In 2008, Lacy Martinez, a reporter for the Guam Pacific Daily News, ran a weekly series on the topic “Chamorro Clans.” At the time the CHamoru Roots Genealogy Project was only a few years old and Lacy reached out to me about the project.
Family clan names are a vital CHamoru cultural practice towards pinpointing and identifying specific family relationships and even individuals within clans.
SAVE THE DATE. We are planning for a 2024 CHamoru Genealogy Workshop Symposium that will highlight this cultural practice along with other presentations, displays, and CHamoru genealogy database navigation tips. It will be a two-day, possibly three-days if necessary, TENTATIVELY, September 20-21, 2024, and hopefully at the Guam Community College multipurpose auditorium. Much of this will depend on the continued collaboration and co-sponsorship with the Kumisión i Fino’ CHamoru yan i Fina’nå’guen i Historia yan i Lina’la’ i Taotao Tåno’ (Commission on CHamoru Language and the Teaching of the History and Culture of the Indigenous People of Guam).
There is still a lot of planning, coordination and organizing going on but I just wanted to give everyone some planning information, to at least set aside the time and save money for travel if you are coming from off-island. So please stay tuned for developments. Also, please let me know if you are interested in rolling up your sleeves to help out with this historical event.
