A file photo of Donald Mendiola at an Amut Walk held earlier this year. Mendiola was asked to teach a group of community members about local medicine.
AT a proclamation signing designating October as Humanities Month on Oct. 3, Northern Marianas Humanities Council Executive Director Leo Pangelinan announced that suruhuånu/yo’åmte Donald Mendiola will be the CNMI’s representative to a recently created regional cultural network funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
According to a media release, the NEH has created the Pacific Islands Cultural Initiative, focused on “fortifying cultural heritage and resilience in American Samoa, Guåhan (Guam), Hawaiʻi, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.”
The initiative will support the convening of Pacific humanities councils from those islands.
The initiative is likewise focused on “safeguarding cultural resources against the impacts of the climate crisis” as well as “native and indigenous language and cultural revitalization, documentation, oral history collection, and public humanities programming.”
Pangelinan said the Humanities Council was awarded $220,000 as part of the Pacific Islands Cultural Initiative. Part of the funding will support Mendiola and the Humanities Council’s participation in the cultural network.
Aside from supporting participation in the regional cultural network, the NEH funding will also fund the digitizing of cultural artifacts, Pangelinan said, adding that it will also build capacity to “safeguard and promote our community and cultural values.”
As for Mendiola, he is a “core member” of the regional network formed under the Pacific Islands Cultural Initiative, Pangelinan said.
According to Pangelinan, Mendiola was selected to “bring his vast knowledge in traditional healing, weaving, culture and language to bear down on ways to protect and revitalize our indigenous cultures.”
Mendiola is recognized as a “cultural icon” of the Humanities Council. He is a recipient of the organization’s Governor’s Humanities Award for preservation of traditional cultural practices.
The Humanities Council also honored him as a Chamorro language expert and master weaver.
In addition, Mendiola is the author of the Humanities Council-funded publication titled, “Åmot Chamorro: A Historical Snapshot of the CNMI’s Medicinal Herbs and Shrubs.”
At this year’s Marianas History Conference, Mendiola was the keynote speaker.
In the local community, he is often sought out for his expertise in traditional and indigenous healing.
Leo Pangelinan, Humanities Council executive director, delivers his remarks at a proclamation singing from earlier this year.
