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Context of Islands
The context of how American Samoans are not American citizens
American Samoa is the only permanently inhabited unorganized US territory, meaning it remains under the total control of the President and lacks an official organic act from Congress, despite attempts to pass one. We trace the islands’ history from their strategic value for Western vessels to the 1899 Tripartite Convention that divided the Samoan archipelago between Germany and the US, ultimately leading to US control of the eastern islands. American Samoans’ non-citizen status is complicated by local resistance to automatic citizenship due to a strong desire to protect traditional customs like property ownership laws dominated by the faamatai and faasamoa systems. Ultimately, this unusual legal structure places American Samoans at a political disadvantage while simultaneously allowing them a degree of autonomy, such as controlling their own immigration system.
This episode was generated using Google NotebookLM and reviewed for quality and accuracy by a Pasquines editor.
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Pasquines is a nonprofit news organization, led and run by volunteers, dedicated to ending the insularity between the United States and its territories. Focusing on political, policy, economic, design, and innovation issues, we bring local issues to national attention, and national affairs to local consideration.
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