News Article

‘Up from Bottom: On the Road of the Chamoru Sovereignty Movement’

The Gonzaga University Diversity Office will host a presentation by Julian Aguon, a 23-year-old GU alumnus and recent international author of “Just Left of the Setting Sun” in the Barbieri Courtroom at the Gonzaga University School of Law at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 23.

The title of the talk is “Up from Bottom: On the Road of the Chamoru Sovereignty Movement.” The event is free and open to the public, and a reception will follow.

Aguon, a vocal indigenous rights activist in the Pacific Islands, returns to his alma mater to share the contents of his new book, which explores the human rights struggle of the native Chamoru of Guahan (Guam) in an era of American militarization and corporatization. His book is part of the Blue Ocean Press ‘1898 Consciousness Studies Series,' which includes the similarly U.S.-controlled territories of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippine Islands. The book explores themes of neo-colonialism, cultural reclamation, sustainable development, fair global governance, and American imperialism in the Pacific.

The writer and activist will share insight on indigenous and womanist resistance to American hegemony.
Born and raised in Guam, Aguon studied sociology and women’s studies at Gonzaga, returned to Guam and has spent his post-collegiate career participating and leading native resistance to neo-colonialist policy in Guam. He is leading the indigenous people's struggle to stop the local privatization movement (especially regarding the water and the only Port of Guam).

Aguon is the youngest indigenous spokesperson in Guam to be chosen by the people to represent Guam in the decolonization hearings at the international level, having testified before the United Nations in October (2005). Aguon’s activist and scholarly work is centered in womanist and indigenous critical social theory.

Copies of Agoun’s book will be available during the reception following his lecture for purchase and signing. For more information contact Robert Bartlett at (509) 323-4108 or via e-mail at Bartlett@gonzaga.edu