Our History

The history of land taking at Ritidian/Litekyan in Guam reflects broader issues of colonialism, military expansion, and indigenous rights, with ongoing efforts to reconcile past injustices and protect chamoru heritage and sovereignty.

To many CHamoru families, ritidian is and will always be home. the land was seized in the 1960's through eminent domain to build a Naval Communications Facility, which forced chamoru families out of their homes. In 1993, ritidian was transferred to the US fish and wildlife service. In 1995, the 23rd Guam Legislature unanimously passed Public Law 23-25, which demanded that the Department of Defense return the excess land to the original landowners on the grounds that it was taken by "force, deceit and outright theft." attempts to reclaim the land were thwarted.

Sixty years later, we continue to advocate for our right to return as stewards of the land. We don’t support the establishment of a firing range complex buffer zone over our ancestral land. return the land to make it right.