I am a daughter
I am a sister
I am a friend
I am a woman
I am a Chamorro woman
I am a Chamorro-Japanese woman
I am a woman of Guahån
I am a woman of the Marianas Islands

My ancestors walked these roads as I do now
They sweat under the same sun as I
They protect me when danger is near
They bless me with guidance
But the military takes that away
They are turning the land of my ancestors in shooting ranges
They took my family's land
They took what wasn't theirs to take

My island, my language, my culture, they are all slipping away into oblivion because Mother Guahån is being destroyed

Prutehi yan defendi i kultura
(Protect and defend your culture)

We were killed by the Spanish
Invaded by the Japanese
And robbed by the Americans

How much more can mother Guahån take?
How much more can our language be suppressed?
How long till the young children won't not know what Nåna or Tåta means?

Why must I...
Why must we chamorros have to go out of our way to speak English for the ignorant?

Why should my culture, my people, and my island suffer the endangerment of our own language?

The chamorro language is dying and it brings tears to my eyes to think that one day Chamorro will be no more.