Making the Invisible Empire Visible

A "colony" of the American "empire"? Of course, the US does not acknowledge that the "territory" of Guam and the "commonwealth" of the Northern Mariana Islands are colonies. But, as the film points out, the residents of these islands bear American passports yet have only token representation in the US Congress. They have the 'right' to fight in the US military (soldiers from Guam have died in Iraq and Afghanistan at a per capita rate four times as high as any US state), but they don't have a vote in the election of the commander-in-chief. One third of Guam is controlled by the US military and the island is slated for a massive military buildup, but as a "non-self-governing territory," the islanders have no say in the matter. [Pete Tenorio] entered politics and eventually was elected "resident representative" of the commonwealth, with an office in Washington, DC, where he negotiates not with Congress but with the Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs. "People here [in the US] are just not aware of this relationship," he says in frustration, "and if they're not aware, what's our solution to it?" Olopai pressed for independence at the time of the plebiscite and when the commonwealth status was approved, he left Saipan for the Caroline Islands to reconnect with his roots. There he learned the dying art of celestial navigation, which he has continued to teach to others since his return to Saipan. While the US military is not the focus of the film, its presence is inescapable. US soldiers march in uniform in Guam's annual Liberation Day parade, commemorating the defeat of the Japanese occupation of the island on July 21, 1944. More than 60 years later, the military is still lionized as Guam's "liberator," but, as [Hope Cristobal] comments, "The US has not given us anything but the military." If the Guam Buildup goes forward as planned, there will be precious little room left on Guam for anything but the military.