THE Northern Marianas Humanities Council has awarded 10 grants totaling $95,807 in 2024 under its Community Grant Program to financially support community-centered humanities projects that advance the Council’s strategic goals. The Council offers up to $15,000 in grant funds bi-annually to eligible nonprofit groups and individuals through a competitive application process.
1) Islands Reopened. Led by Francis X. Hezel, SJ, this project received $15,000 to produce a documentary film that explores the history of the Northern Marianas Islands from 1962 to 1975. This period marks the departure of the U.S. Naval Technical Training Unit and the events leading up to political status negotiations between the people of the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States.
2) Exploring Latte in the Marianas: Aguiguan, Cave Art, and the Last Chamorro Stand. This project, spearheaded by Leila Staffler, was awarded $9,188 to produce a documentary film focusing on archaeological field reports of ancient latte sites on Aguiguan Island and stories of resistance among the Chamorros during the Spanish Reducción in 1695. This film is part of Staffler’s “Exploring Latte in the Marianas” film series, which highlights ancient Chamorro artifacts, medicinal plants, and cave art from across the Mariana Islands.
3) Laguas yan Gåni Writers Project. This initiative, led by UOG Press Publicist and Project Manager Via Justine De Fant, received $11,777 for a series of writing workshops to be held on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. The workshops aim to cultivate emerging writers, improve writing skills, and increase the number of manuscript submissions from writers and artists in the Northern Mariana Islands.
4) Hita Marianas: Connecting Our Sister Islands Through Media Storytelling. This project, led by Nihi Indigenous Media, received $12,500 to support a series of film screenings and panel discussions on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, featuring Chamorro-produced, directed, and cast films including “Heroes of Micronesia,” “Ulu Hulo’,” and “Marianas Cousins.”
5) The Island is a Ruin: A Comparative Study of Landscapes across the Pacific. This project, led by Gio Hur, received $13,842 to cover the publication costs of field research conducted by landscape architecture students at Harvard Graduate School of Design, exploring how postwar ruins on Saipan and Tinian shape the contemporary social fabric and spatial ties of these islands.
6) Chinalåochåon Finu’ Chamorro. This project, led by Drs. Carlos Madrid and Elizabeth Rechebei, was awarded $14,000 to identify and map Spanish loanwords integrated into the Chamorro language. The project will produce filmed interviews and conversations with key informants, a report analyzing those conversations, and a preliminary list of Spanish words absorbed into Chamorro.
7) Håga yan Åcho’ (Blood and Stone). This project, led by Tony Azios, received $15,000 to produce a documentary film that narrates the ongoing efforts to revive the ancient Chamorro tradition of slinging in the Mariana Islands and its sources of strength, beauty, resilience, and sacred knowledge for the Chamorro people.
8) Kulo’ Navigating the Narrative CNMI. A $1,500 Planning Grant was awarded to Micronesia Climate Change Alliance, Inc. to explore the feasibility of implementing an intensive storytelling program for aspiring digital artists, featuring components that engage participants in climate justice solutions through cultural preservation strategies.
9) Guinahan Finatan Kuttutan Luta. A $1,500 Planning Grant was awarded to Luta Cave to support the development of a strategic plan and gather commitments from historians and scholars for the preservation and cataloging of artifacts found in Luta Cave.
10) Rota Heritage Audio Guide. A $1,500 Planning Grant was awarded to Jacqueline A. Manglona to engage stakeholders, research key sites, and outline multilingual audio content in preparation for developing an audio educational guide to Rota’s heritage and related sites.
“Providing financial support for projects inspired and managed by our community helps bring grassroots ideas to life and creates opportunities for exploring aspects of the humanities that foster critical and reflective dialogue about who we are and how we live,” said Leo Pangelinan, executive director of the Northern Marianas Humanities Council.
The next application deadline for project proposals is Monday, March 17, 2025, at 4 p.m. For more information about the Council’s Community Grant Program, visit http://nmhcouncil.org/community-grants or contact Naomi T. Lizama, program manager, by phone: (670)
235-4785, or email: grants@nmhcouncil.org/.
About the Council
The Northern Marianas Humanities Council is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to navigate and explore the human experiences of the indigenous and diverse peoples of the Commonwealth by enriching their lives through research, dialogue, programs, and publications. The Council’s Community Grant Program has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
