Purpose
The Northern Marianas Humanities Council created the Inafa’måolik – Tipiyeew (IT) Matters project to examine cultural values, perspectives, and experiences as they relate to biases and conflicts between various social groups within our community. We would like to invite 25 high school and/or college students living in the CNMI (Saipan, Tinian, and Rota) to participate in the IT Matters project to conduct filmed interviews as part of the project’s data collection activities. Interested students will have some experience capturing and editing video with their personal phones (or other adequate film equipment) and a willingness to participate in a workshop to learn about effective interviewing strategies.
Goals and Objectives
IT Matters aims to reveal the breadth and depth of community values within the NMI (Goal 1). This will be accomplished by documenting cultural values expressed by NMI cultural groups (objective 1.1); interpreting value themes shared between two or more cultural groups (objective 1.2) and; publishing oral and visual representations of values held by individuals of groups that represent the NMI population (objective 1.3).
IT Matters aims to promote awareness of the attitudes, perspectives and experiences that contribute to conflict within and between NMI cultural groups (Goal 2). This will be accomplished by analyzing the stigma and negative stereotypes that persist between different cultural groups within the NMI (objective 2.1); interpreting the role of historical events and their implications for present-day relations between NMI cultural groups (objective 2.2) and; examining questions of indigenous identity between the NMI’s Chamorro and Carolinian communities (objective 2.3).
Student Incentives & Training
All CNMI students who are recruited to conduct interviews and participate in publishing video vignettes to advance the IT Matters project goals will be provided with a $500 stipend.
In addition to stipends, student participants will be required to attend an Effective Interviewing Strategies workshop
Desired Background Skills
- Interest in learning about Chamorro and Refalúwasch cultural values
- Basic video capturing and editing skills
- Have access to a smartphone or other devices with adequate video quality
- Access to three members of the Chamorro and/or Refalúwasch community ages 55+
Submission Requirements
- Must be a student from the CNMI (Saipan, Tinian, and Rota)
- Complete the IT Matters google form by clicking CLICK HERE (must have a gmail account to access this form)
- Letter of interest that includes: (submit via google IT Matters form)
- Your interest or connection to the Chamorro and/or Refalúwasch people and culture
- Describe at least three individuals you plan to interview and the reasons you chose those individuals
- A 30-second video clip demonstrating your skills in capturing and editing (submit via IT Matters google form)
DEADLINE TO SUBMIT REQUIREMENTS: UNTIL SLOTS ARE FILLED
Other Project Information
The Inafa’måolik – Tipiyeew Matters project will deploy a community survey and conduct interviews to examine community cultural values, perspectives, and experiences as they relate to biases and conflicts between various social groups within the Northern Mariana Islands. Initial project findings will be shared at the Marianas Values Conference to engage the Chamorro and Carolinian community in facilitated discussions that promote understanding of the influence of values on community dynamics.
If you would like more information, please contact Leeani Villagomez by phone: (670) 235-4786, or email: leeani@nmhcouncil.org
Funding for the Inafa’måolik – Tipiyeew Matters project has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture initiative