Land, language, customs: Equality

Land, language and customs are indeed the parameters of the definition of any culture. The letter to the editor entitled “Preserve Article XII” truly got my attention because I am one who is trying to change the perception about Article XII.

The Article does need to be preserved, but only in a very limited capacity. The capacity of Article XII to accommodate the present indigenous requirements will expire within the next 200 years or even less, meaning no one will meet the requirement. The percentage of indigenous blood in the bloodlines of the two indigenous cultures will continue to be diluted to a point where none of the indigenous people will have the 1/16 requirement. It’s just a matter of time. The smallness of the indigenous population will also contribute to expediting this process.

Being an African-American who is 1/8 Cherokee and who has married a Chamorro, with children who are Chamorro, 1/16 Cherokee and 15/16 African (and I’m guessing about the African amount because I don’t know what happened during slavery), in a few generations there won’t be a Chamorro in my family that will meet the requirement. So what happens to an outdated Article XII when there is no one left to meet the existing requirement? That is the question we should answer today because we know today that this will happen in the future.

The phenomenon of diluting social bloodlines is taking place in all open societies of the world. The altering and diluting of bloodlines is a human phenomenon that can no longer be completely controlled in an open society like ours. Many have embraced the mixture of cultures even though it dilutes the bloodline but it’s sad that there are still those who oppose interracial marriages.

The association of a person’s culture with their land can never be separated regardless of who is using the land and how the land is being used, be it leased or sold. Just as my association with Africa as an African-American, the Chamorros and Carolinians will always be associated with the Mariana Islands until the end of time. The fear of losing one’s culture because they do not occupy or own the land is a baseless fear driven by a desire to remain the dominant group in a society. The Chamorros and Carolinians who have made the mainland their home certainly don’t feel disconnected with their land because the Marianas will always be home.

It is one thing to be proud of one’s culture and want to preserve it but it’s another thing when one promotes dominance and inequality among ethnic groups that must live within the same society and the same boarders. We call it racism. Land is not the source of social stability as stated in the letter. Land is merely the basis for economic development, by which a society can live together and prosper. Chamorros and Carolinians can always live together anywhere in America. The land is more associated with economics than stability because it’s not that the indigenous people don’t have any land; there are still other islands to be developed for future generations. The CNMI will not always limit its population to the three islands and that is for the future generations, not us. The only displacement of the indigenous people is the expansion to other islands in the CNMI.

The stability of any society depends on its ability to protect and serve the citizens and the ability to demonstrate equality and fairness to all the citizens. Trying to have separate but equal status when it comes to land (locals can own but others musn’t) is nothing more than a form of segregation and we all know that segregation suppresses the potential for equality. History has show us what segregation will lead to and if we don’t address Article XII appropriately, we (the CNMI) will be traveling down the same road that led to the end for segregation with Brown v. Board of Education.

Creating an environment based on equality will help everyone improve their status or quality of life, with the exception of those who are already at the top of the economic ladder. Giving all U.S. citizens the right to own a house and lot will do wonders for our economy, especially in the construction industry. NMI descendents need to ask themselves if it is really fair to invite or recruit professional fellow citizens from the mainland to work in the CNMI and contribute but they can’t own their own home—is this really fair?

As for the government and the culture, it should be noted that the CNMI’s culture preservation efforts are not impacted by the use of the land. Preserving the culture is the responsibility of the entire society. Preserving the culture is an educational phenomenon that is not directly related to the land. The CNMI government has a responsibility to help with the preservation of the indigenous cultures. But the government has a greater responsibility to assure that all citizens who work and contribute to the CNMI have the same rights, are treated equally and are assured of economic prosperity, which is why Article XII must be changed! The article only needs to restrict the ownership of commercial government property and it should be limited to only 100 years because, after another 100 years, there will only be a small group of elite indigenous people able to qualify under the present NMI-descent law.

Any U.S. citizen should be able to buy a house and lot from a private landowner and every landowner should have the right of free enterprise to sell a house and lot to another fellow citizen. Remember, everyone in American is entitled to life, liberty property. Eliminating or changing Article XII will be a decision of the people and not government officials.

I just hope this letter has helped the people in reaching a decision about what should or needs to be done about the preservation of an Article because Article XII truly goes against the basic American principle of equality. One people, one direction for equality among U.S. citizens in the CNMI.

Ambrose M. Bennett
Kagman High School