When CHamoru author Steven LeFever first started writing his debut novel Mariåna Sky, he found a piece of his culture lost back when birdsong was erased in Guam’s jungles. 

“So at the time I wrote it in 2012, I had just discovered a Totot, which is a Mariana Fruit Dove. I never knew it existed and it’s from Guam,” said LeFever. 

The Mariana Fruit Dove is endemic to the Northern Marianas and used to be Guam's official bird. While it can still be seen flying in Rota, Saipan, Tinian and Aguigan, it’s locally extinct in Guam. 

Like other native birds, the Totot was decimated in the territory after the US military accidentally brought brown tree snakes during World War II.

“Unfortunately because of the brown tree snakes, they cannot live there, along with the Sihek, Ko’ko, and a lot of other birds that are extinct now. So I wanted to tell it through the eyes of the fruit dove,” added LeFever. 

It is through this perspective that LeFever explores themes of indigenous story telling, philosophical thought, and historical reflection. 

“This gave me a chance to dive deeper learning more about not just Guam, but the Mariana Islands. Since we are an archipelago, we’re like the Hawaiian islands where they are all connected under water. We are connected underwater, so we are basically one in a sense,” said LeFever. “There is also in the book, environmental and political commentary, which just makes it relevant to Guam today as the military is very much a part of our lives.”

LeFever now lives in Tokyo after he left Guam when he was 20-years-old, but he says his heart never did. Working on this story the past 13 years was his way of staying rooted, no matter where life takes him. 

“Because I’m living in Japan right now, I'm always worried about being at risk of losing my culture and absorbing a lot of the other cultures. It's just a way of keeping me rooted and connected to my roots,” he added. 

And it’s what motivates him to continue to write about home and the Marianas.

“It’s not just something I wanted to write for myself and to learn, to get more deep into the history of what it means to be CHamoru and identify as being from the Marianas…It was something to give back to the world, to our islanders first and foremost, but to the world– to see what we are going through and what other indigenous communities may be going through as well,” he said.

Mariåna Sky is available for purchase on Amazon. Just follow the link below!

https://www.amazon.com/Mari%C3%A5na-Sky-Steven-LeFever/dp/B0FJDD563V