The flag of American Samoa is a flag consisting of a red-edged white triangle pointing towards the hoist charged with a bald eagle clutching a war club and fly-whisk, with dark blue upper and lower triangles. Adopted in April 1960 to replace the "Stars and Stripes" as the official flag of the territory, it has been the flag of the Territory of American Samoa since that year. The colors used epitomize the traditional colors of the United States and Samoa.
Tauese Tuailemafua Pita Fiti Sunia was an American Samoan politician who served as the fifth governor of American Samoa from 1997 until his death in 2003. He was the second governor of American Samoa to die in office; Warren Terhune was the first.
Aifili Paulo Lauvao, was twice governor of American Samoa. The founder of the U.S territory's Democratic Party, he had a long career in the legislature and the judiciary in American Samoa.
Tofilau Eti Alesana was a Samoan politician who served as the fifth prime minister of Samoa from 1982 to 1985, and again from 1988 until his resignation in 1998.
Fagatogo is the downtown area of Pago Pago. Located in the low grounds at the foot of Matafao Peak, it was the location of the first American settlement on Tutuila Island. It includes the sub-village of Malaloa. Today, Fagatogo is the government, commercial, financial, and shipping center of Tutuila. It is also the administrative capital of American Samoa. It is the location of the American Samoa Fono (legislature), and is listed in the Constitution of American Samoa as the territory's official seat of government. Its population is 1,737.
Utulei or ʻUtulei is a village in Maoputasi County, in the Eastern District of Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa. Utulei is traditionally considered to be a section of Fagatogo village, the legislative capital of American Samoa, and is located on the southwest edge of Pago Pago Harbor. Utulei is the site of many local landmarks: The A. P. Lutali Executive Office Building, which is next to the Feleti Barstow Library; paved roads that wind up to a former cablecar terminal on Solo Hill; the governor's mansion, which sits on Mauga o Alii, overlooking the entrance to Goat's Island, and the lieutenant governor's residence directly downhill from it; the Lee Auditorium, built in 1962; American Samoa's television studios, known as the Michael J. Kirwan Educational Television Center; and the Rainmaker Hotel. Utulei Terminal offers views of Rainmaker Mountain.
Aūa is a village on Tutuila Island in American Samoa. It is located along American Samoa Highway 001, and is the southern terminus of American Samoa Highway 006. Aūa is located at the foothills of Mount Peiva on the eastern shore of Pago Pago Bay. The hamlet of Leloaloa is also a part of Aūa.
Edmund Beardsley Underwood was a Commodore in the United States Navy. Born in March 1853, at Humboldt Bay, in California, he was the son of U.S. Army Lieutenant Edmund Underwood and Mary Moore Beardsley. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1873. He was Commandant of American Samoa from May 5, 1903 to January 30, 1905. He retired in 1910.
Wilson Faumuina was an American football defensive lineman who played five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons. He died at age 32 of heart failure. Wilson attended Balboa High School in San Francisco and played both defensive end and offensive tackle. He was All City several times. Wilson then attended San Jose State from which he was drafted by the Falcons as a first round draft pick, 20th overall in 1977 NFL draft. He played five seasons with the Falcons from 1977 to 1981.
Leone is the second-largest city on Tutuila Island's west coast. The village is on the south-west coast of Tutuila Island, American Samoa. Leone was the ancient capital of Tutuila Island. Leone was also where the Samoan Islands’ first missionary, John Williams, visited on October 18, 1832. A monument in honor of Williams has been erected in front of Zion Church. Its large church was the first to be built in American Samoa. It has three towers, a carved ceiling and stained glass. Until steamships were invented, Leone was the preferred anchorage of sailing ships which did not risk entering Pago Pago Harbor. Much early contact between Samoans and Europeans took place in Leone.
Charles Brainard Taylor Moore was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and Naval Governor of American Samoa from 1905 to 1908. Taylor was born in Decatur, Illinois. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1873. Moore was the first Governor of American Samoa to receive a formal appointment from the President of the United States. He established the Annual Meetings of the Territory, allowing traditional leaders to discuss topics of interest with the Governor and offer suggestions. These meetings marked the first time that Tutuila Island and the Manuʻa Islands convened as a unified government under the same authority. Drawing inspiration from Governor Wilhelm Solf's success in Western Samoa, Moore requested the U.S. Navy to extend governors' terms to four years, but this was denied. However, he was allowed to serve nearly three and a half years, longer than any other Navy Governor except John Martin Poyer. Moore advanced legislative authority for American Samoans and enacted more territorial laws than his predecessors. He abolished the customs of auosoga and faamasei’au and drafted the first matai law, ensuring matai titles were registered and disputes were legally resolved. In 1907, he made the first appropriation requests from Washington, D.C., seeking $6,000 for schools, $6,000 for hospitals, and $5,000 for roads.
John Fredrick Parker was a Captain in the United States Navy and one-time Governor of American Samoa from May 21, 1908 to Nov. 10, 1910. John F. Parker was born in Ohio in 1853. He graduated from Annapolis in 1874 and married Elizabeth Scott Lord, niece of President Benjamin Harrison. He served as governor of Samoa from May 21, 1908 - November 10, 1910. He was stationed in Manila during the Spanish–American War. During President Benjamin Harrison's term he served as an aid. He died of Bright's disease at his home December 12, 1911.
John Morse Haydon was the governor of the American Samoa from 1969 to 1974. Haydon attended the University of Washington. He served as a First Lieutenant in the United States Air Force during World War II and flew 35 combat missions over Germany. Haydon was commissioner of the Seattle Port Commission from 1960 to 1969, and president in 1963, 1968, and 1969. He was a member of the Governor's Advisory Council on Fisheries from 1965 to 1967, and on Commerce and Economic Development from 1965 to 1969. On August 1, 1969, he was appointed Governor of American Samoa by the Interior Secretary and he served until October 1974.
John C. Elliott was an American politician appointed as the governor of American Samoa. Elliott was born on January 30, 1919, in Los Angeles, California. He died on April 13, 2001, in San Marino, California. He is buried at the San Gabriel Cemetery in San Gabriel, California. He took office on July 16, 1952, and left on November 23, 1952, leaving for personal reasons, and is the youngest man to ever hold the office at 33 years of age. Prior to his appointment, Elliott had served as the assistant to Governor Phelps Phelps and Secretary of American Samoa.
The Samoa News is a newspaper published in Pago Pago, American Samoa.
Vaiala is a village in the eastern side of Apia township on Upolu island in Samoa. It is situated on the central north coast of the island, to the east of the capital Apia. The village is in the political district of Tuamasaga.
The Jean P. Haydon Museum is a museum in Pago Pago dedicated to the culture and history of the United States territory of American Samoa. It contains a collection of canoes, coconut-shell combs, pigs’ tusk armlets and native pharmacopoeia. It also houses exhibits on natural history, tapa making, traditional tattooing, as well as a collection of war clubs, kava bowls, and historic photographs. Constructed in 1913 as U.S. Naval Station Tutuila Commissary, the building was home to Tutuila Island's Post Office from 1950 to 1971. The museum has displays of various aspects of the Samoan Islands’ culture and history. It is the official repository for collections of artifacts for American Samoa. Funded by the American Samoa Council on Arts, Culture and the Humanities, it is the venue used for numerous of the cultural resource activities in American Samoa.
Tula is a village in the Eastern District of Tutuila Island in American Samoa. Tula is located in Vaifanua County and had a population of 405 as of the 2010 U.S. Census.
Feleti Barstow Public Library is the main library in American Samoa, and is located in the village of Utulei in Maoputasi County. It is the central public library for the territory and is situated immediately across from the Office of Tourism, next to the Executive Office Building, and just behind Samoana High School. Besides a permanent display depicting American Samoa’s involvement in the Apollo Space Program, the library has also worked with the American Samoa Historic Preservation Office (ASHPO) since 2000 at creating a historic Polynesian Photo Archive. The goal of the project has been to electronically catalog and archive around 6,000 still and moving images of Polynesia which were collected by the American Samoa Government. The library has an extensive Pacific Collection which houses articles, books, and reports relevant to Pacific- and Samoan history. A large collection of photographs are stored in its Polynesian Photo Archive, which is a subset of their Pacific Collection.
