1.
Tutuila
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Tutuila is the largest and the main island of American Samoa in the archipelago of Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific located roughly 4,000 kilometers northeast of Brisbane, Australia and it contains a large, natural harbor, Pago Pago Harbor, where Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa is situated. Pago Pago International Airport is also located on Tutuila island and its land expanse is about 68% of the total land area of American Samoa and with 56,000 people accounts for 95% of its population. The island has six terrestrial and three marine ecosystems, a popular island legend is that, upon the issuance of a particular call, a shark and a turtle will appear. The underlying story is that, in order to escape the pangs of starvation, according to this legend, they were reborn as a shark and a turtle. In support of this legend, the villagers utter a particular chant by which the shark, another Samoan legend is the Flying Fox, found in the National Park of American Samoa in Tutuila. The belief is that the Flying Fox is the guardian of the forest. The Polynesians first reached Samoa at about 10,000 BC, by 600 BC, they had established a settlement on Tuta at Tula. They built up a settlement at Tula, over the centuries, the Samoans kept in contacts with the neighboring islands of Western Polynesia, Tonga and Fiji. Whalers and Protestant missionaries began to arrive in the early 19th century, particularly in the 1830s, apia, rather than Pago Pago developed as a trading station. Louis de Freycinet arrived in October 1819 and named Tutuila Rose Island after his wife, in 1872, the Pago Pago Harbor was recognized by the Americans as the ideal refueling station for the new San Francisco to Sydney steamship service. In 1872, the US Navy negotiated a treaty on Tutuila to use the island, the Samoans signed the agreement in 1900 and the Flag of the United States was raised on Tutuila on April 17,1900. It wasnt until 1929 though that it was ratified and the name of American Samoa wasnt given formally until 1911. During World War II, Tutuila was an important island for the US Marines in the Pacific, the island, given that it was such an important base went relatively unscathed during the war, except for an attack from a Japanese submarine on January 11,1942. Since 1951, the island and American Samoa has been the responsibility of the Department of the Interior, in 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed H. In July 1997 Western Samoa, by agreement, changed the countrys name from Western Samoa to Samoa. This was opposed by the Americans, including the American Samoan islanders who believed that the name diminished their sense of identity and still use the terms Western Samoa and Western Samoans. Today American Samoa is an unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US but is under the administration of the Office of Insular Affairs of the US Department of the Interior
2.
American Samoa
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American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Samoa. American Samoa consists of five islands and two coral atolls. The largest and most populous island is Tutuila, with the Manuʻa Islands, Rose Atoll, All islands except for Swains Island are part of the Samoan Islands, located west of the Cook Islands, north of Tonga, and some 300 miles south of Tokelau. To the west are the islands of the Wallis and Futuna group, the 2010 census showed a total population of 55,519 people. The total land area is 199 square kilometers, slightly more than Washington, American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the U. S. and one of two U. S. territories south of the Equator, along with the uninhabited Jarvis Island. Tuna products are the exports, and the main trading partner is the United States. American Samoa is noted for having the highest rate of enlistment of any U. S. state or territory. Most American Samoans are bilingual and can speak English and Samoan fluently, Samoan is the same language spoken in neighboring independent Samoa. Contact with Europeans began in the early 18th century, dutchman Jacob Roggeveen was the first known European to sight the Samoan Islands in 1722. This visit was followed by French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville who named them the Navigator Islands in 1768, contact was limited before the 1830s, when English missionaries and traders began arriving. The site of battle is called Massacre Bay. Mission work in the Samoas had begun in late 1830 when John Williams of the London Missionary Society arrived from the Cook Islands, by that time, the Samoans had gained a reputation for being savage and warlike, as violent altercations had occurred between natives and European visitors. In March 1889, an Imperial German naval force entered a village on Samoa, three American warships then entered the Apia harbor and prepared to engage the three German warships found there. Before any shots were fired, a typhoon wrecked both the American and German ships, a compulsory armistice was then called because of the lack of any warships. Forerunners to the Tripartite Convention of 1899 were the Washington Conference of 1887, the Treaty of Berlin of 1889, the following year, the USA formally occupied its portion, a smaller group of eastern islands, one of which contains the noted harbor of Pago Pago. The Navy secured a Deed of Cession of Tutuila in 1900, the territory became known as the US Naval Station Tutuila. On July 17,1911, the US Naval Station Tutuila, in 1918 during the final stages of World War I, the flu pandemic had taken its toll, spreading rapidly from country to country. The result of Poyers quick actions earned him the Navy Cross from the US Navy, with this distinction, American Samoans regarded Poyer as their hero for what he had done to prevent the deadly disease
3.
Pago Pago
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Pago Pago is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is on the island of American Samoa, Tutuila. The territory is served by Pago Pago International Airport at Tafuna, tourism, entertainment, food, and tuna canning are its main industries. The area commonly referred to as Pago Pago consists of a string of villages, each with its own village council, one of the villages is itself named Pago Pago, and in 2010 had a population of 3,656. Pago Pago may refer to the village, to the bay area or to American Samoa as a whole, the constituent villages are, in order, Utulei, Fagatogo, Malaloa, Pago Pago, Satala and Atuu. Fagatogo is the referred to as Town and was the seat of government until a new Executive Office Building was opened in Utulei. In Fagatoto is the Fono, the Police Department, the Port of Pago Pago, many shops, from 1878 to 1951, the area was the site of a coaling and repair station for the U. S. Navy, known then as United States Naval Station Tutuila. In January 1942 Pago Pago Harbor was shelled by a Japanese submarine, on September 29,2009, an earthquake struck in the South Pacific, near Samoa and American Samoa, sending a tsunami into Pago Pago and surrounding areas. The tsunami caused moderate to severe damage to villages, buildings and vehicles, the town is located between steep mountainsides and the harbor. The main downtown area is Fagatogo on the shore of Pago Pago Harbor, the location of the Fono, the port, the bus station. The banks are in Utulei and Fagotogo, as are the Sadie Thompson Inn, the tuna canneries, which provide employment for a third of the population of Tutuila, are in Atuu on the north shore of the harbor. The village of Pago Pago is at the head of the harbor. A climb to the summit of Mt. Alava in the National Park of American Samoa provides a view of the harbor. Pago Pago has a tropical rainforest climate, all official climate records for American Samoa are kept at Pago Pago. The hottest temperature recorded was 99 °F on February 22,1958. Conversely, the lowest temperature on record was 59 °F on October 10,1964, the Feleti Barstow Public Library is located in Pago Pago. In 1991, severe tropical cyclone Val hit Pago Pago, destroying the library that existed there, the current Barstow library, constructed in 1998, opened on April 17,2000. The tramway was repaired, but closed not long after, another noted view is that from the top of the pass above Aua Village on the road to Afono
4.
Samoans
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The Samoan people are a Polynesian ethnic group of the Samoan Islands, sharing genetics, language, history and culture. Samoans living in Samoa in 2006 were estimated at 188,000, the majority of ethnic Samoans now reside in other countries, primarily in the United States, New Zealand and Australia. This approximation is based on the Lapita pottery that has dated to that time. Furthermore, the Samoans have developed a language, culture, and social practice most divergent from the ethnic groups associated with the Lapita pottery. Early contact with Europeans was established in the 18th century, christianity was formally introduced with the arrival of L. M. S. During the early 20th century the Samoan Islands were partitioned by Germany, Great Britain, tutuila and Aunuu islands were claimed by the USA and later joined by the Kingdom of Manua to become the current Territory of American Samoa. The western islands became German Samoa, in 1914, New Zealand forces captured the islands from Germany, thus becoming Western Samoa. Western Samoa regained its independence on January 1,1962, in 1997 it formally changed its name to Samoa. Traditional Samoan tattoo, pea, malu, demonstrate the strong ties many Samoans feel for their culture, Samoans have practiced the art of tattooing men and women for over 2,000 years. To this day, a mans tattoo extensively covers from mid-back, down the sides and flanks, a womans tattoo is not as extensive or heavy. The geometric patterns are based on ancient designs that often denote rank, the vaa, for example, stretches across a mans mid-back. Samoan oral tradition generally recognizes that two Fijian women, Taema and Tilafaiga, introduced the practice of tattooing, before the arrival of Christian missionaries, starting in 1830, all Samoan males got a traditional tattoo. Though the early missionaries did not succeed in outlawing the practice, in Samoas cultural past most males were tattooed between the ages of 14–18, when it was determined they had stopped growing, so the designs would not stretch and suffer in beauty. Today, there has been a revival of traditional tattooing in the past generation, not only in Samoa but throughout Polynesia. Tatau, the Samoan word for tattoo has a number of meanings including correct or rightness and it also signifies the correct quadrangular figures in reference to the fact that Samoan tattoo designs do not include circular lines, although other Polynesian tattoo motifs do. Early Englishmen mispronounced the word tatau and borrowed it into popular usage as tattoo, traditional tattooing is a painful process. The Samoan tattoo master dips his cutting tools into black ink made from the soot of burnt candlenut shells, the cutting tool consists of a short piece of bamboo or light wood with a piece of tortoiseshell bound at right angles at one end. A little bone comb is bound to the broad end of the tortoiseshell
5.
Ofu-Olosega
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Ofu and Olosega are parts of a volcanic doublet in the Manu‘a Group of the Samoan Islands—part of American Samoa. The twin islands, formed from volcanoes, have a combined length of 6 km. They are geographic volcanic remnants separated by the narrow 137-meter-wide Asaga strait, before 1970, one had to wade between the two islands at low tide, now a single-lane road bridge over the strait connects villages on Ofu island with those on Olosega. The highest peak on Ofu is Mount Tumutumu and the highest elevation on Olosega is Mount Piumafua, the most recent volcanic eruption took place in 1866,3 km south east of Olosega. This included samples of red-slipped plainware ceramics that appeared to be in the tradition of the Lapita culture. The work, carried out by a team that included Pacific archaeology specialist Patrick Vinton Kirch, focused on a site called Toaga, the results showed continuous human habitation of about 3,000 years. Ofu is the part of the volcanic outcrop of Ofu-Olosega Island. The main village of Ofu is located on the western shore, Ofu has a small airport and a boat harbor that serve the population on Ofu and Olosega. Before regular airline service was discontinued in 2009, the flight from Pago Pago took about half an hour, most of the southern shore and associated coral reef are part of the National Park of American Samoa. In 2005 the U. S. National Park Service was negotiating with village councils on Olosega to expand the park around that island, the island forms the Ofu County subdivision of the Manua District. It has an area of 7.215 km², and had an official population of 289 persons as of the 2000 census. Situated on the south coast of the island is Toaga lagoon which has a diversity of corals. The marine site has been part of long research and study on coral reefs. The island is home to the Samoa Flying-fox, a species of bat threatened by habitat loss. Olosega Island is a remnant of the Sili shield volcano, the caldera of which may lie submerged off the north shore, the volcanic eruption of 1866 was actually 3 km east of Olosega, on a submarine ridge that extends east southeast to nearby Ta‘ū. The island forms the Olosega County subdivision of the Manua District and it has a land area of 5.163 km², and had an official population of 216 persons as of the 2000 census. There are three villages on Olosega, Olosega, Lalomoana, Sili and Faiava Gallery Ofu-Olosega Archaeology in Samoa Office of the Governor, Office of the Governor, American Samoa Government
6.
Swains Island
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Swains Island is an atoll in the Tokelau chain. Culturally a part of Tokelau, it is administered by the United States as part of American Samoa, Swains Island is also known as Olosenga Island or Olohega Island. Owned by the Jennings family and used as a plantation, Swains Island has a population of 17 Tokelauans. The land area is 1.5 km2, Swains Island has also been known at various times as Olosenga Island, Olohega Island, Quiros Island, Gente Hermosa Island, and Jennings Island. Swains Island has an area of 460.9 acres. The central lagoon accounts for 88 acres, there is a small islet of 914 square yards in the eastern part of the lagoon. The atoll is somewhat unusual, featuring a circle of land enclosing a formerly freshwater lagoon cut off from the sea. Recent U. S. Coast Guard visitors to Swains described its lagoon as brackish, as of 2005, the population of Swains Island was 37, all located in the village of Taulaga on the islands west side. A communications building, school, and church rounded out Taulagas buildings, only the church remained standing after Cyclone Percy in 2005, though other structures have since been rebuilt. The 2010 United States Census reported only 17 inhabitants on the island, the village of Etena in the southeast, once home to the expansive residency of Swains unique dynasty of proprietors, is now abandoned. This residency, as it was called, consisted of a rustic four-bedroom house built in the 1800s to accommodate the Jennings family, owners of the island. A visitor to Swains Island in the 1920s described the mansion as being dilapidated, though stately, a road, the Old Belt Road, once ran around the island rim, but it seems to have been reduced in recent years to an overgrown jungle trail. Swains Islanders mainly speak Tokelauan, although English is the administrative language of American Samoa. Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, a Portuguese navigator sailing for Spain, is believed to have been the first European explorer to have visited Swains Island and he named it Isla de la Gente Hermosa, which means island of the beautiful people in Spanish. Later, there was an expedition from Fakaofo to the island, the male inhabitants of the island either fled or were killed by the invaders, while the women were taken back to Fakaofo. The subsequent infertility of the island, attributed to a curse placed on it by its last chief, led to the failure of the Fakaofoan settlement there. Captain William L. Hudson of the American ship Peacock visited the atoll in 1841, at the request of Commodore Charles Wilkes, but was unable to land due to stormy weather. Fakaofoans returned to the soon after Hudsons visit, and were joined by three Frenchmen, who then left to sell the coconut oil they had accumulated
7.
National Park of American Samoa
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The National Park of American Samoa is a National Park in the United States Territory of American Samoa, distributed across three separate islands, Tutuila, Ofu, and Ta‘ū. The park preserves and protects coral reefs, tropical rainforests, fruit bats, and it is popular for hiking and snorkeling. Of the parks 13,500 acres,9,000 acres is land and 4,500 acres is coral reefs, the park is the only American National Park Service system unit south of the equator. The National Park of American Samoa was established on October 31,1988 by Public Law 100-571 and this was resolved on September 9,1993, when the National Park Service entered into a 50-year lease for the park land from the Samoan village councils. In 2002, Congress approved a thirty percent expansion on Olosega, in 2009 an earthquake and tsunami produced several large waves, resulting in 34 confirmed deaths, more than a hundred injuries and the destruction of about 200 homes and businesses. The visitor center and main office were destroyed but there was one reported injury among the NPS staff. The Tutuila unit of the park is on the end of the island near Pago Pago. It is separated by Mount Alava and the Maugaloa Ridge and includes the Amalau Valley, Craggy Point, Tafeu Cove, and it is the only part of the park accessible by car and attracts the vast majority of visitors to the area. The park lands include a trail to the top of Mount Alava and historic World War II gun emplacement sites at Breakers Point, the trail runs along the ridge in dense forest, north of which the land slopes steeply away to the ocean. Ofu island is accessible via small fisherman boats from Tau island. Ta‘ū island can be reached by a flight from Tutuila to Fiti‘uta village on Ta‘ū, a trail runs from Saua around Si’u Point to the southern coastline and stairs to the 3, 170-foot summit of Lata Mountain. Because of its location, diversity among the terrestrial species is low. Approximately 30% of the plants and one species are endemic to the archipelago. Three species of bat are the native mammals, two large fruit bats and a small insectivore, the Pacific sheath-tailed bat. They serve an important role in pollinating the islands plants, the sheath-tailed bat was nearly eliminated by Cyclone Val in 1991. Native reptiles include the pelagic gecko, Polynesian gecko, mourning gecko, stump-toed gecko, Pacific boa, a major role for the park is to control and eradicate invasive plant and animal species such as feral pigs, which threaten the parks ecosystem. There are several species, the most predominant being the wattled honeyeater, Samoan starling. Other unusual birds include the Tahiti petrel, the spotless crake, the islands are mostly covered by tropical rainforest, including cloud forest on Tau and lowland ridge forest on Tutuila
8.
United States territory
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United States territory is any extent of region under the sovereign jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters and all U. S. naval vessels. The United States asserts sovereign rights for exploring, exploiting, conserving and this extent of territory is all the area belonging to, and under the dominion of, the United States federal government for administrative and other purposes. The United States total territory includes a subset of political divisions, the United States territory includes any geography under the control of the United States federal government. Various regions, districts, and divisions are under the supervision of the United States federal government, the United States territory includes clearly defined geographical area and refers to an area of land, air, or sea under jurisdiction of United States federal governmental authority. The extent of territory is all the area belonging to, and under the dominion of, under Article IV of the U. S. Constitution, territory is subject to and belongs to the United States. This includes tracts of land or water not included within the limits of any State, Congress possesses power to set territorial governments within the boundaries of the United States. The power of Congress over such territory is exclusive and universal, congressional legislation is subject to no control, unless in the case of ceded territory. The U. S. Congress is granted the exclusive and universal power to set a United States territorys political divisions, all territory under the control of the federal government is considered part of the United States for purposes of law. From 1901–1905, the U. S. Supreme Court in a series of known as the Insular Cases held that the Constitution extended ex proprio vigore to the territories. However, the Court in these cases also established the doctrine of territorial incorporation, a Supreme Court ruling from 1945 stated that the term United States can have three different meanings, in different contexts, The term United States may be used in any one of several senses. It may be merely the name of a sovereign occupying the position analogous to that of sovereigns in the family of nations. It may designate the territory over which the sovereignty of the United States extends, or it may be the name of the states which are united by. The United States Department of the Interior is charged with managing federal affairs within U. S. territory, the Interior Department has a wide range of responsibilities. The contiguous United States, Hawaii, and Alaska are divided into administrative regions. These are called counties in 48 of the 50 states, and they are called boroughs in Alaska, a county can include a number of cities and towns, or just a portion of either type. These counties have varying degrees of political and legal significance, a township in the United States refers to a small geographic area. Territories are subdivided into legally administered tracts—e. g, geographic areas that are under the authority of a government. The District of Columbia and territories are under the authority of Congress
9.
Fagatogo
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Fagatogo is a village situated on Tutuila Island, in American Samoa. It is part of the agglomeration of Pago Pago. Fagatogo is the location of the American Samoa Fono, and is listed in the Constitution of American Samoa as the official seat of government. Fagatogo also contains the port of Pago Pago, the bus station and market
10.
Music of Samoa
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Traditional Samoan musical instruments included a fala, which is a rolled-up mat beaten with sticks. It is an idiophone which often accompanied choral singing, another idiophone, a soundingboard, sometimes accompanied the solo recitation of poetry. A conch shell was blown for signaling, amusement for small groups and individuals in private was afforded by a jaw harp, a raft panpipe, and a nose-blown flute. In recent times it is not uncommon to see the use of Pātē and it usually replaces the Fala and is played in the same rhythmic patterns. A musical or theatrical presentation celebrating an event in which performance groups alternate in an attempt to outdo each others efforts has come to be called a fiafia. It is often a hotel performance, in which now called siva Samoa. Amerika Samoa, a song with words by Mariota Tiumalu Tuiasosopo, the Banner of Freedom, a song that honors the flag of Samoa, has been the national anthem of Samoa since 1962, it was composed by Sauni Iiga Kuresa. Two stringed instruments quickly became commonplace in the islands, the guitar, by the end of the 19th century, European-style brass bands had come into existence in the major towns. Later still, radio transmissions brought more variety, as local artists, marines during World War II helped solidify the affinity for American popular music. Many earlier bands copied or imitated this music—a trend that continues and it is common practice and well accepted for Samoan musicmakers to take a Western song, replace the lyrics with Samoan words, and reintroduce the tune as an original. The guitar and ukulele became the usual instruments for composing and performing music and that sound is now often replaced by the electronic keyboard and the multiplex of sounds and faux instruments available with it. Many current Samoan musicians upgrade old Samoan tunes with new technology, or imitate, modern pop and rock have a large audience in Samoa, as do several indigenous bands, which have abandoned most elements of Samoan traditional music, though there are folksy performers. Some pop musicians in New Zealand learned new dance styles on a trip to the islands of Samoa, New Zealand continues to produce modern popular Samoan stars, such as Jamoa Jam and Pacific Soul. Even traditional hymns have seen an amount of change. Some pop bands, such as the RSA Band and the Mount Vaea Band, are associated with hotels, some bands have toured in New Zealand. Pop musicians include the Lole, Golden Aliis, The Five Stars, a Samoan group called Le Pasefika, going against the current trend by playing only old music, has become the hottest-selling Samoan group in the United States. Footsoulijah is animated and colorful, and always perform in camouflage fatigues, there is currently a dichotomy between old and new in cultural aspects of Samoan life, especially dance. One photograph has a Samoan child in traditional garb, dancing in a traditional way, like other Samoans, Kosmo, one of the most famous Samoan hip-hop artists, picked up his dance moves while living in California
11.
High Court of American Samoa
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The High Court of American Samoa is a Samoan court and the highest court below the United States Supreme Court in American Samoa. The Court is located in the capital of Fagatogo and it consists of one chief justice and one associate justice, appointed by the United States Secretary of the Interior, holding office during good behavior and removable for cause. The High Court of American Samoa also has several Samoan associate judges who sit with the two justices, normally, two associate judges will sit with the chief justice and associate justice on every case. The Secretary of the Interior retains ultimate authority over the courts, the High Court consists of four divisions, the trial division, the probate division, the land and titles division, and the appellate division. The justices of the court, Judiciary of American Samoa Article I and Article III tribunals#Article IV tribunals Tagupa, judicial Intervention in Matai Title Succession Disputes in American Samoa
