Chamorro people

The Chamorro (Chamoru), Indigenous people of the Mariana Islands divided between Guam and the Northern Marianas, number 63,000 in Guam and 17,000 in the northern islands, with more across Hawaii, California, Washington, Texas and the mainland states. Latte-period ancestors raised the great stone pillars that still dot the islands, fished the reef, wove pandanus and sailed proa canoes faster than any European hull. Spanish missions from the 17th century gathered, converted and devastated them; American, then Japanese, then American rule layered bases over villages. Chamorro language nests, fiestas, kelaguen feasts and the rebuilding of latte stones and sakman canoes keep the archipelago's first people first, whether under the US flag or dreaming beyond it. Guam's 63,000 and the north's 17,000 keep the count. Hawaii, California and Texas hold the diaspora. Pacific Islander census boxes still count every Chamorro. Guam alone counts 50,000 Chamorro-only identifiers. The archipelago stays divided between territory and commonwealth.