Governor Pulaalii Nikolao Pula has created a new public holiday for ASG.
By Executive Order, he has established May 13, Swains Island Anniversary, as a holiday in American Samoa this year and for all years in the future.
In a May 2 memo announcing the holiday, the Governor provides a historical background on the Swains Island Anniversary. On May 13, 1925, Lt. Commander C.D. Edgar of the United States Navy traveled to Swains Island to raise the flag of the United States with a salute of 21 guns, symbolizing the authority and protection of the United States of America. May 13, 2025, marks the 100th anniversary of that historical event.
The Governor stated that this is a special anniversary marking the inclusion of Swains Island as part of the United States of America and the Territory of American Samoa. He asked residents to please take the time to honor our ancestors who helped create our territory and recognize the importance of the islands we call home.
A major milestone that descendants of Swains are celebrating is the granting of full voting power to the Swains Island Delegate in the House of Representatives.
An article about the history of Swains, prepared by the Swains Island community as a lead-up to the 100th anniversary, said Swains had been denied the right to vote for nearly 65 years. According to the article, during the naval administration of American Samoa from 1900 to 1951, Swains Island thrived, experiencing unprecedented prosperity. The island’s growing population exported copra for coconut oil production, which helped provide jobs, generate tax revenue, and allowed Tutuila and Manu’a to combine their harvest with Swains Island’s for export.
However, the article says, the transfer of American Samoa’s civil administration from the Navy to the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1951, along with the collapse of the copra market in the 1960s, marked the beginning of the island’s decline. According to the article, while the 1960 and 1967 constitutions of American Samoa extended full constitutional protection of land and culture to all U.S. nationals of Samoan ancestry, including lineal descendants from Tutuila, Manu’a, and Swains Island, these constitutions also denied voting power to the Swains Island delegate. “This effectively separated Swains Island from Tutuila and Manu’a for the first time.”
The article says, “With no senator, district governor, county chief, or representative in the Office of the Governor, the non-voting delegate of Swains Island was left without a voice to protect the constitutional rights of the people of Swains. Also, without access to federal and local subsidies, and lacking transportation, communication, and basic infrastructure, Swains Island was unable to sustain its existence.”
Residents were forced to evacuate to Tutuila, Hawaii, and the mainland U.S., leading to the alienation of land from the people of Swains Island.
That is until the 2022 Constitutional Convention, when delegates passed by a vote of 73 to 43, granting full voting rights to the Swains delegate in the House of Representatives.
On January 16, 2025, the Secretary of the Interior approved the Swains Island amendment, and Swains Delegate Su’a Alexander Jennings voted for the first time on March 21.
Rep. Jennings said an event is being planned to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Swains Island, and details will be announced as soon as they are finalized.
