Micronesian Matriarchs Rising
By Kaitlin Ngeremokt McManus
As a daughter of Micronesia (half Palauan, half Chamaole) born in Saipan who also lived in Palau for a while, but spent most of my life in Guam (a US colony)-I see the many struggles of life on the colony of Guåhan aka Guam that was once a Matriarchal Society like Palau. But now, it faces the heavy oppression of colonialism. I also see how my maternal homeland Belau (Palau), an independent nation here in Micronesia has thrived as incredible stewards of conservation innovation in the Pacific and the whole world in general, while maintaining a Matriarchal Society where women control the land and rights, etc. To give a better description of Belau/Palau, I will share this quote by a Palauan Nobel Peace Prize winner, Mirair Grabriella Ngirmang: "In Palau, women play a very important role in issues of policy. Women traditionally own and devise land. We control the clan money. We traditionally select our chiefs; women place and remove them. Having observed their upbringing closely, we are able to decide which men have the talent to represent our interests. From birth, Palauan women are responsible for the men. When men marry, the women arrange for the settlement, and when they die, women bury them. Women are Caretakers of the environment."
Now after seeing how much Belau has maintained its Matriarchal Society that protects the land and sacred strongly, and comparing that to what I see and experience on Guam in the Marianas, it has left a huge yearning in my heart for Guam, the rest of the Marianas and all of Micronesia to return back to that Matriarchal Society where the Sacred is strongly protected and cared for. As a mother to four children, I have found it part of my job as their mother to stand up against local corporations, the military and even our own people when they desecrate the sacred. On Guam, we have lost so much land to colonialism and according to Dr. Hope Cristobal (a nobel peace prize nominee from Guam), Guam is one of the most toxic places per capita in the world due to the tons of toxic chemical military dumpsites (over 100 and growing) on our tiny island. In fact, while the government likes to blame the loss of our native birds and all the invasive brown tree snakes (which came through military cargo), Dr. Cristobal and other scientists say that is not true. They say this is a coverup for the fact that it was Agent Orange and DDT that the military sprayed all over Guam that poisoned our birds and gave many of our people cancer. And now the military is building a firing range over our main source of drinking water and risking contamination. And while this is happening, corporations that fund our corrupt government are putting more money into non-renewable energy that pollutes our air even more every day. On top of all this, Guam has one the highest rates of poverty, drug abuse, rape and sexual assault per capita in America. As a repeat survivor of rape and abuse, I know the trauma all too well and more than half of my friends do too. I even have a 7 yr old niece who was taken by the government here on Guam and housed with a molestor after her mother tried escaping an abusive relationship. I live on an island where instead of giving mothers and their children shelter, when they try to flee abuse, their children are put in foster care or given up for adoption and many times end up with abusers. In community and even in the newspaper, we constantly hear of people seeking shelter but there are no permanent shelters on Guam available anymore. I also know this because I too tried seeking shelter at one point and had to go back to an abusive relationship until I had help. Many of these people in poverty turn to drugs to cope and end up in a worse situation. Many cops here protect drug dealers and work with the drug rings here that only make the problem grow. We even have officers like the one who raped three of my friends and his own niece, get away with his crimes. On Guam, many of those who rape the land, rape the air, rape the water and even rape the people.. get away with it all and it can get extremely discouraging. The military buildup has also caused inflation and gentrification and its so much harder now to find an affordable place to rent as all the landlords are accomodating the military and those with a better wage. Life on Guam has been difficult for me and many others who are just trying to survive. If I could, I would move my children with me to Palau and raise them there but due to my joint custody situation with them I cannot do that yet. So while I am raising them on this island in the Marianas where colonialism and a loss of the Matriarchal values have greatly affected the way of life here, I try my best to instill in my children those Matriarchal Values of our Ancestors and I do whatever it takes for us to survive. We pray everyday and give thanks to our Creator and our Ancestors, We also thank Mother Earth and the Water and Air that takes care of us. We thank each other. We thank the Universe and we trust that no matter what, we will be cared for and protected and we will always stand to protect and care for the Sacred as our Ancestors did. There is a strong connection between the land and the women. Antropologist Peggy Reeves Sanday studied interpersonal violence and environmental respect or non-respect in 156 rape-free and rape-prone cultures. Sanday found a strong relationship between the way that women were treated and the way that the land was treated. When women were treated well, so was the land, and vice versa. We can see this comparison with Guam and Palau and I hope that more people look at these comparisons and realize that we must return back to the ways our ancestors cared for the sacred and that it is more than possible. Micronesia has a strong place in my heart and I tried to capture that through this painting along with the beauty of the spirit of the Matriarchs who protect the Sacred that are Rising and Conquering everyday from Guåhan to Saipan, Tinian, Pågan, All of the Marianas, Yap, Chuuk, Kosrae, Kiribati, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Palau... all of Micronesia. Micronesian Matriarchs are rising every day.
By Kaitlin Ngeremokt McManus
As a daughter of Micronesia (half Palauan, half Chamaole) born in Saipan who also lived in Palau for a while, but spent most of my life in Guam (a US colony)-I see the many struggles of life on the colony of Guåhan aka Guam that was once a Matriarchal Society like Palau. But now, it faces the heavy oppression of colonialism. I also see how my maternal homeland Belau (Palau), an independent nation here in Micronesia has thrived as incredible stewards of conservation innovation in the Pacific and the whole world in general, while maintaining a Matriarchal Society where women control the land and rights, etc. To give a better description of Belau/Palau, I will share this quote by a Palauan Nobel Peace Prize winner, Mirair Grabriella Ngirmang: "In Palau, women play a very important role in issues of policy. Women traditionally own and devise land. We control the clan money. We traditionally select our chiefs; women place and remove them. Having observed their upbringing closely, we are able to decide which men have the talent to represent our interests. From birth, Palauan women are responsible for the men. When men marry, the women arrange for the settlement, and when they die, women bury them. Women are Caretakers of the environment."
Now after seeing how much Belau has maintained its Matriarchal Society that protects the land and sacred strongly, and comparing that to what I see and experience on Guam in the Marianas, it has left a huge yearning in my heart for Guam, the rest of the Marianas and all of Micronesia to return back to that Matriarchal Society where the Sacred is strongly protected and cared for. As a mother to four children, I have found it part of my job as their mother to stand up against local corporations, the military and even our own people when they desecrate the sacred. On Guam, we have lost so much land to colonialism and according to Dr. Hope Cristobal (a nobel peace prize nominee from Guam), Guam is one of the most toxic places per capita in the world due to the tons of toxic chemical military dumpsites (over 100 and growing) on our tiny island. In fact, while the government likes to blame the loss of our native birds and all the invasive brown tree snakes (which came through military cargo), Dr. Cristobal and other scientists say that is not true. They say this is a coverup for the fact that it was Agent Orange and DDT that the military sprayed all over Guam that poisoned our birds and gave many of our people cancer. And now the military is building a firing range over our main source of drinking water and risking contamination. And while this is happening, corporations that fund our corrupt government are putting more money into non-renewable energy that pollutes our air even more every day. On top of all this, Guam has one the highest rates of poverty, drug abuse, rape and sexual assault per capita in America. As a repeat survivor of rape and abuse, I know the trauma all too well and more than half of my friends do too. I even have a 7 yr old niece who was taken by the government here on Guam and housed with a molestor after her mother tried escaping an abusive relationship. I live on an island where instead of giving mothers and their children shelter, when they try to flee abuse, their children are put in foster care or given up for adoption and many times end up with abusers. In community and even in the newspaper, we constantly hear of people seeking shelter but there are no permanent shelters on Guam available anymore. I also know this because I too tried seeking shelter at one point and had to go back to an abusive relationship until I had help. Many of these people in poverty turn to drugs to cope and end up in a worse situation. Many cops here protect drug dealers and work with the drug rings here that only make the problem grow. We even have officers like the one who raped three of my friends and his own niece, get away with his crimes. On Guam, many of those who rape the land, rape the air, rape the water and even rape the people.. get away with it all and it can get extremely discouraging. The military buildup has also caused inflation and gentrification and its so much harder now to find an affordable place to rent as all the landlords are accomodating the military and those with a better wage. Life on Guam has been difficult for me and many others who are just trying to survive. If I could, I would move my children with me to Palau and raise them there but due to my joint custody situation with them I cannot do that yet. So while I am raising them on this island in the Marianas where colonialism and a loss of the Matriarchal values have greatly affected the way of life here, I try my best to instill in my children those Matriarchal Values of our Ancestors and I do whatever it takes for us to survive. We pray everyday and give thanks to our Creator and our Ancestors, We also thank Mother Earth and the Water and Air that takes care of us. We thank each other. We thank the Universe and we trust that no matter what, we will be cared for and protected and we will always stand to protect and care for the Sacred as our Ancestors did. There is a strong connection between the land and the women. Antropologist Peggy Reeves Sanday studied interpersonal violence and environmental respect or non-respect in 156 rape-free and rape-prone cultures. Sanday found a strong relationship between the way that women were treated and the way that the land was treated. When women were treated well, so was the land, and vice versa. We can see this comparison with Guam and Palau and I hope that more people look at these comparisons and realize that we must return back to the ways our ancestors cared for the sacred and that it is more than possible. Micronesia has a strong place in my heart and I tried to capture that through this painting along with the beauty of the spirit of the Matriarchs who protect the Sacred that are Rising and Conquering everyday from Guåhan to Saipan, Tinian, Pågan, All of the Marianas, Yap, Chuuk, Kosrae, Kiribati, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Palau... all of Micronesia. Micronesian Matriarchs are rising every day.
Mediums: Oil on canvas sheet.