A new educational series by Right to Democracy offers an opportunity to look back at American Samoa’s history as the federal government moves forward with proposals to open waters around the territory to deep seabed mining. According to Right to Democracy, what is happening in American Samoa today is not just about mining—it is about history, power, and who gets to decide.
“Largely missing from the current debate over seabed mining in American Samoa is any real historical examination of American Samoa’s relationship with the United States,” says Ken Aiono, a Radio Samoa host who serves as the moderator in a new educational program titled Fa’a Samoa, Sovereignty, and Self-Determination in American Samoa: Past and Present.
The program is part of Right to Democracy’s new Building Understanding Series, which examines how the history of each U.S. territory can help people better understand the present. “As American Samoans celebrate 125 years as part of the United States, history should serve as a guide to understanding what that relationship means in people’s day-to-day lives.”
Right to Democracy says the current debate over seabed mining in American Samoa raises critical questions:
- If American Samoans stand together in opposition to seabed mining in the waters their waters, can the Secretary of Interior decide to allow it anyway?
- If the Secretary of Interior decides to sell off these mineral rights to the highest bidder, will American Samoans share in the profits—or only the risks?
- What weight is the Secretary of Interior giving to the environmental, cultural, and economic consequences of seabed mining?
- Most importantly, what say do American Samoans have in any of this?
Charles Ala’ilima, an expert on American Samoa’s legal history and the program’s featured guest, says, “To know where we stand today, we must understand how we got here.”
He added, “With public comments on the federal government’s seabed mining proposals due Wednesday, July 16th, understanding our past and present relationship with the United States is more important than ever. If we are to chart our own future, we must grapple with our past.”
Joining Ken Aiono and Charles Ala’ilima are Right to Democracy Co-Directors Adi Martínez Román and Neil Weare, who share how the historical experiences of other U.S. territories can provide important context to American Samoa’s relationship with the United States.
The series can be found at: www.righttodemocracy.us/_building_understanding_series.
