Author's note: In this article I explicitly refer to Guam by its indigenous CHamoru name “Guåhan.”
Fokai Industries is a locally owned CHamoru clothing brand that aims to represent Guåhan in the global sports community. But for owner Roman Dela Cruz, it’s more than that.
Inside Fokai’s Tumon location, is The Effect, a living archive filled with ancient Chamoru artifacts from Guåhan and our neighboring islands. It is filled with clay pottery, stones that sit on a wall, and slings from around the world. Roman says the exhibit supports a positive, cultural and forward-thinking impact in the heart of the Marianas islands.
Guåhan, is an island of Micronesia tucked away in the Western Pacific. The inherited cultural traditions that maintain our communities are a living entity that make up the way of life on the island. And despite the multiple colonial takeovers of Guåhan, the indigenous CHamoru people and the ethnically diverse communities on the island continue to revive, nurture and preserve the Indigenous practices of the island’s original inhabitants.
One of these indigenous practices that Roman has found a love for, is the art of slinging. For Roman, sling stones and slinging are a major artistic muse behind the exhibit. His experience with slinging is what brought him to fulfill this passion project. With fifteen years of experience, Roman has cultivated a connection and bond with his ancestors and those around him through his commitment to his slinging practices.
Although, it was not easy for Roman to begin slinging. Roman shared that it took him two years before he could even sling straight which caused him to neglect his sling for a while. But when he did decide to pick up his sling and try again, he was determined to follow through with his passion. Even if it was in private, Roman never gave up again.
“I would look around and make sure nobody was looking... but I knew I wanted to stay interested. Instead of beating myself up about the problem, I started figuring out how to fix it.”
The mindset Roman developed and sustained throughout his slinging career is the same mindset our ancestors lived with through the tumultuous and often painful CHamoru history.
As a colony of the United States, Guåhan is heavily influenced by Western culture and norms. While this provides many technological and modern-day advancements for the community, there are many facets of Western life that are misaligned with our island-style upbringing. This is one of the reasons why Roman believes that the preservation of our indigenous heritage and cultural practices is the key to staying rooted in the connections to our ancestors.
For Roman, what’s important is staying rooted to where you come from by staying connected to who you are.
Despite the challenges and struggles we’ve faced as a people, the motion is to keep going.
Slinging is what helps Roman ground himself back into that spiritual connection to self and to Saina (ancestor).
He wants to share his love for slinging with everyone who comes around. Whether its in the shop, or somewhere entirely different. Roman has found happiness and spirit in what he does. He finds fulfillment in helping CHamorus understand why their ancestral history is critical to their identity and crucial in understanding oneself. If one is fortunate enough to have the resources to access things such as artifacts or things passed down from previous generations; tools like these can sustain generational wealth as a reminder of the strength and the lives of those that came before you.
For Roman, The Effect is Fokai’s thank you to the community and its valued supporters locally and globally. It stands as an act of gratitude for the community and pays homage to the Mariana Islands' ancestors.
The Effect is available to the public during pop-ups in their Tumon location.
"We feel it is very important for visitors and most importantly the locals to pay attention to the people that came before us,” Roman said. “Giving respect to our elders is a massive pillar of our great CHamoru culture that has kept us going for more than 4000 years and The Effect is a place that fortifies that kind of thinking.“
This story was produced in collaboration with Isla Public News and University of Guam's Communication and Media Program.
