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‘Repatriate ancient Chamorro remains’
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Posted on Feb 03 2005
The Division of Historic Preservation wants the remains of some 263 ancient Chamorros repatriated to the CNMI, according to HPO historian Genevieve S. Cabrera. These remains have been carbon-dated to be more than 300 years old.
These remains are currently in the safekeeping of a laboratory in Massachusetts for almost 10 years now, said Cabrera.
The remains were found in 1996 when a Japanese investor planned to erect a hotel along the beach in front of the DFS Galleria mall near the Hafa Adai Hotel. Diggings revealed that the site was full of human remains and some village artifacts, so the plan for the hotel was junked and the Japanese investor funded the archaeological dig, said Cabrera.
The Japanese investor hired three professional archaeologists based on Saipan to work and identify the remains. The remains were transferred to Massachusetts for identification and recovery. In 1998, the Japanese investor pulled out of the project due to lack of funds.
According to HPO’s Herman C. Tudela, there were also latté stones found on the site, confirming that there had been villages in the area.
“These artifacts are very important,” said Cabrerra. “These are significant to the CNMI community. We need these remains returned.”
But this will only be done when certain pending issues are resolved such as payment to the archaeologists. “The lab in Massachusetts won’t return them unless they get paid,” she said.
The CNMI government had earlier attempted to retrieve the remains but this did not work out due to financial reasons and other factors that Cabrera said she was not aware of during that time. She said that the Japanese investor still has the sole responsibility to pay for the services of the archaeologists but she hopes that the government can help in this matter.
She believes that the artifacts and remains have significant value for the CNMI as it will teach present-day Chamorros about their ancient ancestors.
“If we don’t respectfully make use of this opportunity, we will miss that,” she said. (Marconi Calindas)
