Book documents history of Northern Marianas

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio was presented yesterday with one of the first copies of a new book on the history of the Northern Marianas which details its struggle for a secure political future and is based on previously classified government documents.

Authors Howard P. Willens and Deanna C. Siemer presented their book National Security and Self-Determination: United States Policy in Micronesia (1961-1972) to the local chief executive in a ceremony at the Governor’s Office.

Mr. Tenorio lauded the book for its documentation of the islands’ history before the Northern Marianas became part of the U.S. as a Commonwealth.

“This will be very helpful in knowing our history,” he said during the book presentation. “They have made us what we are today — that we are part of the United States.”

The two authors related the difficult process of coming up with the book as they noted the years of litigation fought with the U.S. government to try to obtain highly-classified information about the islands due to its military interests in this region.

More than 70,000 of documents and 136 interviews of people on and off-island were used to write the book, a process that began in 1985.

It describes for the first time exactly how the U.S. developed its policies regarding the future political status of the Trust Territory during the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon administrations, according to the authors.

A second book is also expected to be published which they said will tackle the negotiations of the Covenant between the NMI and Washington — the agreement that eventually established the islands’ political union with the United States.

The first book is now available for $65 at the NMI Museum and on-line at Amazon.com. The authors are also trying to make the book a supplemental reading in local schools as part of their curricula.

Mr. Willems, one of the original Covenant negotiators, served as deputy assistant Attorney General in the Justice Department, member of the Warren Commission staff and counsel to the Political Status Commission and the Constitutional Convention.

Ms. Siemer served as general counsel to the Department of Defense, special counsel to the U.S. president and counsel to the Marianas Constitutional Convention.