Content Last Updated: 2025
This website was launched in November, 2017 (preparation started in 2014) as a way to share digitized photos, audio tapes and memorabilia with the people of Northern Mariana Islands/Micronesia. Some photos, tapes, printed materials, art, music and items were accumulated after Kit Porter was hired by the NMI/CNMI to establish Chamorro & Carolinian multilingual/multicultural programs, then to coordinate training and higher education and subsequently to establish Northern Marianas College becoming its first president (1975 - 1983). After 1983, Kit continued to collect mainly books and documents about the Pacific.

​There are four sections below:
The Digital Archive includes digitized documents, images, audio & videos. The Physical Archive has a partial inventory of the book collection and photographs with stories of Pacific Arts & Crafts.
​Kit's Historic Narratives include a general history, initial information about NMCC/NMC and Chamorro/Carolinian/English Multilingual Multicultural Education, Recent Visits and YouTube stories.  A new section was added in April/May 2025 with audio narratives about work & life in the NMI/CNMI from September 1975 to August 1979.
Overviews: Past & Future has Kit's 80th-Year-Plan with related documents, the 2019 Updates and Early Supports to be updated with supporters since the launch of the website.

If you need some help navigating the site or want more information about it, visit 'About the Collection & Website' -- and if that doesn't help, contact us. 

​-- Kit Porter Van Meter & Michael Sousa
***JANUARY 2025 WE POSTED NEARLY 1,500 PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN BETWEEN 1975-1983. PLEASE HELP IDENTIFY LOCATION, DATE, EVENT, PEOPLE. WE HOPE TO POST MORE LATER IN 2025***SCROLL DOWN TO DA4) IMAGE INVENTORIES 1975-83 TO VIEW

On March 31, 2023 we sent the digitized content of 37 KPV Collection file boxes to the Northern Marianas Humanities Council (NMHC)--now posted on their website.  This is roughly 1/3 of that collection with work stopped in March 2020 (COVID).
Scroll down to find our four sections: the Digital Archive, Physical Archive, Kit's Historic Narratives and Overviews: Past & Future
Preparing the Digitized Archive has involved a decade of work: unpacking, identifying, arranging, inventorying, digitizing and grouping on the website (after Michael Sousa designed the website). We have met my part of my goal of having this content easily available without cost and locally administered.  

The digital content of 37 boxes has been provided to NMHC. Within the 37 DIGITIZED FILE BOXES are 3,014 INVENTORIED RECORDS; 2,584 DIGITIZED RECORDS; 62,254 DIGITIZED PAGES.  Between Jan 1 and March 31, 2023 (90 days) we had 1,147 visits to kpvcollection.com: Click here for more information about the collection.

NMHC partially funded work on this project in 2015/16 & 2019 with the goal that they would eventually be able to host. If you have questions, please content Roberto Santos.

DA1) Collection Index
& General Content

This inventory contains the entire box index for the KPV Collection. Documents are linked as they are scanned and can be found in boxes -- there are three subsets of the collection: general, education & culture, and newsletters, magazines, press releases, & UN reports.

DA2) Education & Culture
​Content

All box content in the collection related to education and culture can be found here.

DA3) Newsletters, Magazines &
​Press Releases

Newsletters, magazines, press releases and UN Reports have a slightly different inventory. View them here.

DA4) iMAGE ​iNVENTORies
(1967-1969 AND 1975-1983)

The collection currently has thousands of slides and pictures in two large batches by years; view them here! 

DA5) Slide Shows
​& Videos

Slide shows & videos created to showcase important moments in CNMI history

DA6) Audio
​Samples

The audio inventory will not be linked until it has been completely listened to. Several samples have been cleared for preview -- listen here.

PA1) Pacific Book
​Collection

Kit has collected many books over the years related to the NMI and other topics.

PA2) Pacific Arts
& Crafts

Kit has collected many items and books over the years. You can see pictures, and an inventory, of them here.

KN1) Highlights, History
​& Timeline

Highlights from the collection & stories by Kit, as well as historical information about the NMI.

KN2) nmi hIGHER eD &
​nm cOLLEGE

Stories, pictures, audio, and more about higher education and Northern Marianas College.

KN3) cHAMORRO & cAROLINIAN
bILINGUAL/BICULTURAL eDUCATION

​Sample materials from the collection pertaining to Chamorro & Carolinian culture and language.

KN4) Original
NARRATIVES 1975-1979

Selected from the original audio tapes Kit Porter sent to her family, four narratives (heard for the first time since the 1970s) reflect upon: the transition from TTPI to CNMI, Bilingual/Bicultural education & teacher training.

KN5) sTORIES & rECENT
​vISITS

Stories written by Kit Porter Van Meter, and her recent visits to the NMI.

KN6) Youtube Stories
​1975-1986

We've pulled together images, audio, and narrative to create stories from 1975-1986 in the NMI & Pacific.

KIT'S 80TH-YEAR-PLANS (2025)

Plans for year 2025, including plans for website content, audiobooks and more.

Initial Collection Supporters

Several people were crucial in the development of the collection. You can read more about those individuals here.

NMHC Grant (2019) Updates

We tracked our last grant (May 2019 to December 2019) from the Northern Marianas Humanities Council with a series of updates--you can view them here.