Affirmation of Self-Respect and Prohibition of Use of the Term “Territory” in All Official

Uses Within the Government of Guam. In the interests of promoting self-respect and in recognition of the necessarily pejorative, diminishing and colonial aspects of the term “territory” within the context of American law, the term “territory of Guam” or its derivatives, such as “territorial,” shall not be used in direct titular association with the Island, people, or government of Guam or for the purposes of direct self-description, in any government document or otherwise as part of any government title. This Section is intended to prohibit, among other things, official government use of the term “territory of Guam” in any statute, resolution, official government act or document. In replacement, the designation “Guam” shall be used. Further, the term “territorial,” as is used in the titles of various government agencies, councils, boards and instrumentalities is prohibited, to be replaced with the term “Guam.” This Section is not intended to ban the use of the terms “territory” or “unincorporated territory” in documents or publications describing Guam or the political status of Guam, but rather to discontinue the self-perpetuation of this unworthy status in official titles associated with Guam. In such cases where existing statutes contain the term “territory of Guam,” on the effective date of this Act, all such statutory references, notwithstanding any other provision of law, are amended to replace the term “territory of Guam” with the term “Guam,” which shall be understood to have the same meaning and effect with respect to construction and effect of the statutes so amended. On the effective date of this Act, all government instrumentalities, agencies, councils or boards containing the term “territorial” in their titles shall be amended notwithstanding any other provision of law in such manner as to remove the term “territorial” from the title and replace such term with the term “Guam.”