Op-Ed: American Samoa is America’s strategic hub in the South Pacific
American Samoa is home to Pago Pago Harbor, a rare natural deepwater port in the South Pacific. One hundred twenty-five years ago, Samoan leaders agreed to place American Samoa under U.S.

![Dr. Neil Woolf, President of New Mexico Highlands University and Governor Pulaali’i Nikolao Pula sign Joint Proclamation that grants in-state tuition classification to all legal residents of American Samoa. [courtesy photo] Dr. Neil Woolf and Gov. Pula](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/asg-nmhu_sign_agreement.jpeg?itok=RtQFvU3Z)
![Territorial Teacher of the Year 2020-2021 Mrs. Sabrina Suluai-Mahuka (left) with United States First Lady Dr. Jill Biden in Washington D.C. as shown in this photo posted to Mrs. Suluai-Mahuka’s Facebook page. [SN file photo] Dr. Suluai-Mahuka with Dr. Jill Biden](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/sabrina_n_mrs._biden.jpg?itok=34-kI-Fo)




![Food travels. Food arrives with characters attached — the market mama who woke before dawn, the aunty who walked further than she admits, the old man who knows exactly when to harvest because his father taught him the same way. When you eat in PNG, you are not just consuming ingredients. You are meeting the people who made it possible. [Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Koroi Hawkins] Food travels.](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/food_travels.jpg?itok=zbH0dLf0)
![Ka Lāhui Hawai'i, a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) group travelled to Waitangi to stand in solidarity with Māori in a call to protect and honor Te Tiriti o Waitangi. [Photo: Supplied / Ka Lāhui Hawai’i] NATIVE HAWAIIAN GROUP](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/klh_at_waitagi.jpg?itok=RcyxFP6H)
