These include the revision of the Chamorro dictionary as well as the translation of the Constitution and the Covenant and its analysis, Santos said.
The Indigenous Affairs Office is also working on the upcoming Green Revolution Summit that aims to revive local agriculture, he said.
Because of lack of funding, Santos said his office is collaborating with a non-profit organization, the CNMI Descents for Self-Government and Indigenous Rights, to pursue their programs.
Former Speaker Oscar C. Rasa, the indigenous group’s spokesman and adviser, said they are closely working with the Indigenous Affairs Office to “fulfill its programs” for the indigenous people.
“My work with Rasa is not glamorous but it’s beneficial,” Santos told Variety.
Rasa said Santos sought his assistance to implement the responsibilities of the Indigenous Affairs Office as embodied in the Constitution.
But these responsibilities also require financial resources, personnel and equipment, Santos said.
His office is tasked to develop and implement a long-range plan to assist and promote the entry of the indigenous people into professional and technical institutions of high education; assist and promote local entrepreneurial development; establish a community foundation for the advancement of the indigenous people; and plan for the establishment of the indigenous cultural center and the indigenous hall of fame.
In a joint statement, Rasa and Santos said these goals require sufficient funds and resources.
Rasa said they may conduct a fundraising activity.
“We’re helping the office in its research effort and the development of a plan,” he said.
The local people, he added, also asks the office to look into problems with the housing, homestead, scholarship and medical referral programs.
Rasa said the Indigenous Affairs Office is “not just about cultural dances, but also about the economic issues of the local people.”
