Angelo Villagomez

There is a renaissance in Indigenous culture and identity stretching across the Pacific today, and it will only achieve its full potential with an equal renaissance in ocean conservation.  We need more places in the ocean where Nature exists as the Creator intended, a place where fish, birds, and other animals and their connections to Pacific people can thrive free from the damaging effects of modern development and extraction.  It was in a world such as this that the first humans to cross the Pacific became Native Pacific Islanders, and it was in this world that the Disney film 'Moana' takes place. Moana and Maui 'Moana' tells the story about the daughter of the village chief, who is chosen by the ocean herself to cross the sea in search of the demi-god Maui to force him to help her save her village by returning the stolen heart of the goddess Te Fiti.  If that's confusing, just think of it as Lord of the Rings (shoeless young person returns s...

Today is American Independence Day.  Even without Covid-19, it's an Independence Day unlike any other, and I thought it would be a good time to revisit a blog I wrote 10 years ago, Independence and Liberation .   The New York Times published a story today, " Trump Uses Mount Rushmore Speech to Deliver Divisive Culture War Message ."  People with a greater grasp of history and current events will better encapsulate how we came to this watershed moment, and the role played by the Covid-10 pandemic, but it was certainly ignited by the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent acts of police brutality all across the country. This has led to a period of national introspection wherein racist imagery is literally being pulled down across the country, from the monuments in Richmond, VA to the confederate flags at NASCAR events.  Even the Washington football club is considering changing their name.   In my lifetime, the legacies of slavery, colonialism, genoci...

That's young Angelo will Ike, Sylvia, Agnes, and Jean-Michel (some of my Earth Month Heroes) at the designation of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument and the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument at the White House in 2009. Welcome to the first post on my personal webpage. Last year I challenged all of conservation Twitter to an online lovefest called the Earth Month Hero Challenge.  I think we need to do it again.  We could all use a virtual group hug. Let me explain. Earth Day is April 22, which makes next month Earth Month. I’d like to invite you to participate in a Twitter hashtag campaign for the entire month. The purpose of this campaign is to bring some attention and praise to the people who are doing great conservation work. I’m calling the campaign #30EarthMonthHeroes. Participation is easy. STEP ONE Starting on April 1, post a tweet about someone who you think is doing great work to protect the Earth or the Ocean, either someone...