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Guam - Guam's ancient artifacts will soon have a new home in the heart of Hagatna. With President Barack Obama signing the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act into law Guam will be seeing an influx of federal money.


Department of Chamorro Affairs president Joseph Cameron tells us that one benefit the people of Guam will see is the construction of a new repository for ancient Chamorro artifacts that will be funded by the federal government. "We're looking at building in the Hagatna area a federally funded repository as a direct result of the military buildup earmarked are about $12.5 million for that," he explained.


Matrix, the company in charge of moving the project forward, has been working with Cameron to identify public property that may be appropriate to place the repository. Any artifacts discovered during new construction related to the military buildup can then be properly stored. He added, "We have over a million artifacts in the DNA Building - that repository has stood up over the years prior to that it was in Tiyan and it was in a sad state of affairs, but I'm happy to announce to the people of Guam that the repository we have at the DNA Building is a good one."


Cameron hopes to improve the care and storage of ancient artifacts with upcoming projects including the new repository at the Guam Museum, as well as the aforementioned federally-funded repository in Hagatna.


The Department of Chamorro Affairs is working closely with the federal government to ensure ancient Chamorro artifacts are properly cared for. With $12.5 million recently earmarked for the project, they hope to soon make the new Hagatna repository a reality.