Lino Olopai
Lino Olopai | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 14, 1940 |
| Spouse(s) | Visitacion Teregeyo Olopai |
| Children | David Teregeyo Olopai, Pasgual (Typhoon) Teregeyo Olopai, Alexandro Teregeyo Olopai, Peter Teregeyo Olopai, Rosalinda Olopai Masayos, & Vanessa Sinounou Maliti |
Lino (Urushemeyoung) Mettao Olopai (1940-) is a cultural preservationist.[1] for Carolinian a.k.a. Refaluwasch (Pronounced RI-FA-LU-WARSH) culture and elder[2]
Early life
He was born on January 14, 1940 in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. His parents were the late Mr. Simion Iginoef Olopai and Mrs. Josepha Mettao.[3] His father was a policeman.[4] Like Lino, both of his parents were born on Saipan. Olopai's family came from Saipan, unlike his grandfather who came from Pulusk.[5] Olopai is the eldest of five children. His siblings’ names are Sophia "Sofi" Olopai Towai, Faustino "Tino" Mettao Olopai, Francisco Mettao Olopai and Juan Mettao Olopai. This was a traditional family he was raised in.[6]
During or after World War II, he stayed in Camp Susupe.[7] He was educated at Chalan Kanoa Elementary School and at Saipan Intermediate School. He graduated from both. Elders such as his aunts, uncles and others early in his life gave him knowledge on Carolinian cultural values.[8] Giving to others and building peace were among the things they taught him.[8] He also attended the University of Guam.
Public service
In 1957 he started working as a public servant, taking a job as a security guard. He was a guard for the Naval Technical Training Unit (NTTU). After this, he went to the Trust Territory Insular Constabulary, which is now known as the Department of Public Safety. After this, like his father, he became a police officer.
He worked for the CIA.[9] He did this to support his family.[10] He would patrol as a security guard for Capitol Hill where the CIA worked.[6] After this he got a new job as a translator and language instructor in the Peace Corps on Udot.[11][12] During this time he learned from them to speak up.
He fought a legal battle that he lost concerning Firoro Beach, which is sacred in Carolinian culture. There was a hotel being built on this area. His lawyer was Ed King. On this beach a ritual was performed for the deceased called Firoro.
He was also involved in another legal case as a plaintiff concerning income taxes.[13]
Preserving Culture & Other Positions
Olopai went to Satawal to learn about Carolinian Ancestral Heritage after leaving his family. When he left, he gave up everything he had to connect to his ancestral roots.[6] Olopai was concerned that he would not be able to trace his roots in the future.[14] He was taught by the late Satawalese navigator Mau Pialug.[15] Pialug was his cousin.[16] For three years he learned about celestial navigation, making a Carolinian canoe, family structure, language, religious beliefs, among many other things.[17] He continued his studies in Honolulu. This is where he started his book "Rope of Tradition."[3][18] While working in Hawaii he served as Pialug's spokesman.[17] He worked at the University of Hawaii Manoa.
In the 1970s he was involved in a program called "Education for Self-Government." This was built to prepare the people in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands for independence.[14]
In the 1980s he was involved in a theatre play for Micronesian and mainland (mainland U.S.) audiences called Song for the Navigator.[19]
He became the leader of a movement to preserve traditional island culture. He thought modern consumerism would destroy the culture.[16] In 1999 he said that reviving ancient canoe navigating would be necessary to keep indigenous identity alive.
He worked as a traditional Carolinian navigator.[20][21]
He feared that the Carolinian culture would not survive in the future.
After returning to the CNMI he became Chairman of the CNMI Chamorro/Carolinian Language Policy Commission. After this he worked in the Office of Aging until retiring in December 2004. This did not mean he would stay out of public life.
Olopai received a resolution from the NMI Congress in 2006 for his contributions to the CNMI.[22]
He became a member of the Mariana Islands Nature Alliance.[23]
He wants change to the status of the CNMI.[6]
In addition to these positions he is a historian, storyteller[24], member of CNMI Refaluwasch Lunar Calendar Committee, and a member of the Marianas Sailing Club.[25][26][27][28]
In 2016 the remains of Carolinians were removed from a construction site. Olopai voiced his disagreement against the removal, calling it disrespectful.[29][30]
In 2017 he opposed the idea of more than one anthem for Saipan and the Northern Mariana Islands.[31]
When talking about the Carolinian culture he said the reason why it is not so present is because of Carolinian shyness and because the culture is oral.[32]
Legacy
During a Symposium there was prolific dialogue between Chamorros and Carolinians. This shows his significant contribution to those of both Chamorro and Carolinian heritage, also known as Chamolinians in the CNMI. In 2016 he, along with others, spearheaded an event concerning ocean voyaging at the Chamolinian Cultural Village in Garapan.[33]
The culture of his people is still present today, in large part due to him.
References
- ↑ Olopai, Lino. Interview by Oliver Wortel. MINA Pacific, 2006. http://www.minapacific.org/docs/lino_oloopai.pdf PDF file.
- ↑ "CNMI: Tanapag -- Our Guides". www.pacificworlds.com. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Taman, Candido B. et al. A House Commemorative Resolution. House Of Representatives. 2006, http://cnmileg.gov.mp/documents/house/hse_comres/15/HCR15-17.pdf Archived 2019-03-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "- Prehistoric Marine Resource Use in the Indo-Pacific Regions - ANU". press-files.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
- ↑ Amesbury, Judith R. & Hunter-Anderson, Rosalind L. An Analysis Of Archaeological And Historical Data On Fisheries For Pelagic Species In Guam And The Northern Mariana Islands. University Of Hawaii at Manoa, 2008, http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/PFRP/pdf/MARSreport.pdf
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Welcome to California State University Dominguez Hills | Kanopy". csudh.kanopy.com. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
- ↑ McKinnon, Jennifer; Soder, Stephanie. It Rained Fire: Oral Histories from the Battle for Saipan. Search this book on
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Liberation of camp susupe 60th anniversary: 18". www.pacificdigitallibrary.org. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
- ↑ "The Insular Empire: America in the Mariana Islands". Zinn Education Project. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ↑ "About the Film". theinsularempire.com. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
- ↑ Northern Marianas Humanities Council (2019-02-20), 01.13.19 Peace Corps, Seasoned Tom Zink Lino Olopai, retrieved 2019-04-29
- ↑ Kluge, Paul Frederick (1993). The Edge of Paradise: America in Micronesia. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824815677. Search this book on
- ↑ Northern Mariana Islands District Court.http://www.nmid.uscourts.gov/documents/decisions/1-93-cv-00002-20.pdf 1993. Adobe Acrobat PDF file.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 McPhetres, Samuel F. Micronesian Journal Of The Humanities And Social Sciences. Vol. 4 nº 2 Rainy Season Issue Book Review, Digital Micronesia, 2005, http://marshall.csu.edu.au/MJHSS/Issue2005/MJHSS2005_210.pdf
- ↑ James Ellis, S. Saipan Carolinian, One Chuukic Language Blended From Many. University Of Hawaii. 2012, http://www.ling.hawaii.edu/graduate/Dissertations/JimEllisFinal.pdf
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Collier, Robert; Writer, Chronicle Staff (1999-03-07). "Navigating Modernity / The Carolinians, a tiny group of islanders on Saipan, in the western Pacific, have seen their ancient culture succumb to consumerism. As they try to salvage what they can of their past, they are helping to lead a cultural revival am". SFGate. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Micronesian Canoe Symposium. University Of Hawaii Library, 1994 https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10524/47064/mcs.pdf
- ↑ Olopai, Lino M.; Flinn, Juliana (2005). The rope of tradition: reflections of a Saipan Carolinian. Saipan: Northern Mariana Islands Council for the Humanities. ISBN 9781878453846. Search this book on
- ↑ Salazar, Laura Gardner. "How Did You Know How We Are? A Study in Cross-Cultural Theatre" Grand Valley Review. 1991 https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1613&context=gvr
- ↑ "Pacific Footsteps : Part 4 : Holiday Islands". Radio National. 2005-07-20. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
- ↑ "Download Limit Exceeded". citeseerx.ist.psu.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ↑ taotaocnmi (2007-10-04), CNMI-Mr. Lino Olopai receives recognition from NMI Congress, retrieved 2019-04-14
- ↑ Žibėnienė, Gintautė (2012). "http://skktg.vdu.lt/downloads/AMK_Nr.10_78-98.pdf". The Quality of Higher Education. 10: 99–122. doi:10.7220/2345-0258.10.5. ISSN 1822-1645. External link in
|title=(help) - ↑ Wortel, Oliver (December 2006). "The Rope Of History" (PDF). Kosrae: 4–8.
- ↑ "TAGASports_April-June 2012". Issuu. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- ↑ "PREL 2016 Annual Report". Issuu. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- ↑ "2013 CNMI Refaluwasch Lunar Calendar". Issuu. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- ↑ "2019 Eskaleran Pula Chamorro Refaluwasch Papaal Maram". Issuu. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- ↑ Post, Cherrie Anne E. Villahermosa | For the. "How dare you touch the bones of our ancestors!". The Guam Daily Post. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
- ↑ "PISSED". Saipan News, Headlines, Events, Ads | Saipan Tribune. 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
- ↑ Post, Junhan B. Todino | For The Guam Daily. "Arts practitioner opposes plan for municipal anthems". The Guam Daily Post. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
- ↑ "CNMI historian says the Spanish came close to "eradicating" native culture". Radio New Zealand. 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
- ↑ Variety, Marianas. "Open ocean voyaging learning at Chamolinian Village". Marianas Variety. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
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