Our heritage is not for sale

A formal objection has been filed regarding the Marine Minerals Administration’s “Final Finding of No Historic Properties Affected” for proposed offshore marine mineral leasing areas in the Outer Continental Shelf around the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The letter, sent by Matua Council for Native Chamorro Advancement to Interior Secretary Douglas Burgum, Director Michael Olsen, and terrestrial archaeologist Jeremy Ripin, acknowledges receipt of a notice dated October 1, 2026. The authors argue the agency’s conclusion overlooks that the lease areas are part of Chamorro ancestral, cultural, and sacred heritage extending back more than 4,000 years. They also cite incomplete archaeological surveying and note multibeam data are not suited for historic property-specific identification.