Guardians of our Soil: Indigenous Responses to Post-World War II Military Land Appropriation in Guam. In this paper, Dr. Hattori traces CHamoru resistance to US military land takings in the era immediately after World War II. By examining these histories, the author challenges common narratives that CHamorus felt so indebted to US military after liberation from the Japanese that they did not oppose land condemnation at all. The paper looks at how CHamorus were granted the ability to participate in local government for the first time when the Guam Congress was created, although it initially existed solely as an advisory body. The paper also analyzes the passage of the Organic Act, and further examines how contemporary land issues have played out in the court system, and the creation of the Chamorro Land Trust Act and the Landowners Association.
