Tapaau: American Samoa Wants faaAmerika and faaSamoa

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Tapaau Dr. Dan Aga who was the speaker from American Samoa in a Department of Interior panel discussion on self determination for the territories of American Samoa, Guam and the Virgin Islands, says the people of American Samoa want to keep a strong relationship with the United States.

They also want to protect lands and culture and it’s between these two pillars that American Samoa is navigating its political status.

The three territories are still on the United Nations list of non self-governing territories and speakers from these insular areas as well as the Department of Interior were panelists in the discussion at the White House yesterday.

Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Areas Esther Kiaaina was the moderator.

Tapaau was on the staff of the last Future Political Status Study Commission and constitutional review in 2010.

He is Director of the Community and Natural Resources Division at the American Samoa Community College.
He was also involved in public education for the veto override referendum for the last general elections.
Tapaau said, “We know international laws give us the right to self determination but that is not enough. We need to know what the US laws are to support an argument for self-determination in the US territories.”
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The Insular Cases are a series of opinions by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1901, about the status of U.S. territories acquired in the Spanish–American War.
The Supreme Court held that full constitutional rights do not automatically extend to all places under American control.

Tapaau states that as far as a form of government goes, the view from American Samoa is that “the label is not so important, what is important is that we identify and try to gain elements that work for us.”

He opined that “we can achieve more self-governance through statutory or federal statute,.”

In his 30 minute presentation, Tapaau said that the framers of American Samoa’s constitution were men who had little education but foresight as deep as the ocean.

“They could see into the future and try to determine what is important for us. They made sure that they protected against the people alien to their lands and the destruction of our way of life.”

Tapaau said the territory has an exclusive economic zone, “but we have challenges with our natural resources.”
And he tells the audience, federal regulations impact and impede our economic development, policies such as the minimum wage “that can come close to wrecking or economy.”

With regards to self determination he said, “There’s a feeling-and this is why self-determination is important-these decisions are being made for us… and they are hurting us now.’

He asked, “should we have more of a say in this?”

Tapaa touched on the citizenship case now before the US Supreme Court, and said millions of people around the world want US citizenship- but there a problem for the people of American Samoa.

“The problem,” he said, “is an application paradox.”
“If the U.S. Constitution is applied in full in American Samoa, we could not restrict the sale of property. We could probably end up losing our lands in a generation.”

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