Guam culture, immigration and the US military build-up

Abstract

The island of Guam, located at a strategic aquatic cross-roads in the Pacific, is undergoing changes that will greatly impact the local population and culture. This study investigates the concerns and perceptions of local Guam people regarding recent changes in US policy. The impending build-up of the US Military and the recent opening of Guam to immigration are explored through a historic contextual analysis of current events along with a survey of the island population. The survey results indicate that positive feelings towards the build-up were lower than what may have been expected from public discourse and uncertainty considerably greater than what have been expected from public discourse. Views varied by age and by income, with the youth and middle class the least optimistic. The build-up was viewed overall as good for the island's economy and bad for the island's culture. Concerns over the build-up, as well as incoming immigrants were based on access to already strained island resources rather than ethnic or racial bias. Unexpectedly, little variation existed among the attitudes of the diverse ethnicities that form Guam's unique ‘Guamanian’ culture.