The Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM) is launching "So We Leapt – Para I Hinanao-ta Mo’na," an exhibition centered on a rare archive of photographs taken in Guam between 1944 and 1946. Captured by U.S. Army photographer Frank Buchman and curated by Pulitzer Prize-winner Manny Crisostomo, the images move beyond traditional wartime documentation to highlight the daily lives and resilience of the Indigenous CHamoru people. The show is augmented by "Hasso," a contemporary portrait series by Johnny Cepeda Gogo featuring elderly CHamoru survivors of World War II.
This exhibition is a significant act of cultural reclamation and historical recognition for the CHamoru community in Southern California and beyond. By pairing mid-century archival photography with modern portraits, the museum creates a "living bridge" that asserts Indigenous identity and honors the endurance of a population often sidelined in Western military histories. The intentional use of the capitalized "CH" in CHamoru further emphasizes the project's commitment to linguistic and cultural sovereignty.