Q1
Name:
Kelly G. Marsh (Taitano)
Q2
What office are you running for and what is your political affiliation?
Senator; Democrat
Q3
As an island leader, how would you support Guåhan in food sovereignty efforts?
Food sovereignty is important in numerous ways. It is making sure that we have enough food to meet our physical needs. Further, locally cultivated foodstuffs allows communities to reclaim their power in the food system. Food becomes more affordable thus more accessible, as well as is healthier and better tasting. Locally cultivated foodstuffs provides jobs and income to our local farmers, fishers, and other food providers.
For an Indigenous people such as CHamorus as well as to those who are Indigenous in the region, food sovereignty also allows them to rebuild the relationships with the land, traditional foods, and each other; recognition of this was part of the reasoning of the Hawaiian Homestead Act.
We have potential to continue to develop our agriculture and aquaculture, while at the same time, there have been other interests as well, such as poultry farming. We can have success at many levels. People can grow gardens or cultivate family ranches, which many have begun to do during the pandemic. Others grow more commercially, as farmers and as companies. Some of this success has been with hydroponics which should have potential to expand. I also see potential with some of our newer industries such as cannabis to cultivate cooperatively which may be a good model for those assuming CHamoru Land Trust lands. In this way, those assuming homesteads can grow single types of crops to better fulfill demands, or can diversify among each other to provide variety. They can also perhaps share labor and equipment.
Within our region, Taiwan is a bed of research in both agriculture and aquaculture. We can certainly gain from building partnerships with them. Our neighbor Palau has some successful models for shrimp, fish, and crab farms that we can learn from. Additionally, the University of Guam already has an aquaculture development and training center which is a hatchery for shrimp, tilapia, and catfish. There are two sets of models that we can consider for ourselves. Taiwan and Palau have hatcheries to replenish their fish and clam stocks so that the islands continue to be sustainable traditional food resources. Shrimp, tilapia, and catfish farms would increase the availability of non-traditional foods, creating less reliance on their importation.
I see potential within the Marianas, within Micronesia, and Island Southeast Asia, to develop our island and regional food security. If elected Senator for the next term, one of my goals is to work further to develop a formal and organized system of importing and exporting among each other. We already receive taro, yams, string beans, and more from Luta (Rota) which has expanded its economy in the last several years through agriculture. We receive fish from neighboring islands like Palau as well as some of their local foods like apigige’ and stuffed land crab (billum and ukaeb in Palauan).
Traditionally, peoples of the Marianas and Micronesia have long shared and traded foodstuffs. The broader that network exists, the broader the security to survive different situations that challenge local food production.
Q4
What is your understanding of and position on the complex history of Guåhan's political status and the CHamoru right to self-determination?
As a Senator with oversight of Regional Affairs, I belong to the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures. At the first gathering, I introduced a resolution “Calling upon and urging the United States to uphold its commitment towards the Decolonization and Self Determination of Guam”. This was important to do as, at the time, who had the right vote in the plebiscite for self-determination for Guåhan was being challenged in US courts.
As Pacific Islanders who have similar Indigenous cultures and American (for the most part) colonial histories, they uniquely had the ability to understand why self-determination and decolonization are so important for CHamorus to achieve. Having gone through similar self-determination processes recently themselves, they were intimately familiar with what was being challenged in court. It was a powerful moment when they unanimously supported the resolution. As a leader, in order to understand current issues, where they come from and how they developed over time, it is important to know the history of the people and the island of our community. Three US non-self-governing territories together constitute 20% of the recognized areas still to self-determine from a list of 80-100 or so, is sobering in many ways. When I traveled to the Fourth Committee of the United Nations last year to testify, all this history weighed heavily on me. To see so many that have moved ahead towards the next steps in their political development, while Guam remains a non-self-governing territory. It is so troubling that 74 years after the US itself placed Guåhan on that list of non-self-governing territories, true self-governance through decolonization has still not yet been achieved.
In brief, in 1565, when Legaspi claimed Laguas yan Gåni for Spain, it was done so without the knowledge or consent of i manaotao mo’na (ancestors of today’s Indigenous CHamoru People). In 1698, after the Spanish missionized via a mixture of ‘volunteerism’, coercion, and force and after carrying out the reducción, they officially established a colonial government that administered the ‘Mariana Islands’ for 200 years, without the explicit consent of the people. In 1898, as spoils of war, Spain ceded just Guåhan to the United States (US), without the consent of the CHamoru People. Thereafter, there were 20 years of court rulings referred to as the Insular cases that determined that US territories could be Unincorporated, meaning, held as properties to be resided on by peoples who would only receive the rights and benefits unilaterally determined for them by the US Congress. After ruling Guåhan and its people by military government for some 50 years, and after much effort on the part of the people of Guåhan and others around the world to secure any kind of right or protection for the peoples of Guåhan, the US unilaterally made decisions regarding conferring US citizenship for the people of Guåhan.
It is these series of political decisions of colonial administration, claims of ownership of the island, claims of Guåhan being something owned as a possession, as well as the unilateral determination of political status, citizenship, and rights of CHamorus that self-determination is to address. The act of finally, after hundreds of years of others claiming sovereignty over them, deciding their political status for themselves will be a major step toward decolonization.
Q5
In the current socio-political climate and uncertainty surrounding Guåhan's economy due to COVID-19, it is more important now than ever for our island to be self-sustainable. How will you support Guåhan in becoming more self-reliant in alignment with GovGuam's 10-year action plan on sustainability?
Guam's Green Growth (G3) initiative focuses on our island economy, social issues, and environmental challenges. It is important that it does so as being self-reliant is much more than being kinder to the environment. As an island leader, I have consistently promoted and supported meaningful policy to further the sustainability of our island. This has ranged from economic considerations such as providing tax relief to small businesses and increasing the minimum wage. I have tackled social issues holding a series of roundtables to arrive at social science understandings and solutions to crime, drug abuse, and other social ills. I wrote bills that ensured CHamorus have a voice in telling their story to the world, recognize local heroes who have stood up for Guam, created structure and order for the Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency, and am always looking to write and support bills that protect our most vulnerable in their various walks of life. Further, I have written, co-sponsored, and consistently voted for bills that require the government to buy energy efficient products, incentivize zero emissions vehicles, pave the way for GDOE to enter into renewable energy agreements, and more. Zero waste convert waste into resources that will fuel a green economy.
More directly, I have updated our Comprehensive Development Plan with sustainable principles which is scheduled to be on the session floor in September and should be passed into law shortly thereafter. This update requires the development plan to be informed by the work of the Guam Green Growth initiative, the Climate Change commissions, and other such work. Further, to the degree feasible, it is to be guided by the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals as well as the Global Plan of Action for Small Island Developing States. While so doing, the plan is updated to recognize CHamorus as Indigenous and their connections and rights to the island. The update focus on social justice by stating that the plan shall address disparities in socio-economic status, affordable and accessible health care, as well as substandard housing and homelessness. It also expands the consideration of environments by adding in focus on coral reef, threatened and endangered native species, protection of rare, natural communities, and more as well as concepts toward achieving renewable energy and zero waste.
I have many more visions for further such work that tackle economic and social issues as well as work to resolve some of our environmental challenges.
Q6
What is your understanding of and position on the protection of CHamoru cultural heritage sites, ancestral burial sites and environment relative to the ongoing construction and impending operation of the Live Fire Training Range Complex?
While development is part of our reality, we must take the time to protect and preserve that which makes Guåhan special. Our children and grandchildren deserve an island no less special, if not better than the one we grew up in. Yet, unfortunately, that has not always been the guiding principle, nor is it the guiding principle for everyone now.
Cultural heritage sites, ancestral burial sites, and native and vernacular landscapes are precious. Once they are removed or otherwise destroyed, they will never be as they once were. Special ancestral areas such as Magua', Tailålo', Litekyan, Haputo, and Talågi are to be treasured. They are were CHamoru ancestors once walked, fished, hunted, cultivated, loved, laughed, played, and lived out their lives.
Tailålo' was either part of the coastal village of Litekyan, or was a neighboring village that had a special relationship with taotao Litekyan. As such, it is connected to one of the oldest sites in Laguas yan Gåni (the Mariana Islands). It is a sacred site accorded special significance for its age and its particular history.
It is a site of some of the last small percentage of pristine limestone forest which took thousands of years to form and within which plants and animals adapted and evolved to occur in specific that specific ecosystem. In addition to all that is precious within it, the fanihi, the ababang, the various other native wildlife, much of which is threatened or endangered, is the last remaining, mature and seeding håyun lågu. It is unspeakable that these are to be either cut down to attempt to be replicated elsewhere, translocated, or left as a small, struggling corridor to try to survive amidst the sound of 6.7 million bullets a year, as is that sacred landscape which in CHamoru culture should be a place of quiet respect, will, nearly every day of the year, instead be where the cacophonic sound of more than 20,000 rounds will crack through the air.
The site of Tailålo' was assessed by the military itself in its SEIS to be the most destructive and damaging site to select both in its construction and during its operation. There is no need for 5 more ranges in an island that has 4 or more ranges already, any of which could be expanded to some degree. There is no need for more ranges when the military has built indoor ranges elsewhere. There is no need for more ranges when the military can train through simulators.
What they chose as a site that was convenient for them, is our loss. What was there that has been bulldozed or dismantled for ‘data recovery’ is forever gone.
Q7
What is your position on protecting the Chamorro Land Trust Commission and what will you do to improve the systems in place for the benefit of past and future trustees?
As a Senator with oversight of Regional Affairs, I belong to the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures. At the first gathering in Yap during my term, I introduced three resolutions, one of which was, “Supporting the land rights of the Native Chamorros of Guam, the mission of the Chamorro Land Trust Commission, and all efforts in protecting and preserving the land and all other natural resources in Guam.” It was important to have the Chamorro Land Trust (CLT) and the Commission (CLTC), and all that they stand for, be reaffirmed. At the time, the CLT was being sued by the U.S. government for racial discrimination and violation of Fair Housing Act which has yet to be fully resolved.
Fellow legislators from independent Micronesian nations (including Kiribati), Hawaii, and American Samoa, understood and stood in solidarity with the CHamorus of Guåhan. That moment of standing together, Islanders across many nations and cultures who had similar yet distinct histories was a powerful one that I was very humbled to be part of. As a leader, it is important to know the history of the people and the island of our community. In this, one understands the colonial injustices that have occurred over the centuries and how it came to be that, as is the case for Indigenous Peoples around the globe and throughout the Pacific, CHamorus find themselves landless and too often homeless in their own homeland.
It is these injustices for CHamorus and others here at the time of early US administration during which people were dislocated from the land, that the Chamorro Land Trust, serves to offer relief to. Similar to the Hawaiian Homestead Act, this is also a means to reconnect people to the land, and to living off the land.
It is unfortunate that for so long this program that was created to redress an injustice and offer hope and a chance at a better life to many left landless by the changes that have come about in postwar Guam, has been plagued with so many issues of corruption and incompetence. As leaders we have to treat it with the same purpose and dignity in which it was created. No more questionable use of CLT land for commercial projects that don’t benefit I taotao tåno’. No more questionable leases for relatives of powerful political figures. I commend the outgoing director of the CLT Pika Fejeran for doing a great deal to terms of setting the CLT on a new course and with a new tone.
What CLT has lacked for so long is regular enforcement of leases and also support for those that receive the leases. We have heard for decades now about land being provided to individuals who have no means to cover the cost of even connecting utilities to lands deep in the jungle. Those with CLT leases can become the cornerstone of creating a more circular economy with a higher level of food security, if the government is able to provide the infrastructure to encourage it. With an eye towards encouraging sustainable and organic farming techniques, Guam could become a model for Pacific agriculture, and we see the long held dream of a local Green Revolution realized. I spoke about some of these possibilities in the initial question.
The late Speaker Ben Pangelinan, once said “Anggen ta mantieni i tano’, ta susteni i taotao,” (If we hold onto the land, we sustain the people) I believe this still represents the promise and hope for the CLT, and I am committed to helping realize this simple, beautiful, sustainable truth.
Q8
An estimated 6.7 million bullets would be shot above our Northern Guam Lens Aquifer each year that the firing range is in operation. Military studies have stated the military relocation may result in the over pumping of our sole source aquifer and subsequent salt water intrusion. What is your understanding on the protection of our aquifer and adverse impacts from the construction and operation of the Live Fire Training Range Complex and the Marine relocation to Guam?
In Guam we are so blessed to have a strong aquifer that can sustain life. We have seen in the past how not respecting and valuing the gift of a fresh water aquifer can have in the case of Saipan, and we also are reminded of the blessing of having an abundance of water on Guam compared to other islands where rising tides and global warming are being to threaten the ability to live there. We should not be thoughtless or careless about i hanom i isla.
As a community advocate and an elected leader I have worked to educate the community about the need to protect the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer (NGLA) from the threats that the buildup represents. Not only will the millions of bullets and other explosives possibly contaminate the water supply, but the need to build new wells to tap into the aquifer to meet the needs of those living in new base housing may result in over-pumping. Both of these and other concerns threaten to damage the water quality of the NGLA. I’ve used my office to help get out critical information to the community and assisted in helping people write and submit comments.
The mitigation offered by the US military is plainly insufficient to address the concerns I, community groups, and other leaders have expressed. This is part of a larger problem that we face in terms of our relationship to the US military in Guam and the US in general. There are processes where we can comment, but the time periods are too short, the reports and memos are not written for general public consumption, and more often than not, our reservations and concerns are too readily dismissed, and not given due consideration as is required by the intent of the law. Time and again, we hear how the most destructive choice is selected in the face of less damaging options.
The US military says they are using a “One Guam” approach to the buildup and other issues. The pace at which this buildup has been carried out, the lack of transparency, the lack of accountability and the lack of any real partnership or cooperation, shows that in truth the One Guam approach is very one-sided. I have sought to be a loud and firm voice in terms of calling out the US military on these issues, whether it is insufficient mitigation, threats to our sacred sites, or even not giving just accommodation to our veterans in terms of commissary access during a pandemic. Because of our current political status we aren’t provided any real voice, and in so many ways, we shown over and again, that we matter less. That is why using our voice and empowering the community to ask these questions about how their island is being negatively impacts and also speak loudly their own truths is essential.
Q9
Considering military studies have stated the economic impacts of the buildup would be like a "boomtown" effect, in which Guam's economy will experience a rapid boom and then a steep decline, what is your position on economic drivers surrounding the military buildup?
The military buildup offers some economic benefits to the island, but these benefits tend to be smaller than advertised and skewed to a handful of people and not beneficial for the majority of the island. A small number of contractors receive small contracts, while the majority of the money goes to off-island firms who pay marginal taxes and take the rest off-island with them when they are done. The buildup doesn’t put much directly into our community economically and the trade offs in terms of loss of cultural resources, natural habitats, and access to sacred areas is significant. Rarely do people consider the fact that the bases take up 1/3 of the island and has severe restrictions, which inhibits our economic and community planning ability.
The boomtown effect is something that we have to be particularly cautious about. For so many on Guam today, even prior to the pandemic, they were living paycheck to paycheck, they were struggling to afford their basic needs for life. The buildup wouldn’t necessarily help those families. What the boomtown impact would likely lead to is more speculative investment by those that have the money and means, and that would likely lead to increases in costs of living, especially in terms of housing. This is something that we saw clearly when the buildup was first announced 15 years ago. There was a rush to buy land, to build houses, to push out local tenants and make way for military tenants that can pay more in rent. We saw housing costs skyrocket and rents rise as well. Here we are today, 10-15 years later, over a billion dollars have been spent, where are the noticeable benefits from the spending of that billion dollars?
For these and other reasons I don’t see the military buildup as a solid or reliable economic driver. The world is going in the direction of more sustainable and circular means of economic development, and we should too. We should pursue small and locally focused business models that employ people here, that pay taxes here, that spend their money here, that contribute to the overall growth and development of the island here. I’ve worked to streamline and reactivate things like the Guam Product Seal Task Force, to create a stronger infrastructure to support locally-minded and locally invested entrepreneurs.
We’ve had a couple of generations of haphazard development and economic growth without a mind towards sustainability or preservation of our island’s culture and sense of community. The feeling that the buildup is like an economic golden ticket is tied to that sense of feeling like we are less, and that our sense of worth and economic viability can only come from others bringing their money and recognition to us. I am hopeful that we can put that way of thinking to rest. As I an elected leader I see part of my role as pushing for more locally-focused and -invested programs, whether it be for small businesses or native plants. Across several questions I’ve highlight the need for agriculture to be central to this shift in economic priorities, but small businesses that build up our brand, promote zero waste, and keep our community healthy, educated, engaged and empowered are just as critical.
While serving in I Liheslaturan Guåhan I have been the oversight chair for different government agencies that promote the arts and humanities. I strongly believe that part of this new more locally-invested economy will have a strong knowledge component, that it can be something that comes from our intelligence, our culture, our creativity and not just our location. Studies right now are showing that what people desire in this COVID-19 world, is authenticity of place and people.
