The community is invited to a peaceful protest at 3 p.m. on July 3 at NCS outside the U.S. Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station. The protest is being held in response to three cultural sites eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) recently being cleared to make way for a marine base. Eligible sites for the NRHP “show, or may be likely to yield, information important to history or pre-history.”

Additionally, 300 cultural sites exist further north of our island where the Department of Defense is trying to build the U.S. Marine Live Fire Training Range Complex and it’s unclear how many have been cleared so far. For years, our people have been consistently vocal about preserving our ancient sites in place. Yet, this cultural erasure continues against the will of the community while we are most vulnerable in the midst of a pandemic.

These cultural sites hold pieces of our ancient history that are irreplaceable and culturally invaluable. Once lost, we can never get them back. We implore Governor Lou Leon Guerrero to immediately respond to the destruction. Our community must speak out because our leaders are silent. Bring a mask and practice social distancing put fabot. Make a sign or borrow one of ours!

Attendees must abide by our Code of Conduct at protests:
1. This is a peaceful action; we are non-violent.
2. Please let the CHamoru value of respetu guide your words, actions and expressions.
3. Do not attack others or their beliefs.
4. Do not use spoken or written profanity.
5. Be mindful of those around you, especially young children and elders; Look out for one another. 
6. Think of safety at all times.
7. No smoking of any kind and no alcohol. 

We look forward to seeing all of you there!

For more information on DOD projects harming our heritage, visit Prutehi Litekyan on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.