From the Marianas to Am Samoa: Our Ocean Is Not a Sacrifice Zone

We are thousands of miles apart, but the Pacific Ocean unites our islands. The archipelagos of the Mariana Islands (the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam) and American Samoa — are also united by the shared struggle against undemocratic governance and a resounding message to the federal government: our waters are not yours to exploit. As Indigenous leaders from U.S. territories, we stand together against the unilateral decision-making of the federal government threatening the health of our ocean, its ecosystems, and thus our cultures and identities. 

For us, the ocean is not merely a resource. It is an ancestor. It is sacred. It is part of our connection to the past, a divine resting place and a vital repository for unique marine life, all managed with deep reverence to our ancestors and a legacy to be continued for the future generation. It is the lifeblood of our culture, our food systems, and our identity. Yet, recent actions by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the White House treat our homes as resource depots for the benefit of corporations and venture capitalists that have no interest in our well-being. 

Our islands face the specter of federally imposed deep seabed mining. BOEM recently announced the completion of an Area Identification for critical minerals leasing offshore American Samoa, following a request from the company Impossible Metals. Despite months of opposition from the American Samoan people, a legal moratorium issued by the American Samoa Government, and unified opposition from local government, traditional leaders, and more than 76,000 comments against this destructive commercial activity, BOEM responded by doubling the size of the area under consideration. The CEO of Impossible Minerals reveled in the idea that decisions will be made in Washington, D.C., not American Samoa, explaining that in his view “there’s a less than 1 percent chance the Trump administration will stop the process given how enthusiastically the president has embraced mining.” 

Now this destructive venture has spread to the Marianas, where we are facing a similar assault. On November 12, 2025, BOEM published a Request for Information (RFI) regarding mining leases in an area covering over 35 million acres of our ocean – an area the size of New York state. As in American Samoa, this process was rushed, opaque, and initiated without the free, prior, and informed consent of the Indigenous people of the Marianas. We were given a mere 30-day comment period to respond to a proposal that could permanently alter our environment—a timeline that our leadership called insufficient for such a complex issue. After asking for a 120 day extension, we were only granted 30 days during the holiday season – an incredibly unreasonable timeframe for the education and awareness building needed for informed consent. 

In both territories, the threat to our oceans and communities goes beyond just deep sea mining. Under Executive Order 14276, the federal government is reviewing the Rose Atoll (known to us as Muliava or Nu’u o Manu) and Mariana Trench marine national monuments to determine if they should be opened to industrial fishing. Both monuments specifically allow for well-managed traditional Indigenous fishing, noncommercial, sustenance, and recreational fishing, and this action would force our small boat fishermen to compete with industrial scale vessels. 

Rose Atoll is one of the most remote and pristine atolls in the world, a sacred refuge for millions of nesting seabirds and green sea turtles. And the three islands in the Islands Unit of the Mariana Trench monument are protected in the NMI constitution. Yet, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WestPac) is proposing to allow industrial fishing in both monument areas claiming inaccurately that there will not be major impacts and that most people in our islands support their position. 

We refuse to let our islands serve as sacrifice zones for corporate greed and other unilaterally imposed interests. Through the support of Right to Democracy, we are building a movement to demand agency and power over our lands and waters. Right to Democracy has been instrumental in amplifying our cause, coordinating a petition that has garnered thousands of signatures from residents and diaspora across all five U.S. territories. This collaboration, fostered through the Environment and Democracy Fellowship and a broader Cross-Territorial Coalition, allows us to confront the undemocratic, colonial-legal framework that governs our lives. It is critical that the people living in U.S. territories play a larger role in deciding what takes place in our waters.

Our solidarity is captured in the Samoan proverb, “A logo i tai, ua logo i uta”—what is felt in the ocean is felt in the land. The destruction of our seabed is a violation of our dignity and self-determination. We call on the federal government to halt all unilateral plans for deep seabed mining near and commercial fishing in our protected monuments. We urge the United States to recognize a right to democracy and self-determination for the people of all territories. We demand a seat at the table, not as subjects of colonial rule, but as stewards of the ocean that sustains us all. 

(Sheila Babauta is a former Representative of the CNMI and Chair of the Friends of the Mariana Trench. Andra Samoa is a former Representative of the American Samoa Legislature, a community leader and environmental advocate from American Samoa. Both are Environment and Democracy Fellows with Right to Democracy.)