American Samoa

Did you know?

• 🌊A unique unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States in the South Pacific Ocean — a region with a rich Polynesian heritage where ancient communal traditions blend harmoniously with American influence.
• 🏳️Its flag, adopted in 1960, reflects the territory's close partnership with the United States: the blue, white and red colors echo the traditional colors of both Samoa and the U.S., and the white triangle with a red border pointing toward the hoist symbolizes unity. The bald eagle — national bird of the United States — represents U.S. guardianship and protection over American Samoa. In its talons the eagle clutches two traditional emblems of Samoan high chiefs: the uatogi (yellow war club) representing the power of the state, defense and willingness to protect the land, and the fue (fly-whisk of coconut fibers) symbolizing the wisdom of Samoa's traditional chiefs and leaders.
• 🏈'Football Island' — American Samoa is unofficially nicknamed this because it produces an astonishingly high number of professional American football players. A young male born on these islands is roughly 56 times more likely to play in the NFL than one living in the mainland United States.
• 🇺🇸U.S. Nationals, not Citizens — people born in American Samoa are classified as 'U.S. Nationals' rather than 'U.S. Citizens'. They can freely live, work and travel anywhere in the United States without visas, but cannot vote in U.S. presidential elections unless they go through the official naturalization process.
• 🏞️A National Park on leased land — the National Park of American Samoa is unique within the U.S. National Park System because the federal government does not own the land. Due to strict Samoan laws on communal land ownership, the park service leases the territory from local villages under a 50-year agreement to preserve pristine tropical rainforests, coral reefs, and endangered flying foxes (bats).