New book gives glimpse of Am Samoa under US Navy

author-karen-wheat

A glimpse of American Samoa under the naval administration can be found in a just released book Pictures of Change in Paradise: At the turn of the 20th Century in American Samoa.

The author is Karen Wheat,  a great great- granddaughter of Joseph Dwyer, who was Secretary of Native Affairs in the territory from 1907 to 1913.

The book includes several photos which were recovered from a family photo album of the Dwyer family.

Edited by former Historical Preservation Officer John Enright,  the book also includes tapa designs by Reggie Meredith.

Wheat says she started research for the book on and off since 1997 and spent up to four months a year at Leone from 2000 to 2003 talking to and consulting people about the photos in her great great uncle’s album and the history of the territory during the naval administration era.

A guest on the Samoa Sunrise Show this morning, the author talked about the interaction between the US Navy and locals at the time.

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Author Karen Wheat will have a book signing at the Feleti Barstow Public Library Friday, February 23,  from 4-8 pm.