S A M O A
AMERICAN * WESTERN

TALOFA LAVA!

About halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand there is a group of islands that make up Samoa. Actually there are two Samoa's but only one Samoan people. One Samoa is American Samoa, a U.S. Territory. The other is Western Samoa, which is now a free and independent country from its German and then New Zealand past. It's Independence was established January 1, 1962 via a UN trusteeship administered by New Zealand. It is a constitutional monarchy under native chief which is similar to the British government which has the Queen, as it also has an elected Prime Minister and Legislative Assembly. Western Samoa became the first independent island nation in the South Pacific.

Here is a little Samoan Princess. You guess who. The daughter of a Samoan Chief is a Princess. This young lady is such a daughter and her name is Fualosa. She was born in Apia, Upolu, Western Samoa on April 22, 1950. Apia is the capital of Western Samoa and has a population over 34,000 people. Western Samoa is made up of two major islands, Savai'i and Upolu, and several smaller islands. The total population of all of Western Samoa is over 172,000, mostly Samoan? Of course!

But now the question, 'What is Samoan?' Well the answer is not an easy one. Though Western Samoa claims to be 97% Samoan, 2.5% Euronesian, and .5% European; the truth of the matter is a bit more complex. First, and more resent than any earlier Asian contacts, Samoa has been a land of asian migrates namely mostly Chinese. For example, my wife's maiden name is Chou Lee, as her father was half Samoan and half Chinese. My wife's mother is also half Samoan and half Chinese and her maiden name was Ah Tang. Once again Chinese. Yet they are both counted as full Samoan and her father is a Samoan Chief. Now that is just the simple part of the matter as there is 'American Indian' influence there somehow to boot. But to make a long story short, suffice it to say that the prefix 'poly' in the word Polynesian means many 'nesian' or from many sources. And the bottom line is in that break down of 97% Samoan, all my wife's family is counted as Samoan. That is Samoan/Chinese are counted as full 'poly'-nesians. And so the like in why some say the 'poly'-nesians come from Asia and other who also know that they have more ancient 'primary' source from the likes of the 'American Indian' of the Americas as well.

rev. 12 February 2014