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2010 Chamorro Population

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Written by: Bernard Punzalan

Published: 02 March 2015

This chart is a telling picture of the Chamorro population spread in Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and the U.S. and includes the most recent population numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau’s reports and data sets.

CNMI: 12,902

Guam:  69,098

U.S.:    147,798

Total:  229,798

On March 1, 2015, the Guam PDN article “Groups Spread Chamorro Culture,” incorrectly stated:

“According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 88,280 Chamorros were living in the states. California had the largest population of Chamorro people with 24,299.”

I have researched and reviewed several U.S. Census reports and was unable to replicate what the Guam PDN reported. However, I suspect that the Guam PDN may have only reported a portion of the Census data set from those who reported Guamanian or Chamorro alone and possibly without regard to those people who reported in combination (i.e. those who claimed they were part Chamorro in combination with another ethnicity).

Indeed, California does have the largest population of Chamorro people in the U.S. but that number is actually 44,425 and not what the PDN had reported.

Throughout the history of the Chamorro people of the Mariana Islands there have been many disparate population reports since the Spanish occupation. We must remain keen of our Chamorro heritage and scrutinize the history written by others to ensure that the voices of our people are equally told.

Bibliography:

Secretariat of the Pacific Community. Table POP08. Chamorros in the United States: 2000. Retrieved January 21, 2015 from: http://www.spc.int/prism/country/gu/stats/census/chamorros_in_us.htm

Guam State Data Center. 2012. Profile of the Chamorros in the United States. Government of Guam, Bureau of Statistics and Plans.

Punzalan, Bernard. 2013. Is “Guamanian” an Ethnic Race? Chamorro Roots Genealogy Project. Retrieved from https://www.chamorroroots.com/x5/index.php/land-records-online/34-taotao-tano/history/175-is-qguamanianq-an-ethnic-race

Punzalan, Bernard. 2014. The Surge: Chamorro Diaspora in the U.S. Chamorro Roots Genealogy Project. https://www.chamorroroots.com/x5/index.php/50-taotao-tano/398-the-surge-chamorro-diaspora-in-the-us

U.S. Census Bureau. 2010 Census. Retrieved January 21, 2015 from: http://factfinder.census.gov

U.S. Census Bureau. 2010 Census Shows More than Half of Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders Report Multiple Races. Retrieved January 21, 2015 from: https://www.census.gov/2010census/news/releases/operations/cb12-83.html