minority — politically and economically — in their own islands. Virtually all the prime real estate in Hawaii is owned by non-indigenous people. Their lands were sold and wealthy businessmen built their multimillion dollar hotels and shopping centers. Land prices soared and now the native Hawaiians have no way of buying back those properties. That same experience can and will happen in the Northern Marianas if Article 12 restrictions are lifted. The indigenous land owners will sell heir lands to the highest bidder, the new owner will extensively develop the property, land prices will skyrocket, and future generations of Chamorros and Carolinians will have no way of buying back that property because they will have been sidelined in their own islands while foreigners reap massive profits from our lands. We must not allow this to happen! I appeal to all people, indigenous or not, to please understand our situation. I believe the Americans that negotiated our Covenant understood our situation. Many Americans around today understand it as well. After all, it was their idea to restrict land ownership to “persons of Northern Marianas descent.” I will be forever grateful to them for having the vision and the foresight to think about future generations. We must maintain the spirit of the Covenant and Article 12 not for ourselves but for future generations of Chamorros and Carolinians.
There are also those who disagree with maintaining Article 12 and say that 25 years is enough time for the locals to get educated so that they can decide for themselves whether they want to sell their land to non-indigenous people. To that I say there will always be those people — in the Northern Marianas and elsewhere — who will forever be ignorant and uninformed as to what’s really going on in the world of capitalism and the free market. We live in a consumer-dominated society and we value material things because we have seen and experienced the good life and we don’t want to give it up. The “lure of the bright lights,” the power of advertising, and the might of the dollar have all enthralled us so much so that we sometimes forget who we are as a people. Maybe that is where our faults lie. We forget what the land and the ocean mean to our culture. Remember, for thousands of years our Chamorro ancestors lived here undisturbed and at relative peace with no problems of food shortage or skyrocketing land prices. Times have undoubtedly changed but we must still never forget that the land we walk on is sacred and ancient. It should never be sold because it will probably be lost forever.
I am not against amending Article 12 to extend the maximum lease period to 75 or even 99 years. If that will stir up economic development, then let’s get the ball rolling. And if future generations want to amend it further to lower the bloodline requirement to anything above 1 percent then let it be. But if the day comes when Article 12 is completely abolished, the spirits of our forefathers will be silently wailing because we will have lost one of the most vital links to our ancient heritage. Future Chamorros and Carolinians will lose out too because they will no longer have the privilege of inheriting property that has been in their families for generations. We all know that land is precious and severely limited in the Northern Marianas and that is why it is imperative that we hold on to it for our children and our children’s children and so on. Contrary to what most people think, money isn’t everything. Do not let the dollar corrupt you. Biba Article 12!

CHRISTOPHER ATTAO CONCEPCION
Chalan Piao, Saipan