Watercraft, Saipan circa 1924.
Hornbostel, Bishop Museum photo
EAST Carolina University or ECU will hold community workshops in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands from July 8-16 and July 21, 2025, aimed at mapping non-sensitive maritime heritage sites and practices in the archipelago.
Part of the larger study, Maritime Heritage of the U.S. Pacific Islands — funded by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management — the workshop welcomes heritage practitioners and knowledge holders to focused workshops based on their experience and expertise. Maps created with community input will be compiled into a community-controlled database to inform local communities and the federal government about heritage sites potentially impacted by Federal actions.
The team is led by Dr. Jennifer McKinnon, a maritime archaeology professor of ECU, who has collaborated with community in Saipan for over 15 years on projects including the World War II Maritime Heritage Trail-Battle of Saipan; Saipan’s Land and Sea: Battle Scars & Sites of Resilience: a program for teachers; War in the Pacific: Difficult Heritage: a program for veterans, and other projects.
“We’re excited to return to the Marianas in July for to our latest project documenting the islands’ rich historic and cultural resources,” said McKinnon. “This effort is community-centered and focused on mapping and recording with respect to community design and input. Our goal is to create a database and maps to inform future Marianas generations about their maritime heritage, as well as federal agencies or other parties working in Marianas waters.”
Maritime heritage sites and practices include both tangible (i.e. physical) and intangible aspects, including shipwrecks, canoe landings or sea lanes, fish traps, places related to origin stories, traditional fishing and gathering places, navigational aids, and other heritage related directly to Chamorro, Carolinian and other cultures’ connections to the sea.
The workshops will be divided into focus groups to include fishers, navigators, boat builders, artisans, and the general public. A session for input from the general public will be held at the Saipan International Fishing Tournament festival on July 13 starting at 2 p.m. at Smiling Cove Marina, and additional workshop times and locations will be announced shortly. Each workshop lasts about two hours, and no prior mapping experience or materials are needed.
The team is working with local collaborators from organizations across the islands to host the workshops. For more information, email Dr. McKinnon at mckinnonje@ecu.edu, Gordon Marciano at gordon@pdi.com or Integrity Communications at cperry@integrity-communications.net/.
