American Samoa

If you're reading this, I encourage you to look at the full wiki site. It is fascinating how the Samoan culture came into being and how their gov't works, land ownership and a variety of other aspects....quite different than the US.

From Wiki - American Samoa (Samoan: Amerika Sāmoa, pronounced [aˈmɛɾika ˈsaːmʊa]; also Amelika Sāmoa or Sāmoa Amelika) is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa.[1] Its location is centered on 14.3°S 170.7°W. It is east of the International Date Line, while Samoa is west of the Line. The total land area is 199 square kilometers (76.8 sq mi), slightly more than Washington, D.C. American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States and one of two U.S. territories south of the Equator, along with the uninhabited Jarvis Island. Tuna products are the main exports, and the main trading partner is the rest of the United States.

American Samoa consists of five main islands and two coral atolls. The largest and most populous island is Tutuila, with the Manuʻa Islands, Rose Atoll and Swains Island also included in the territory. All islands except for Swains Island are part of the Samoan Islands, west of the Cook Islands, north of Tonga, and some 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of Tokelau. To the west are the islands of the Wallis and Futuna group. As of 2022, the population of American Samoa is approximately 45,443 people.[1] Most American Samoans are bilingual and can speak English and Samoan fluently.[1][5]

American Samoa has been a member of the Pacific Community since 1983. American Samoa is noted for having the highest rate of military enlistment of any U.S. state or territory. As of September 9, 2014, the local U.S. Army recruiting station in Pago Pago was ranked first in production out of the 885 Army recruiting stations and centers under the United States Army Recruiting Command.[6]

American Samoa is the only permanently inhabited territory of the United States in which citizenship is not granted at birth, and people born there are considered "non-citizen nationals".

History - Samoa Islands

Main articles: History of Samoa, History of American Samoa, and Tui Manu'a

Traditional oral literature of Samoa and Manuʻa talks of a widespread Polynesian network or confederacy (or "empire") that was prehistorically ruled by the successive Tui Manuʻa dynasties. Manuan genealogies and religious oral literature also suggest that the Tui Manuʻa had long been one of the most prestigious and powerful paramounts of Samoa. Oral history suggests that the Tui Manuʻa kings governed a confederacy of far-flung islands which included Fiji, Tonga[7][8] as well as smaller western Pacific chiefdoms and Polynesian outliers such as Uvea, Futuna, Tokelau, and Tuvalu. Commerce and exchange routes between the western Polynesian societies are well documented and it is speculated that the Tui Manuʻa dynasty grew through its success in obtaining control over the oceanic trade of currency goods such as finely woven ceremonial mats, whale ivory "tabua", obsidian and basalt tools, chiefly red feathers, and seashells reserved for royalty (such as polished nautilus and the egg cowry). For more information, please go to the full Wiki site.