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11/03/2025 - Four individuals and one group were honored during the Governor’s Humanities Awards 2025 held last Oct. 30 at the Grandvrio Resort Saipan.
Leading the winners of the Northern Marianas Humanities Council’s annual awards that recognize outstanding contributions to the humanities by individuals and organizations in the CNMI was Marianas High School physical education teacher and CNMI indigenous sport of Rocball founder James W. Feger, who was bestowed the Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities Award.
Also making the list were Riya Nathrani, Outstanding Humanities Teacher (in a classroom setting); Peter J. Perez, Outstanding Humanities Teacher (in a non-classroom setting); Thomas A. Manglona II, Preservation of CNMI History; and the Marianas High School POLKSAI Guma Chamorro Club, Preservation of Traditional Cultural Practices.
In winning the most prestigious award from the Humanities Council, Feger was honored for his significant contributions to the humanities over multiple decades.
“I have been writing about Rocball every year for the last 45 years,” Feger said. “That’s when I went to Hopwood Junior High School, and my wife and I lived in Japan. That’s when I started writing about it.”
He added, “I started at Hopwood Junior High School and Rocball. And Mr. [Chang Whan] Jang is now taking up that position as a Rocball teacher at Hopwood Junior High School. So there’s always a little bit of a feeling there at Hopwood Junior High School, for me, because that’s where it started.”
Feger, who moved to Marianas High School in 1985, said Rocball has been played every year since then. “By the way, just for history, in the [CNMI Public School System], Rocball is the longest continuous annual sport without a break since 1985,” he said. “There has been basketball, there has been softball, there’s been other sports, but they’ve gone up and they’ve gone down, and now they’re back up again, which is great.”
“I’m proud of that,” he added. “I think sports are very important. I think sports are good just for the idea that people think about doing sports as an extracurricular activity in addition to what they’re doing in life, and that’s all kinds of positive things for them to do.”
For her part, Nathrani, who serves as an instructional technology coach for the CNMI PSS, dedicated her award to her fellow teachers.
“It is truly an incredible honor to receive this recognition, and I would like to dedicate this award to every educator who does the powerful work of teaching humanities to really preserve the heart and soul of who we are as a Commonwealth,” she said.
“All my life, I’ve known I wanted to be an educator,” she said. “As a child, I would line up my dolls and stuffed animals, pretending to teach them their ABCs. And in high school, I began volunteering in real classrooms. That’s when I realized that teaching isn’t just what I love to do—it’s what I was meant to do.”
Nathrani said her role as an instructional technology coach allows her “to work with students and educators across Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.”
“My role is to help them, to help teachers weave digital tools into their lessons. So for our teachers, technology has become more than just a tool,” she said. “It’s a canoe, a vessel that carries our stories, songs, and wisdom to new generations.”
She added, “Technology shows us that culture and innovation can grow together. And the stories of our islands don’t just belong in history books, but really in the hearts and the hands of our students. Technology gives them the power to be the next storytellers of the Marianas.”
Perez, who co-founded 500 Sails with his wife Emma, said he was humbled to be recognized as a teacher.
“I’m really humbled and sincerely appreciate this recognition for being a teacher. I never thought of myself as a teacher,” he said. “I thought of myself as an activist and, I guess, a canoe builder. But really, I’ve always admired the teaching profession.”
“When you look at our culture, which is a culture of generosity and reciprocity, that is what teaching is, isn’t it? And what being a student is. It’s giving and giving back. Being a good student. Passing on what you know.”
Perez added that through canoe culture, “We’ve given it back. It’s ours. And I think we’re all proud of it.”
“We’re not land-based people who are stuck and have no identity,” he said. “We have a great identity, and we share it with our Carolinian brothers and sisters here. We are a unique community of mariners, and that’s what we’re teaching the world.”
Manglona, who was recognized for Preservation of CNMI History, dedicated his award to his grandparents and the island of Rota.
He added, “Some call this craft the first draft of history, and today I am happy that it is recognized as one way our CNMI history is preserved as both memory and lesson. And who writes that history is more critical than ever, because the act of preserving, filming, recording, writing, documenting also means there’s an opposite force seeking to dissolve, dilute, derail, and disassemble. We must, as journalist Maria Ressa says, ‘hold the line.’”
Manglona said, “Preservation isn’t simply about isolating or sitting in place. It’s active, it’s evolving, and it’s complicated. It’s the act of questioning that preserves through exposure. It reveals what we care about at the very core of who we are.”
“That’s the goal of journalism,” he said. “That’s what I hope to do with my team at Marianas Press.”
On behalf of the MHS POLKSAI Guma Chamorro Club, member Tyler Sasamoto accepted the award for Preservation of Traditional Cultural Practices.
“On behalf of POLKSAI Guma Chamorro Club, we are deeply honored and humbled to accept this year’s Humanities Award,” he said. “This moment is not just a recognition of our club’s work. It is a celebration of the Chamorro people, of our ancestors, and of every person who continues to live and share our cultural pride.”
Sasamoto added, “Our mission has always been simple, yet powerful, and that is to perpetuate the Chamorro language, traditions, and values for future generations through song and dance, storytelling, service, and learning.”
“As we accept this award tonight, we dedicate it to every Chamorro, past, present, and the future, who carries the light of our heritage with strength and pride,” he said. “May we continue to speak our language, dance our stories, and live our values wherever life takes us.”
In her remarks, Humanities Council chair Gretchen Smith said the essence of the humanities is “to explore and understand the human experience from every angle, every voice, every story.”
“As I reflect on those storyboards, I cannot help but realize that that is the essence of the humanities,” Smith said. “Shared stories, but one future. Each of our awardees tonight represents a part of our shared story.”
She added, “Whether it’s telling the stories of years past to future generations through modern technology, building the ocean-faring vessels of ancestors and sharing that knowledge with all, reporting the stories of today and every day, singing song and speaking folklore to preserve culture and art, or innovating new activities like Rocball that our community can share all around the world, each of them has helped shape the story of who we are and who we’re becoming.”
She also called for public support as the Humanities Council faces funding cuts. “The Mellon Foundation has pledged to match up to $50,000 for every $10,000 we raise by the end of this year,” she said. “Your contribution, big or small, helps ensure that our stories continue to be told.”
Gov. David M. Apatang congratulated the awardees for their contributions to preserving the Commonwealth’s culture and heritage.
“Thank you for this evening, great friends, great individuals, and a very inspiring experience that I am sure will perpetuate many more beyond the lifetime of our generation,” he said.
“To the recipients of this year’s Governor’s Humanities Award, Mr. Peter Perez, Dr. Riya Nathrani, Mr. Thomas Manglona II, Mr. James Feger, and the Marianas High School POLKSAI Guma Chamorro Club, congratulations for your work,” he said. “Your resolute commitment to keep contributing to making our community better and for telling the story of our way of life in the Northern Mariana Islands.”
He added, “The stories you tell and the work you teach others, in my opinion, force the divide to not widen, but to contract. And that is how we should all aspire—stay together in the community that our forefathers have built and left for us to keep intact.”
Humanities Council executive director Leo Pangelinan thanked the awardees and announced the launch of the Humanities 100 campaign.
“In this last year, we raised $23,963 from CNMI donors. Of that, $9,696 qualifies for matching funds to the Federation of State Humanities Council’s Humanities 100 campaign,” he said. “If we finish the year having raised $35,000, Mellon will instantly double it to $70,000, directly supporting programs like Your Humanities Half Hour, the Valentine Sengebau Poetry Competition, and the preservation of our digital archives.”
Pangelinan also announced that former first lady Wella Palacios and her foundation had pledged a $5,000 donation to the Humanities Council.
“This generous gift is a perfect way to launch our Humanities 100 campaign and energize our push to reach the $50,000 goal by December 31st of this year,” he said. “Thank you, first lady Wella, for being a true champion of the humanities, for your generosity, and for your continued support of the people and culture of the Marianas.”
Board Service Awards were also given to Lucy Blanco-Maratita, Michael A. White, Marjorie Ann C. Daria, Bobby James A. Cruz, and Samuel McPhetres Jr.
The event was hosted by Catherine R. Perry.
Report by Mark Rabago
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