THE PACIFIC INSULAR CASE OF AMERICAN SĀMOA Land Rights and Law in Unincorporated US Territories LINENOUE MEMEA KRUSE The Pacific Insular Case of American Sāmoa Line-Noue Memea Kruse The Pacific Insular Case of American Sāmoa Land Rights and Law in Unincorporated US Territories Line-Noue Memea Kruse Brigham Young University–Hawai’i La’ie, Hawaii, USA ISBN 978-3-319-69970-7 ISBN 978-3-319-69971-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69971-4 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017961541 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub- lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu- tional affiliations. Cover illustration: © iStock / Getty Images Plus Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland This book is dedicated to my husband, Vincent For being the lighthouse And To my parents, Joseph and Vernetta Thank you for teaching me that perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did PREFACE While in my doctorate studies, I came across an obscure supplemental article describing the changing land tenure in American Sāmoa. I felt the author was trying to convince me that communal lands are a significant problem for “progress” to take hold. From that article, my research, classes, and professional work I aligned to pursue the topics of individual land rights, communal land tenure, citizenship, and law. While I taught at the National University of Sāmoa, I conducted archival research on the alienation of land, while paying attention to societal and legal changes over time. After moving from Sāmoa to American Sāmoa, I was hired to the post of Territorial Planner in the American Sāmoa Government, Department of Commerce. My professional responsibilities included strategic planning of the territory to advocate for safe, enjoyable, and orderly land use. As the first Sāmoan to hold this position in American Sāmoa, I felt the responsi- bility to ensure that the protections of the remaining communal lands are preserved for future Sāmoans to enjoy and use for the perpetuation of Sāmoan culture. If communal lands are eliminated or significantly reduced, the purpose and importance of the fa’amātai system may permanently fade away. Lá‛ie, HI Line-Noue Memea Kruse vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to the many people who saw me through this book; to all those who provided support, talked concepts out, read, wrote, offered comments, and assisted in the proofreading. This research began as my doctorate thesis, minutes after my defense the entire committee remarked that this work should be published and after graduation I set out to do just that. This work is not only academic theory, this work is a culmination of passion, theory, boots on the ground professional and academic research, and my desire to write about issues that are sometimes difficult to discuss because of the emotions revolving around communal “native” land and Sāmoan culture. This work necessi- tated much conversation and dialogue which would be impossible to thank everyone. I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to my hus- band, Vincent, who supported and encouraged me despite all the time it took away from our family. To my children, Vaiausia, Tauavae, Fa’atoalia Michael, and Vaeolenofoafia Nicholas, for sharing mommy with her com- puter “business.” To my parents, Joseph and Vernetta, for teaching me the value of a hard day’s work and that nothing worthwhile comes without sacrifice. During the research and writing of this manuscript, the sacrifices you both made to stay with us in American Sāmoa for a year allowed me the time to finish writing. To my mother, Vernetta, the painter, creative writer, gardener, and the glue that binds our family, thank you for all the redlining and late-night conversations, draft after draft. To my in-laws Michael and Gail for their unwavering support and advice, your words of strength and encouragement are priceless. I must thank my siblings Ken, Teuila, and Keller for helping my family during life’s journey without ix x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS missing a beat to step in when I called upon you for help. Many thanks to Freddie and Tile, for being wonderful examples to the kids. Without the support of American Sāmoa Government Department of Commerce director Keniseli F. Lafaele, I would not have been privileged to be part of the many planning and economic development projects in American Sāmoa or in the Pacific region, thank you for your trust. Fa’afetai tele lava to American Sāmoa Government Department of Commerce dep- uty director Uili Leauanae, a man with decades of service in government, village, and church but never mentions any of his accolades; thank you for your example and courage to fight the good fight. A special note of thanks to American Sāmoa High Court Clerk Terry Fielding, who patiently retrieved cases and guided me through the resources I requested, some of which required great care because of the 2009 tsunami damage to select cases. At the American Samoa Government Department of Legal Affairs, Territorial Registrar’s Office, I would like to thank Territorial Registrar Taito Sam White for permitting me to access mātai title records recorded since 1900. Also, I am grateful to Territorial Archivist James Himphill at the American Sāmoa Government Archives and Records for help in researching and locating archival records. I must also thank Territorial Librarian Justin Maga and Photo Curators Mary Tiumalu and Siata Siaosi at the Feleti Barstow Public Library for your time and assistance with archival research. At the National Archives at San Francisco, I would like to thank Archivist William Greene for assistance in locating specific records relating to the Naval era over American Sāmoa. Appreciation goes to Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum Historian Desoto Brown for assistance in archival research. I would like to thank Palgrave Macmillan Editors Michelle Chen and John Stegner for making this publication process feel easy going from start to finish. Last and not least, I beg forgiveness of all those who have been with me over the course of the years and whose names I have failed to mention. CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 Reference 3 2 Sāmoa and Traditional Land Tenure 5 Fa’asāmoa and Communal Land Tenure 7 Nu’u (Village) 8 Mātai (Chief) 9 American Sāmoan Fono (Legislature) 10 Europeans in Sāmoa Islands 16 Sāmoa Wars and Alliances 18 References 21 3 American International Expansion 23 Early US Interest in Sāmoa 26 Sāmoa Islands Politicking 29 Condominium, No Sāmoan Representation 30 1900 and 1904 Deeds of Cession 32 Non-traditional Territory 35 Unincorporated Status Comparisons to Other US Territories 36 Alienation of Lands 36 References 45 xi xii CONTENTS 4 US Naval Administration of American Sāmoa 49 Naval Administration Authority 49 Law of Convenience and Individual Land Ownership 50 Individually Owned Lands 51 Adverse Possession 54 Land Tenure 59 Land Categorization 59 References 62 5 Ex Proprio Vigore and the Insular Cases 65 Ex Proprio Vigore and the Insular Cases 66 Organized, Unorganized, Unincorporated, Citizenship 76 US Citizenship and American Sāmoa 79 American Sāmoans = US Nationals 80 Fourteenth Amendment and Fundamental Rights 84 Due Process and Equal Protections 86 US Department of the Interior 88 American Sāmoa Today 89 Society 89 Population Demographics 91 US Possessions, Not Territories 93 Imprecise Territorial Framework 93 Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam: Unincorporated Classification of US Territories 94 Philippines 95 Puerto Rico and Guam 96 References 101 6 American Sāmoan Legal History: 1900–1941 105 Customary Law and English Common Law Converge Over Communal Lands 108 Adverse Land Possession: Ten Years of Continuous Cultivation and Possession 110 Incorporating Civility and Stabilization to Land Titles, Naval High Court 112 CONTENTS xiii Moneyed Economy, Cultivation, Taxes 115 Dividing Customary Lands: Less Land for Communal Use and Access 124 Land and Changing Society 128 References 132 7 Individually Owned Lands and Communal Land Tenure 135 Decisions and Vernacular Language Usage in High Court, Tracing Individual Ownership 136 Ancient Statute of Merton 137 Case Law’s Evolution from Adverse Land Rights