The DrsC spent a year on the island of Guam in the mid 1980s, as visiting faculty at the then rather grandiosely named "University of Guam." That was an experience. If I start telling OOG (only on Guam) stories, this blog will never end.
Even then there was a "brown power" movement; Chamorros who wanted to reclaim ownership of their island. I suppose it has gotten more intense. See this National Review Online article by John Fund about the current plebiscite.
North Americans don't understand how island natives feel about acreage, mostly because we have no shortage of land and there is so little of it on a small island. Scarcity makes island land really important. Resentment at the military taking over large swaths of the island for bases continue to fester several decades later.
If I had to guess the outcome of the plebicite, I'd predict the Chamorros will again choose Commonwealth status, probably not in conjunction with CNMI to the north. They've seen that Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau aren't suddenly wealthy or happy as a result of independence. Plus Commonwealth status gives them a U.S. passport and the right to move to California (perhaps 1/3 already have).
