The arts needs of American Samoa are uniquely shaped by its geographic isolation, ethnic composition, relative poverty, local politics, and commitment to the preservation of a vital indigenous culture. During the past two years under a new Executive Director, the Arts Council has undertaken a reevaluation of its goals and programs.

Based on facts and input from the local arts community, the Arts Council board and staff determined that a fundamental restructuring of the functions of the Council was in order. Basically, the Arts Council will become more of an arts service provider, trimming back on Council-run community-wide programs and acting more as a regrant organization for local schools, artists, and arts associations pursuing cofunding partnerships for sponsored projects. At the same time, the Arts Council will avail itself of new technological advancements in communication to broaden the audience of its sponsored projects.

A basic decision has been made to consider the entire territory as an underserved area. While our small non-Samoan ethnic communities (Tongan, Caucasian, Korean, Filipino) will continue to be invited to and involved in Arts Council programs, there is an overwhelming public concern that the traditional artists and art forms of Samoa are under attack from the recent local tidal wave of continental electronic influence. The Arts Council decided to focus its limited resources on fostering and strengthening indigenous art forms throughout the Territory, including our outer Manua Islands.

About American Samoa

Settled as early as 1000 B.C., Samoa was discovered by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the U.S. divided the Samoan archipelago. The U.S. formally occupied its portion—a smaller group of eastern islands with the Pago Pago harbor—the following year.

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