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Dakota Camacho
Guiya/Yo’ña
Tomhom, Guåhan | Matao/CHamoru
Si Dakota Camacho ginen i manmatao na taotao Låguas ya i hale’-ña gaige giya Tomhom, Mongmong yan Hagåtña na songsong siha, yan ginen i manggåfan Che’ yan Eging. Gaige lokkue’ i Ilokåno gi hagå’-ña. Mafa’ñågu si Camacho gi tano’ sduhubš ya dumångkolo’ gui’ gi sduhubš, swədəbš, dxʷdəwʔabš, bəqəlšuɫ, yan suq̓ʷabš na tåno’ siha. Dumångkolo’ lokkue’ giya Seplon na songsong giya dᶻidᶻəlalič nai ha sodda’ i ma agång-ña lumålai. Gi entalo’ i taotåguen ayu na tåno’, i manåttilong, i mantagålu yan palu siha na taotao ni chumóchonek mo’na i che’cho’ i tininas gi hilo’ tåno’, ha eyak i nina’siñan inago’ i pennga’.
Gi 2011 na såkkan måtto tåtte Guåhan, Låguas si Camacho manalíligao manfá’fa’nå’guen i fino’ yan pennga’ håya. Umátungo’ si Camacho yan si Jeremy Cepeda, fá’fa’nå’guen fino’ håya, ya guiya chumalåni gui’ gi chalån-ña umeyak i fino’ håya. Gi meggai siha na såkkan, humåhanao si Camacho gi hilo’ tåno’ ha fáfatta’ i fina’tinås-ña linalai yan ha pópoksai i inagofli’e’ yan meggai na taotao gi tano’ Aotearoa, gi Tano’ Haggan, giya Hawai’i yan i på’go ma fa’nana’an Australia yan Africa.
Gi 2019 na såkkan, si Dakota yan si Jeremy muna’ huyong i inetnon Gi Matan Guma’ ni muna’lå’lå’la’ i pennga’ yan fino’ håya gi ma képokaten i chalan ináfa’maolek. Si Camacho tumútuhon i MALI’E’ na fina’-i-che’cho’ ni ha késodda’ håfa taimanu siña ma na’lå’la’ i Hinasson Nina’huyong Matao gi meggai na tumaimanun fina’tinas siha. Gof magof på’go si Dakota na machocho’cho’ yan Gi Matan Guma’ gi iya Låguas yan Sanlagu.
Dakota Camacho comes from the Matao/CHamoru peoples of Låguas and comes from the villages of Tomhom, Mongmong, and Hagåtña, and descends from the Che’ and Eging clans, and they also have Ilokano lineage. Camacho was born in the lands of the Snohomish and raised in Snohomish, Swinomish, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, and Suquamish territories. They grew up in the South End of Seattle where they found their calling for poetry, dancing, and chanting. Amongst the Native peoples of that land, Black, Filipinx, and other Peoples working towards justice on earth, they learned of the transformative potential of culture.
Camacho arrived in Guåhan, Låguas (the Mariånas) in the year 2011, to find Matao/CHamoru language and culture teachers. Camacho became friends with Jeremy Cepeda, a fino’ håya language teacher, and Jeremy guided Camacho on yo’ña (their) language learning journey. For many years, Camacho traveled around the world sharing their dance and musical creations, and cultivating relationships with Indigenous peoples in Aotearoa, Turtle Island (so-called “North/South America”), Hawai’i, and momentarily so-called Australia and Africa.
In 2019, Camacho and Cepeda started the Gi Matan Guma’ collective to give life to their ancestral language and traditions in an attempt to walk the path of ináfa’maolek (peace and equity for all living beings). Camacho started the MALI’E’ project to try and find ways to activate a Theory/Memory/Imagining of (Making) Matao [Creativity] through multi-disciplinary art. Today, Dakota is very happy to be working with Gi Matan Guma’ in Låguas and throughout the diaspora.
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