The Chamorro people are the Indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, politically divided between the United States territory of Guam and the encompassing Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia, a commonwealth of the US. Today, significant Chamorro populations also exist in several U.S. states, including Hawaii, California, Washington, Texas, Tennessee, Oregon, and Nevada, all of which together are designated as Pacific Islander Americans according to the U.S. Census. According to the 2000 Census, about 64,590 people of Chamorro ancestry live in Guam and another 19,000 live in the Northern Marianas.
Chamorro performers at the Pacific Islander Festival Association in San Diego, 2010
Reception of a Manila galleon by the Chamorro in the Ladrones Islands, circa 1590 Boxer Codex
Reconstruction of how latte stone structures may have appeared
Chamorros fishing, 1819
Indigenous peoples of Oceania
The Indigenous peoples of Oceania are Aboriginal Australians, Papuans, and Austronesians. These indigenous peoples have a historical continuity with pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories. With the notable exceptions of Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, New Caledonia, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands, indigenous peoples make up the majority of the populations of Oceania.
Moai in Ahu Tongariki, Rapa Nui
Māori child learning the haka in a painting by Gottfried Lindauer
Dani people from the central highlands of New Guinea
Thomas Baines with Aborigines near the mouth of the Victoria River