the American Samoans

'Where are we going?' ask the American Samoans

By staff writer KEN McGREGOR

The 26,000 islanders of American Samoa, who in recent years have found themselves caught in the maelstrom of pro gress, are currently wondering about their political future. What does the United States Government plan to do with the territory?

During a week’s stay in America amoa’s main island, Tutuila, in ;ptember, I asked this question of 'erybody I met—business leaders, avernment officials and Samoans ’ all kinds—but I failed to get any tisfactory answer. Nobody knew, I found that the Samoans them- Ives were divided as to what they ought should be done—divided ur ways, thus: • Independence. • Assimilation with the United States. • Confusion, not knowing whether there should be independence or assimilation. • Political union with independent Western Samoa.

Here is a summary of their -sent attitudes, as I saw it: Independence.—The small, but Dwing group of Samoans who nt independence advocate a com :te restoration of the fading power the traditional matai, or chiefs. :aded by at least two American moan chiefs, they would like the aericans to leave tomorrow. To ;m, palangi (the Samoan word for foreigners) is a dirty word. Their nands may get louder until some t of US policy statement is issued satisfy them.

Assimilation. The Samoans who uld like to go all the way with US are a much bigger group, nposed of what you might call ordinary Samoans, especially se Samoans such as taxi-drivers I hotel workers who benefit directfrom the American dollar. They aid like full US citizenship ter than their present national us, and they expect this would ? B be‘tte e r m holies r Wg ’onfusion. The biggest proportion

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absorbing the efforts of the injections of American budget 171 ° f . recent y !f rs > *"4 the “ ges *!v s r/T w brou,?ht— rk ’ ” lu 9 h better j^ h< ?9 ls > >penty. How is this a good thing

for American Samoa? They recog nise and are grateful for what America has done but they are not sure of its affects yet.

Alliance with Western Samoa.

Such a possibility has only minor support in American Samoa. Ameri can Samoan leaders are suspicious that this course would mean that American Samoans would be re garded as country cousins by the powerful matais of Western Samoa.

Among the big group of confused Samoans was a well-educated man, holding a key job with the Samoan Government, who summed up his doubts to me this way: “We want to be American and Samoan, but more particularly Samoan,” he said. “We would like to keep the better things in Samoa’s culture and tradition, and don’t mind leaving behind the bad.

Head for the liqhtS

t “ . The P an Am flights from State- Sl<ae re fularly bring back Samoans think there may be a future bere a * home after all—and that never happened until a few years a S°’ w hen America took a real in terest and poured in money. But Samoans still head for the bright M‘ s . ° f * he , States on those PanAm S' S c°°’ a b £ a JJ se . ‘? ey “ n t iee “Thp itnttpH "aded.

P lted , States Government Governor As^ii 6 We “ re 801ng nnl:rv twA? I ? 3^- * lve . us n 0 S£‘ Cy a h “ s ® 1 th "? k there 15 non f ■ fl„ at ha PPen when some people '"dependence? What .. w . say ' a ® ° l , eady or capable °|

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wa ?‘ this sort of Americanisation to happen on Tutuila “Over the next few'years we would like to see more important govern ment departments than just a couple of minor departments like Tourism run by Samoans.

“We would also like to say how the money allocated to American Samoa should be spent. Many of us don’t feel that Samoans should be used as guinea pigs to see if tele vision can solve the world’s educa tional problems.

“I personally feel too many dollars have gone too fast on education.

You only have to open your eyes to see our agriculture doesn’t exist.

“Let us run our own country in ternally for a few years and then let Samoans decide by a national vote what they would like to do.”

This man stressed, like many others, that American Samoa is not equipped for independence at the moment. But he added, like many others, that the US Department of Interior cannot continue to have a negative policy on American Samoa. It must formulate plans for Samoa’s political future, or if it has formulated them, it must reveal them.

I think this line of argument will grow, and this is not a bad thing.

It shows that America’s efforts to build up the once-neglected Samoan islands are beginning to pay off. • For a look at developments In

American Samoa, including the

territory's spectacular educa

tional TV and tourist develop ments, see Ken McGregor's long report in next month's issue.