Bridging Indigenous and Immigrant Struggles: A Case Study of American Sāmoa

In American Sᾱmoa today, lines are being drawn between immigrants from Western Sᾱmoa, Tonga and the Philippines, and the indigenous population. A close study of the 2007 Future Political Status report, as well as the responses to the closure of the Chicken of the Sea tuna cannery, demonstrate how anti-immigrant sentiment has grown, along with fears over the stability and survival of the local economy. Such tensions between American Sᾱmoans and these Pacific and Asian immigrant workers have masked potential synergies in the struggles of both groups. This article provides preliminary suggestions toward a dialogue on how the goals of colonized indigenous groups might be combined with those of exploited working-class immigrants living in the same region.