Noel Quitugua, a retired staff of the NMI Museum, said many indigenous people lost their lands after World War II-an issue that has never been resolved by Article 12 of the CNMI Constitution.
The lands, he said, were either stolen or the indigenous people were cheated out of them.
“That's the biggest problem we have. This is the issue that has not been resolved in Article 12,” he said.
Quitugua joined the huge audience that attended a public presentation by law professor Rose Cuison Villazor titled “Article 12, Claims to Culture and Political Rights: The Race vs. Political Identity Dilemma” at the American Memorial Park Visitors Center Theater Tuesday night.
Villazor, whose presentation forms part of her ongoing research on Article 12, lectured on the legal, historical and cultural relationships between Article 12 and other blood quantum property laws in American Samoa, Hawaii and other jurisdictions, focusing on the U.S. Supreme Court's approach to “analyzing blood quantum laws under either a race or political constitutional paradigm.”
She believes that this fails to address competing yet equally important issues of equality, liberty and political rights that relate to land ownership in formerly colonized territories.
Article 12 restricts the ownership of lands in the Commonwealth to persons of Northern Marianas descent. This includes acquisition by sale, lease, gift, inheritance or other means. The section will expire in 2011 and the CNMI will vote by then whether to junk or extend it.
Taotao Tano's Greg Cruz expressed appreciation for the lecture because it gave the public new perspectives on the issue.
“She did not take any position on Article 12, whether she approves of it or if she is against it,” Cruz said.
He said the people of the CNMI or the so-called NMDs have the right to fight for their lands. “Our island is too small and we should have the duty to preserve our cultural and traditional properties,” he said.
Cruz said the lecture opens up dialogue and makes people aware on what is going on.
“It enlightens us on what to expect in the Covenant. I was struck about the case law issue in Hawaii,” he said, adding that somebody in the CNMI will also take this issue to court on the grounds of race.
He expects Article 12 to be a critical issue to everyone and not only for NMDs.
Northern Marianas College instructor Sam McPhetres said the presentation was a good exchange of ideas about the issue.
“She pointed out the importance of doing our homework before 2011,” McPhetres said.
Rep. Tina Sablan said it was an informative presentation-one of the liveliest discussions in the community for quite a while.
“There were many different perspectives. What struck me most was the diversity of opinions. We could decide now or maybe wait until 2011. Should we retain it or not? I think that this should be the question to be posed,” she said.
For Sablan, abolishing Article 12 should be seriously considered and not just for economic reasons.
“I think that most people will have to make important decisions. For instance, if they choose to sell the land there should be some limitations on whom to sell it to,” she said.
Villazor said that Tuesday's lively discussion will surely generate more and longer engaging discussions.
“My goal is to make sure they also share their own perspectives because the framework of my research is from the mainland perspective,” she said.
Villazor was raised on Saipan, graduated at Mt. Carmel School in 1991, received her J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law and her LL.M. from the Columbia University School of Law. She is currently teaching law at Hofstra University.
The lecture was a part of the NMI Council for the Humanities' continuing efforts to provide the community with information on Article 12 of the CNMI's Constitution from a variety of viewpoints.
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