Lino M. Olopia was nominated by Saipan Mayor Donald G. Flores for his achievements and contributions to the community.
Olopai will be recognized on July 4th during the Liberation Day celebration.
“I was overwhelmed and thankful to the mayor and the Liberation Committee,” he said.
According to the committee, Olopai will be the third Carolinian to receive the recognition.
Olopai is the author of the book “The Rope of Tradition: Reflections of a Saipan Carolinian,” which narrates his life and his determination to keep his culture alive.
The book, he said, illustrates some traditional knowledge of the Carolinians that students cannot learn in school.
“I am very concerned about the need to protect Carolinian customs and culture amid the changes that are happening around us,” he said.
He believes that the new generation of Carolinians is still inclined to practice the old ways.
He said it’s his challenge to establish the foundation of Carolinian culture and tradition so that the new generation will know where they come from before they go out into the modern world.
By summer next year, Olopai said his family will launch a school for Carolinians.
The school will teach Carolinian language, music, arts, dance and crafts as well as other traditions imbedded in their oral history, he added.
Olopai recalled that, like most Carolinians, he voted against a U.S. commonwealth status for the islands, saying he was not quite ready to become part of “the strongest nation of the world.”
He expressed his frustration with all the administrations of the CNMI.
“They talk about culture preservation but nothing happens. They collect revenues on the sacred ground of Managaha but none goes to cultural preservation or even to Carolinian studies,” he added.
Chief Aghurubw, the leader of the group of Carolinians who sailed to and settled on Saipan in the early 19th century, is buried on Managaha.
Olopai recalled how he fought to stop the development of Micro Beach, particularly the site where the Hyatt and Fiesta Resort are now located.
He wanted to preserve the sacredness of the area.
But he was unable to secure support from the Carolinian leaders and even from the elders. “I don’t blame our elders back then because they didn’t understand English, but our leadership had western schooling,” he said.
But despite the changes since then, he said some Carolinian traditions are still being practiced on island.
Carolinians, for example, will still make an offering to the spirit of the ocean whenever they come back from fishing.
They still have their clans and their sacred language, and some families continue to hold traditional gatherings.
