Yes, the Northern Mariana Islands are part of the US
“We don’t get to vote for president, so please don’t waste yours."
Welcome to The Breaking Point, a weekly newsletter that draws on the historical legacies of injustice based on the news cycle and culture trends to understand what in the world is going on. If you like what you see, please feel free to forward it around. I’m a one-woman team, so the structure of this newsletter may change over time as I learn new things.
I don’t exactly remember the last time the United States talked as wildly about the Northern Mariana Islands as it did during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) virtual roll call last week. One would think it was when Category 5 Super Typhoon Yutu pummeled the islands or when Bloomberg broke the story of the gargantuan Chinese casino and the millions of dollars it funneled to the islands’ governor and his family’s pockets. But nope. (Side note: that Bloomberg story is a must-read, if you haven’t already. Also, if you watched the Republican National Convention’s roll call, the white man who represented the Northern Mariana Islands, Jason Osborne, is a former Trump aide who was involved in the very same corruption-Chinese casino saga).
According to Google Trends, “Mariana Islands” was the top trending search of all of Google during the DNC last week. Either people were desperate for a vacation during this seemingly endless pandemic or they had no idea what or where the Northern Mariana Islands even were. It even seemed to have received more media attention than it did when Super Typhoon Yutu ravaged the U.S. territory in October 2018.
(Source: Screenshot of the DNC virtual roll call. Watch the full video here.)
Journalists even “awarded” the Northern Mariana Islands — whose Democratic delegates donned leis, mwar-mwars or flower crowns, and matching face-masks — as the “best dressed” out of all 57 states and territories during the convention’s roll call. Some Americans on social media were even surprised that despite their U.S.-earned college degrees, they have never heard of the Northern Mariana Islands prior the roll call. Blame our education system.
The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or CNMI for short, is one of the five territories of the United States. The CNMI officially became a U.S. commonwealth in 1975, but was annexed in 1947 as a result of World War II. Anyone born in the territory — such as myself — are U.S. citizens. The Northern Mariana Islands consist of 14 islands with a roughly 55,000-population living in the islands of Rota, Tinian, and the capital Saipan. Despite their American citizenship, these residents cannot vote for president. They can serve in the U.S. military, but they cannot vote for their commander in chief.
“We don’t get to vote for president, so please don’t waste yours,” said CNMI Democratic delegate Nola Hix in a stunning kicker at last week’s virtual roll call, which was filmed at the American Memorial Park in Saipan.
Figure of the week: 8
The number of times Wisconsin police shot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was just trying to break up a fight in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday. According to the Chicago Sun Times, Blake has “eight holes” in his body and is currently paralyzed from the waist down.
Historical vs modern day injustice in CNMI
(note: I am not an indigenous CHamoru or Pacific Islander)
Before the U.S., it was Japan. Before Japan, it was Germany. Before Germany, it was Spain. Before Spain, it was just the native Chamorro (CHamoru) people inhabiting the Northern Mariana Islands. But centuries of foreign colonial rule attempted to erase the CHamoru population and its cultural identity. The evolution of global power from the wealth of resources to land-grabbing to the overall erasure of indigeneity in the Pacific islands stained the rest of CNMI's history.
The CNMI today promotes itself as the typical tropical island paradise with clear blue waters and palm trees. Tourists flock the islands from all over Asia, which drives the territory’s economy. The CNMI also attracts several immigrants — like my parents — to migrate from the Philippines, China, and Korea, who are looking to get a foothold on American soil. Though the path to U.S. citizenship for these immigrants is much more arduous compared to the mainland.
Still, in my hometown of Saipan, most of our tourist spots reek of war and battle from the Last Command Post to Suicide Cliff as well as Banzai Cliff. Both Suicide and Banzai Cliffs are historical places that represent tragedy: At the height of World War II, Japanese soldiers jumped off the cliffs to kill themselves rather than be captured by American soldiers. The islands essentially helped the U.S. win the war. When America declared victory and waved the U.S. flag, the Northern Mariana Islands, along with its sister island Guam, continued to be a military hotspot or strategic location for the U.S. Department of Defense.
(Source: Screenshot of Google Maps, marking the Northern Mariana Islands location.)
Today many forget that there are people — Americans — living in these islands. Both Guam and the CNMI are known in the mainland for military purposes, overshadowing the islands’ rich biodiversity and native cultural identity. Sure, growing up we took bilingual and CNMI history classes, and we still sing the CNMI anthem right after the Star Spangled Banner, but the islands’ cultural values has already been tainted with U.S. imperialism. The once-predominant CHamoru language has been eclipsed by of course, English. Colonization has impacted generations of Chamorros and other Micronesians who have been living in the islands for many years.
Decades after it became a territory, CNMI — despite its American status — still lack representation and the right to vote for president. It’s not just them. Roughly four million Americans living in these U.S. territories cannot vote for president. That’s four million Americans who can’t vote in the 2020 election. In fact, one of the first things I did when I moved to Portland, Oregon, for college was switch my residency so that I could vote in the 2016 presidential elections. Little did I know that that election would also become a pivotal moment in history. Even CNMI Republican Governor Ralph Torres threw his full support behind Donald Trump. Though, imagine how many Americans in these territories would have loved to vote or have a say on what happens or who leads their country.
Today the Northern Mariana Islands face multiple crises from the coronavirus pandemic to political corruption to climate change as well as rapid military expansion. CNMI residents, as well as other U.S. territorial residents, rely on the federal government for funding especially when it comes to unemployment assistance or when a disastrous weather event wreaks havoc on the island. So beyond our “best dressed” presence that you saw at the DNC last week, the best course of action is to read up and educate yourself on the true history of the United States of America as well as the threat-multipliers that these territories continue to face.
Si Yu’us Ma’åse
Critical reading list, because I said so 📖
Black Workers Are More Likely to Be Unemployed but Less Likely to Get Unemployment Benefits by Ava Kofman and Hannah Fresques, ProPublica
Coronavirus has left the Rio Grande Valley riven by death and anxiety by Arelis R. Hernández, The Washington Post
‘They’re killing people by doing this’ — why students at a school 40 miles from Mar-a-Lago can’t go outside by Gilda Di Carli, Grist
‘Like Armageddon’: Rotting food, dead animals and chaos at postal facilities amid cutbacks by Laura J. Nelson and Maya Lau, Los Angeles Times
Helen Zia has seen hostility against Asian Americans before. ‘We didn’t learn enough or some people have forgotten’ by Nicole Carroll, USA Today
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What is it that you propose be done instead of the military expansion? If the US doesn't stay in front of the world regarding military presence and technology then you will be later adding another colonial ruler to your list of "Chinese". This is the real world, with real world threats and you can be guaranteed that the US has treated Chomorros better than any other colonial ruler did or ever would.