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American Samoa is an island group located in the South Pacific Ocean. It is approximately 2300 miles south southwest of Hawaii, 1600 miles north northeast of New Zealand and 2700 miles due east of Australia's Cape York Peninsula. At 14 degrees south latitude and 170 degrees west longitude, it lies approximately 1000 miles south of The Equator and just east of the International Date Line.The American Samoa Island Group consists of six volcanic islands dominated by low but very sheer and rugged tropical forest-covered peaks, and limited coastal plains, plus one coral atoll. The islands are Tutuila, Ta'u, Ofu, Olosega, Aunu'u, and Swains. Rose Atoll, which is home to sea turtles and sea birds completes the group.
American Samoa has a tropical marine climate, moderated during the Winter months of May through October by southeast trade winds. Average temperature is 82 degrees F with only a few degrees of fluctuation between the Winter and Summer months. The Summer rainy season lasts from November to April and accounts for approximately 70 percent of the 200 inches of annual rainfall. Hurricanes are a continual problem from December through March, especially when the El Nino effect is evident.
Tutuila is the main island of the group with Pago Pago, located at its center and along the harbor, being the capital of the territory and the center of commerce. Tutuila Island covers a total land area of 199 square kilometers (76 square miles). The population of the island is about 58,000. Pago Pago Harbor is one of the best deep water, all-weather harbors in all of the South Pacific.
The American Samoa Government and the tuna canning industry employ the majority of American Samoans. As an "unorganized unincorporated" territory of the United States, most of the operating budget of the territorial government comes from Washington D.C. Together, the Starkist and Samoa Packing tuna canneries pack and can 85% of American Samoa's exports. There has been a recent move by the territorial government to attract light industry to the territory, which has resulted in the opening of one clothing manufacturing plant and a second which is under construction.
American Samoa has a system of government closely patterned after the United States. The Administrative Branch is headed up by a popularly elected Governor who serves a four-year term of office. The Legislative branch, called the Fono, consists of an appointed Senate and a popularly elected House of Representatives. The Judicial Branch is headed up by a Chief Justice and consists of a High Court and a Lower Court.
Most archaeologists fix the date of the first arrivals in American Samoa at around 600 B.C. These first inhabitants probably arrived from the west, perhaps by way of Indonesia, the New Hebrides and Fiji.Samoa's long isolation from the western world ended in 1722 when the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen came upon the islands. It wasn't until 1831, however, that European influence had any real impact. In that year, Reverend John Williams of the London Missionary Society arrived with eight Tahitian missionaries. Samoans took to christianity with great enthusiasm and remain a deeply religious people to this day.
In the 1890's, the Samoan islands were being claimed by both Germany and the United States. To ward off conflict, the two countries signed a treaty in 1899 to divide up the Samoan Isands. Germany annexed several islands to the west, which now comprise the independent country of Western Samoa. The chiefs of Tutuila Island ceeded Tutuila to the United States in April 1900 and the US began using Pago Pago Bay as a coaling station for its naval ships.
As Japan began emerging as an international power in the mid-1930's, the U.S. Naval Station on Tutuila began to acquire new strategic importance. By 1940, the Samoan islands had become a training and staging area for the U.S. Marine Corps. It was this massive influx of Americans that gave Samoans a sudden taste of the benefits of a modern western society.
Today, American Samoans are classified as American Nationals. Visitors to American Samoa will find it a truly special place, offering the warmth and charm of the South Pacific with a heavily influenced American flavor.
Samoans represent the largest population of Polynesian people. Despite exposure to outside influences, they take pride in their two thousand-year-old culture (fa¹a samoa, the Samoan Way) and have preserved it successfully. Daily life still revolves around cultural traditions.The people of Samoa are bilingual. English is used mainly in school and in business situations and Samoan is spoken in the home and among friends.
White Sunday, celebrated on the second Sunday of each October, is a special day as big as Christmas. All the children of the island receive new clothes and special gifts. The day is focused around the children. They round up all the adults and run the festivities, from cooking in the early morning hours to conducting services and singing in angelic choirs in all the churches. Services are conducted and songs sung in Samoan, a dialect similar to other Polynesian languages in the South Pacific.
The American Samoans have a strong Christian community which dates back to the days of Reverend Williams who came to the islands in the 1800s representing the London Missionary Society (LMS). His benevolent ways and wise counsel soon convinced the Natives to turn from their pagan worship to christianity and brotherly love. Soon after the LMS arrived, tribal wars between villages stopped, and were replaced by friendly dance competitions and dugout canoe races.
For centuries, fine mats woven from the leaves of the pandamas tree have been the symbol of wealth and prosperity. To this day they are equated to the many hours of work put into the diligent weaving of the mat. The intrinsic value of the work in the mat was valued so highly that for many years the mats were used for money and barter. Today they are given mostly as gifts at special occasions, like marriages, and to the bereaved families at funerals.
Few dances in the Pacific can match the fluid grace and power of the Siva. It is the local dance of the Samoans. With rhythmic chants and pulsing island harmony, Samoans combine the beauty, the hospitality and the friendliness of the islands into the artful expression of dance called the Siva. Every Samoan knows it and can spontaneously launch into a smiling, singing rendition at any time.Festivals like those held on Flag day on the 17th of April commemorating the raising of the first American Flag in Samoa, and the Mosa Oi festival, named after a sweet aromatic local tree on the mountainsides, feature church groups and villages in Siva competitions. Rarely has anyone seen such unity, harmony and communal enjoyment as during the many festivals held in American Samoa.
There are many opportunities for exciting pastimes in American Samoa. With regional tours, eco tourism, a U.S. National Park featuring both rain forests and coral reefs, yachting, wind surfing, festivals, deep sea fishing, snorkeling, SCUBA diving, hiking, tennis and golf, Samoa offers a selection to all those with outdoor tastes.
With a National Park on the main island of Tutuila and on Ofu, Samoa offers some of the most spectacular, unspoiled, untouched landscape in the world. Breezy beaches with coconut palms and emerald waters lapping at your toes.
Samoa's waters are among the clearest in the Pacific with visibility routinely over 100 feet. Diving off the reef or snorkeling over it is like flying through a warm, watery aviary with fish playing the roles normally reserved for birds. Every color imaginable can be seen in the fish and other sea creatures that live in the local waters.
Samoans are also very sports and competition minded. The tropical weather makes outdoor sports possible year around. Competitive leagues are active in Baseball, Softball, Basketball, Cricket, Football, Rugby, Canoe Racing, Fautasi (long-boat) Racing, Tennis and Golf. American Samoa also has an active amatuer boxing association, amatuer wrestling association, and amatuer weight and power lifting association.
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