“We the people of American Samoa do not consider ourselves a colonized people. We do not live under a regime for which colonization must be eradicated. Our relationship with the United States is one built on trust and respect for our native people and our Samoan culture.”
So reads the text of American Samoa’s statement that Attorney General Talauega Eleasalo Ale is presenting at the UN Seminar on Decolonization being held in Grenada.
Also at the meeting is the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Fiu Johnny Saelua
The first part of the statement tells about American Samoa’s recovery from the effects of Tropical Cyclone Gita and how the territory celebrated its union with the United States during Flag Day despite the devastation caused by the storm.
“While there was concern about holding a Flag Day celebration this year given the recent tropical cyclone just two months earlier, Governor Lolo Moliga and many American Samoans felt strongly that Flag Day had to be celebrated, especially this year.
“God protected us and did not allow any lives to be lost. As it has done in previous natural disasters that affected American Samoa, the United States Government, led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency came through yet again for the territory, providing immediate and necessary assistance which greatly assisted in the recovery efforts.”
The statement tells the UN seminar that life is returning back to normal with power and water restored and clean up efforts complete.
It says, “American Samoa could not have reached this level of recovery without the significant help of the US.
“I bring this story to your attention in part because it highlights the nature and critical importance of our relationship with the United States,” says the statement.
“The union of American Samoa and the US is strong and healthy as ever. As a territory of the United States we enjoy the protection of the most powerful country in the world The US response following Cyclone Gita is but one recent example of the protection we enjoy under the American flag.”
It goes on to explain that perhaps the most important benefit to many American Samoans of the union with the US is the protection of Samoan culture and communal land tenure system, as provided in the Deeds of Cession of 1900 and 1904.
American Samoa’s statement points out however that despite the benefits of being under the American flag “our current form of government is not ideal and certainly cannot be the final word.
“Our current government exists largely at the pleasure of the US Congress through the executive branch. This state of affairs limits our ability to self govern and exposes us to the vagariesof decisions made in Washington D.C. without our input.”
Efforts to revive the territory’s political status through the establishment of an office of Political Status, Constitutional Review and Federal Relations, with funding from the US Department of Interior are included in the statement.
The UN seminar is also told about the successful challenge by American Samoa of the National Marine Fisheries Management Service’s rule on the Large Vessel Prohibited Area.
“This decision marks the first time a federal court has nullified a US policy because it violated the Deeds of Cession,” said the statement.
We will have more on American Samoa’s statement to the UN Seminar on Decolonization in later bulletins.
