Acting Gov. Eloy S. Inos in an interview on Friday said today “is a very significant day for islanders.”
“It is just proper and fitting that this would also be a holiday when we celebrate the fact that our culture have evolved from the days [of Columbus and Magellan],” Inos added.
He noted that the CNMI Constitution “acknowledges” the importance of local culture.
“We also have the offices for indigenous affairs and Carolinian affairs. We are so involved and engaged in so many cultural activities. Culture is something that we truly value,” Inos said, as he encourages parents to continue passing on to their children local traditions and values.
He said the government needs to continue to partner with the Public School System to come up with a curriculum that “institutionalizes” the teaching of the local languages.
“There is also a need for community commitment. We don’t want to be like the other areas that have lost their culture,” Inos said.
Press Secretary Angel A. Demapan for his part said the government renamed Columbus Day Commonwealth Culture Day “because we felt that there should be a better relationship between the name of the holiday and the commonwealth.”
Today is the day for everyone in the commonwealth “to reflect on our noble traditions and the culture that is native to us and handed down by our ancestors,” he added.
Demapan said there are a lot of local traditions and cultural aspects that cannot be found in any other part of the world.
“So we take a lot of pride in our culture and the administration would like the community to continue embracing our culture traditions on this holiday and everyday throughout the year,” he added.
Like other Pacific islanders, the local people have strong cultural ties with the land and the ocean “because we believe they are the origins of our ancestors,” Demapan said.
