What is American Samoa?

American Samoa is a United States territory in the South Pacific Ocean, an archipelago of seven islands and atolls (Tutuila, Aunu'u, Ofu, Olosega, Ta'u, Swains Island, and Rose Atoll) totaling about 76 square miles, located about 2,200 miles southwest of Honolulu and 1,600 miles northeast of New Zealand. The capital is Pago Pago on Tutuila, the largest and most populous island. The total population is about 50,000.

American Samoa is an unincorporated unorganized U.S. territory, the only U.S. territory whose residents are U.S. nationals rather than U.S. citizens, although they may apply for citizenship through naturalization. American Samoa has been a U.S. territory since 1899, when the United States, the German Empire, and the United Kingdom partitioned the larger Samoan archipelago through the Tripartite Convention of 1899. The eastern islands went to the United States and the western islands (now the independent state of Samoa, formerly Western Samoa) went to Germany, with Britain receiving compensation elsewhere.

The U.S. Navy administered American Samoa from 1900 until 1951, after which the Department of the Interior took over. Local Samoans signed deeds of cession formalizing the U.S. relationship in 1900 and 1904, agreements that give American Samoa a unique constitutional status preserving traditional Samoan land tenure (which limits land ownership to those of at least 50 percent Samoan blood) and the matai (chief) system of village governance.

American Samoa has an elected Governor (since 1977) and a bicameral legislature called the Fono with a 21-member House of Representatives and an 18-member Senate. The territory has a non-voting delegate in the U.S. House. Federal courts treat American Samoa under different rules than the other territories, with the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii hearing federal cases from American Samoa rather than a local federal court.

The economy is dominated by tuna canning and federal government employment. StarKist Samoa is one of the largest private employers, although the canning industry has declined. Tourism is modest because of the remote location and lack of major air connections beyond Hawaii.

American Samoa is famous for producing American football players in numbers far exceeding what its small population would predict; per capita, more Samoans play in the NFL than any other ethnic group, and players including Junior Seau, Troy Polamalu, Tua Tagovailoa, and many others trace their heritage to the islands. The National Park of American Samoa, established in 1988, preserves rainforests, coral reefs, and traditional villages on three of the islands. Samoan culture, language, and the fa'a Samoa (Samoan way) of life remain central to local identity.