“If there are tales of courage and endurance, they too are words of actual fact.” – Marie S. C. Castro, Without a Penny in my Pocket
The Council has supported the publication of several books, both under its ongoing Micronesian Authors Initiative and through the award of Community Grants for research and publication. The Micronesian Authors Initiative, established in 2004, gives priority to the publication of literary works of indigenous Micronesian authors.
The following titles were produced under the Council’s Micronesian Authors Initiative:
My Marianas Writing Contest
by Various Authors
View 2022 Booklet
View 2023 Booklet
View 2024 Booklet
The My Marianas Writing Contest aims to recognize the diverse backgrounds within the Northern Marianas Islands while enhancing literacy and writing skills through a theme that connects individuals that have ties with the Marianas. Additionally, it is one of the most inclusive programs at the Northern Marianas Humanities Council encouraging all high school students to participate. Each year, the top winners become published writers with their work featured in all print news outlets, the Council’s website, and a booklet distributed throughout the CNMI.
Legacy of a Political Union
by Edward Deleon Guerrero Pangelinan.
2024. NMI Council for the Humanities.
Through this collection of publications and personal essays, Edward Deleon Guerrero reflects constantly on his admiration for his colleagues, and the hope he has for his people offering his first-hand experience of a pivotal time in world history. The first person from the Northern Mariana Islands to become an attorney, educated in the United States, and then Chairman of the Marianas Political Status Commission, he tells the story of the generation of survivors coaxed out of the island caves at the end of World War II and into its American age.
A Marianas Mosaic: Signs and Shifts in Contemporary Island Life
Edited by Ajani Burrell with Kimberly Bunts-Anderson
$40 – Hardcover Copy
2023. NMI Council for the Humanities, University of Guam Press, Proa Press.
A collection of essays reflecting on various aspects of life in the Mariana islands from the woman-led movement to demilitarize the Pacific to spirituality, death and traditional medicine to cultural pride and the fashion industry, written by the people of the Marianas themselves.
The Rope of Tradition: Reflections of a Saipan Carolinian
by Lino M. Olopai
Out of stock – Will be available on April 16, 2025
2005. NMI Council for the Humanities. xviii + 242 pages. Bibliography. Numerous black and white and color illustrations.
The Rope of Tradition examines how indigenous cultures throughout Micronesia have undergone major changes over the six decades since the end of World War II, a situation that has been particularly acute on Saipan, the capitol island of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Written by Saipan Carolinian Lino M. Olopai with the assistance of cultural anthropologist Dr. Juliana Flinn, this account describes Mr. Olopai’s longstanding efforts to document and better understand his rich cultural heritage and to seek a balance between traditional ways and the demands of the modern world.
Estoria-Hu
by Juan A. Sanchez
$15
2009. NMI Council for the Humanities, Saipan. vii +249. Glossary.
Estoria-Hu: Tinige’ siha ginen as Tun Juan Aguon Sanchez is a collection of poems and essays written by Tun Juan Aguon Sanches and the loved ones who inspired his writing. Written in Chamorro, Tun Juan curated these personal narratives of historic events that have impacted the people of the Marianas.
Memories & Music: The Japanese Era on Rota
Editor: Lynne J. Michael, Co-editor: Aniceto Hocog Mundo Sr.
$20
2019. All rights reserved. Northern Marianas Humanities Council. 339 Pages. Contains 2 CDs.
Marianas Wide: Contemporary Visions
by Dirk Spennemann
$10
2013. All rights reserved. Northern Marianas Humanities Council. Numerous black and white photographs.
To capture a moment in time in the life of the Mariana Islands. That is what “Marianas Wide” set out to do, and very successfully accomplished. The NMI Museum of History and Culture had the wonderful opportunity to host the exhibit in the summer of 2012. The project, aimed at capturing contemporary life in the Mariana Islands in documentary fashion over a two week period in 2011, was an undertaking that had not been previously been seen and it was amazingly well received.
Luta: I Tiempon Aleman
by Dirk Spennemann
$10
2008.
Imperial Germany bought the Mariana Islands from Saipan in 1899 and quickly moved to establish an efficient administration, led by the enlightened Georg Fritz as district administrator. The German administration was centered on Saipan, which was connected to the outside world through a number of shipping lines. Rota, where about 20% of the population resided, was reliant on irregular visits by trading vessels. Off the beaten track for all but the most determined visitor, Rota received little attention in the literature published during the German period (1899-1914).
Without a Penny in my Pocket: My Bittersweet Memories Before and After World War II
by Marie S.C. Castro
Out of stock
2013. Northern Marianas Humanities Council. xvi + 181. Numerous black and white photographs.
Without a Penny in my Pocket: My Bittersweet Memories Before and After World War II is a moving personal account by Marie S.C. Castro, a life-long educator born and raised on the island of Saipan in what is not the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Ms. Castro describes growing up in a traditional Chamorro family in the 1930’s, the chaos of the Battle of Saipan during WWII, her career as an educator and entrance into the Mercederian Order, and her eventual relocation – without a penny in her pocket – to Kansas City, Missouri. A rich source of information about Saipan’s history and the strength and struggles of the Chamorro people, Without a Penny in my Pocket provides a first-hand glimpse of a crucial period of Saipan history.
When Cultures Clash: Revisiting the ‘Spanish-Chamorro Wars’
by Fr. Francis X. Hezel, S.J.
$10
2015. Northern Marianas Humanities Council. viii + 99 pages. Bibliography, notes, and illustrations.
Edge of Empire: The German Colonial Period in the Northern Mariana Islands
by Dr. Dirk HR Spennemann
$15
2007. Retro Spect. vii + 394 pages. Bibliography, index, and numerous maps and illustrations.
Imperial Germany’s colonial power in Micronesia was brief, but left a lasting impact. Professor Dirk H.R. Spennemann’s Edge of Empire: The German Colonial Period in the Northern Mariana Islands thoroughly examines this 15 year period (between the Spanish-American war of 1889 and the early days of World War I in October 1914), when a handful of German colonial administrators initiated education, economic and social policies that were to forever alter the future of the Northern Mariana Islands and its peoples. Compulsory schooling with instruction in Chamorro and Carolinian, private ownership of land limited to Chamorro and Carolinian homesteading programs and environmental protection are only some of the German initiatives that were both innovative and unique throughout the colonial Pacific.
Beyond Distances: Governance, Politics and Deportation to the Mariana Islands, 1870-1877
Dr. Carlos A. Madrid
$15
2006. Northern Mariana Islands Council for the Humanities. xiv + 254 pages. Apendices, index, numerous illustrations.
Beyond Distances: Governance, Politics and Deportation in the Mariana Islands from 1870 to 1877 provides insights of everyday life in the 19th century Mariana Islands, using rare documents to bring native Chamorro voices and perspectives. Author Carlos Madrid examines the relationship between significant events in Saipan, Europe, the Philippines and Micronesia, offering a deeper understanding of local events within relevant global contexts. In doing so, this work effectively disrupts common notions of Micronesia as isolated and unaffected by events in the rest of the world.
Microchild: An Anthology of Poetry
by Valentine Sengebau
Out of stock
2004. NMI Council for the Humanities. xiv + 68 pages. Foreword by Bonifacio Basilius. Illustrated with traditional Palauan images.
Microchild: An Anthology of Poetry offers a collection of poems about cultural identity, politics and love that were written by renowned poet, Valentine N. Sengebau, who spent the last 20 years of his life in the Marianas. His book was published by the Northern Marianas Humanities Council and is the inspiration for their annual Valentine N. Sengebau Poetry Competition for CNMI’s young writers. The foreword was written by Bonifacio Basilius and illustrations were of traditional Palauan images.
Oral Histories of the Northern Mariana Islands
by Howard Willens and Deanne Siemer
Out of stock
View online collection here
2007. NMI Division of Historic Preservation (Eight Volumes).
“Reduction” of the Marianas: Resettlement into Villages under the Spanish
by Francis X. Hezel, SJ
View PDF Here
2021. Francis X. Hezel, SJ All rights reserved. 58 pages. Illustrations.
How to Conduct Oral History Interviews
by Ethnographer Oral Historian Rlene Santos Steffy
View PDF Here
2020 by Rlene Santos Steffy, author, initial copyright holder, and the Northern Marianas Humanities Council.