SAMOANS

Samoans

Samoans

Summary

Samoans in the United States are known as Pacific Islanders and there are several websites which have details regarding this ethnic group. More specifically, they are Polynesians, which is one of the three racial groups in the Pacific Basin. Ethnic and racial categories are used by the U.S. government to identify populations in the United States. In 1997, Pacific Islanders were added as the newest racial and ethnic category, the fifth racial group, “Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders,” for purposes of data collection. This category was implemented for the first time in the 2000 census (Janes, 2003). This entry looks at their immigration and the U.S. community. Samoans in the United States originated from the Samoan Islands, which are located in Central Polynesia approximately 2,270 miles southwest of the Hawaiian Islands and 1,600 miles northeast of New Zealand. The islands are divided into two political entities. The Independent State of Samoa (formerly Western Samoa) was under New Zealand as a League of Nations mandate. After World War II, New Zealand administered it as a UN trust territory (Faleomavaega, 2004).

The world powers, at the 1899 Treaty of Berlin, gave the United States jurisdiction over the group of Samoan Islands now known as American Samoa. Thus, in April 17, 1900, the high chiefs of Tutuila and Aunu'u signed a Treaty of Cession, and Manu'a followed with one of its own in 1904 (Shaffer, 2000).

Demographics & Cultural Ties

I visited many websites which contain text regarding Samoans and found following information. Samoan migrants are considered a distinct and somewhat isolated community. www.everyculture.com claims that Samoans migrated from rural, nontechnology-based societies. Before the U.S. Navy established its port on the islands, the local economy was largely based on subsistence farming and fishing. In the U.S. mainland, Samoans were challenged to adapt to a ...