Repositioning the Missionary : Rewriting the Histories of Colonialism, Native Catholicism, and Indigeneity in Guam

In the vein of an emergent Native Pacific brand of cultural studies, Repositioning the Missionary critically examines the cultural and political stakes of the historic and present-day movement to canonize Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores (1627-1672), the Spanish Jesuit missionary who was martyred by Matå'pang of Guam while establishing the Catholic mission among the Chamorros in the Mariana Islands. The work juxtaposes official, popular, and critical perspectives of the movement to complicate prevailing ideas about colonialism, historiography, and indigenous culture and identity in the Pacific.

Vicente M. Diaz is associate professor and director of Asian/Pacific Islander American studies at the University of Michigan.