Each and every site cleared by the military is sacred to us. They connect us to our ancient ones, our culture and our heritage. The DOD has moved forward with construction in spite of 15,500 signatures against the firing range complex, thousands who have spoken up at public hearings and requests for pauses by our lawmakers and governor. Each time these culturally significant sites are cleared without the consent of our community and leaders, the Department of Defense (DOD) is telling us that our culture and our heritage is insignificant; that the voices of our leaders are insignificant. It is a slap in the face to our people. ⠀
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The environmental racism is also very clear. They would not even consider disturbing the bones at Arlington cemetery but when human remains are found on our land, they can just be packed up, placed in paper bags and moved. We are concerned that the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) Patrick Lujan has stated that the human remains found during military construction were likely not bones of CHamoru people - without any testing having been conducted to determine this. ⠀

We want to also remind our community that as this buildup moves forward, our sister islands in the Northern Mariånas suffer. Groups in Tinian and Pågan are also against the Marianas being turned into the largest military industrial complex in the world. 2/3 of Tinian will be blanketed with ammo and there are many aching to return home to Pågan.⠀
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We are gathering to remind the DOD that all of this construction being done has happened without the consent of the people. We are organizing to remind them that we have no intention of lying down and that their decision to move forward only compels us to rise up more as a people. We call on our SHPO and governor to treat these disturbing events with the urgency they deserve.⠀
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As our island observes All Soul’s Day and honors our loved ones who have passed, we invite the community to attend Friday’s peaceful protest in honor of our ancestors and of those whose bones have been found during military construction. We look forward to seeing many concerned community members in attendance. #prutehimariånas