A CHAMORRO culture advocate thanked Gov. Arnold I. Palacios for appointing Ross Manglona as the new resident executive of the Indigenous Affairs Office.
Liana M.S. Hofschneider, president of Matua Council for Native Chamorro Advancement, also congratulated Manglona for his appointment, saying that she wishes him the best.
The IAO, however, remains “underfunded,” she told Variety.
She said the IAO was “shut down” when it was appropriated $1 only during former Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s administration amid an economic crisis.
But his successor, former Gov. Eloy S. Inos, funded the office despite the budget shortfalls, Hofschneider said, adding that she and other advocates would have taken the government to court if the IAO was not reopened.
“It is [also] important to give credit where credit is due, and I have to give credit to former Gov. Ralph DLG Torres for appropriating $200,000 in [American Rescue Plan Act or] ARPA funds for the IAO,” Hofschneider said.
“However, it is my understanding that only 10% [of the amount] was actually used,” she added. “And this budget allocation is not more than what is annually appropriated to the Carolinian Affairs Office which gets equal or more than what is allocated annually to the IAO which has a larger constituency to serve.”
Hofschneider hopes that Manglona will look into the status of the Chamorro Culture and Heritage Center project.
“There is over $21 million in grant award from the U.S. Economic Development Authority since two years ago I believe. Yet we have not received any status report on the cultural center or the grant monies which are with the CNMI Office of Planning and Development,” she said.
“To date, we have not received [from the OPD] any response to our several email messages, official letters of inquiry, and phone calls,” Hofschneider said.
She is also hoping that Manglona will address Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council Resolution 16SMC-02 which calls for a three-year comprehensive study on the status of the indigenous people since the signing of the Covenant with the U.S. in 1975.
The IAO, she added, should likewise implement the following:
—Preserve and protect Chamorro traditional and heritage sites throughout the islands.
—Ensure that the Public School System, Northern Marianas College and private educational institutions have appropriate and accurate language and history curriculum for Chamorro and non-Chamorro students.
—Promote Chamorro culture and heritage through events conferences, seminars, workshops, festivals and the like.
—Work with the CNMI Scholarship Office, the Department of Labor, the Northern Marianas Technical Institute, and Northern Marianas College to ensure that the indigenous people have access to education and training necessary for their educational and career advancement.
—Work with the Department of Lands and Natural Resources to ensure that public policies, laws, rules and regulations protect the indigenous people’s natural sources of food and medicinal plants.
—Work with the Department of Public Lands and the Northern Marianas Housing Corporation to expedite the long overdue review and approval of homestead applications.
Hofschneider said, “The people should have access to home financing, and families should be placed into homes as soon as practicable because there are [homestead] applicants that have been waiting for over 20 and 30 years now.”
She added, “There are Chamorros who have not had the opportunity to apply for homestead because of the moratorium on the homestead application process.”
Liana M.S. Hofschneider
