Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — High Talking Chief, Fofō Iosefo Fiti Sunia, passed away yesterday, Tuesday, October 14, 2025 at the LBJ Tropical Medical Center, surrounded by his family. He was 88. 

He was the first Delegate from American Samoa to the US Congress. Sunia spent most of his four terms in Congress trying to give voice to and carve out a new role for his small, faraway constituency in the South Pacific, according to his biography on the US Congressional website. 

Fofō was born on March 13, 1937, in Fagasa, Pago Pago, and was the eldest of eleven children of Fiti and Savali Sunia. Fofō graduated from Samoana High School in 1955 before leaving Samoa for Honolulu, Hawaii, to earn his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Hawaii. After graduating in 1960, he returned home to work as a translator and interpreter for the territorial governor. In the early 1960s, Sunia founded and edited the Samoa News.

Sunia's work for the territorial governor and as a journalist paved the way for his involvement in local politics. He served as the territorial election commissioner from 1962 to 1970. Additionally, he was the first director of tourism for American Samoa from 1966 to 1972, and he served as president and chairman of the American Samoan Development Corporation from 1965 to 1971. In 1969, Sunia ran for and won a seat in the American Samoa legislature, where he served from 1970 to 1978. 

He married the late Aioletuna V Ta’amū Sunia in 1960.

The somber news of his passing was conveyed to the Senate yesterday morning by Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean, who extended heartfelt condolences to Fofo's grieving family.

In an emotionally charged address, Tuaolo reflected on the profound loss felt across the territory, acknowledging Fofo as one of the foundational pillars of the island community. He highlighted Fofo's distinguished status as a High Talking Chief, noting that throughout his life, he accomplished numerous significant milestones that positively impacted the lives of many. Tuaolo's remarks underscored the legacy left by Fofo, emphasizing the void his absence creates in the territory's cultural and social fabric.

Fofō authored several books, including “Puputoa”, which features biographies of influential figures in American Samoa from 1900 to 2000. He also published works in Samoan, such as “Timata le Gagana” and “Usuga ma Aumoega a Tamali’i o Samoa”. Additionally, his publications encompass Samoan legends of love and courtship among kings and chiefs, as well as the story of the Legislature of American Samoa, commemorating its golden jubilee from 1948 to 1998. These books are sold on Amazon. 

According to his autobiography, in 1978 US Congress extended territorial representation to American Samoa, providing for a Delegate to serve as the islands’ representative in the House of Representatives. 

In 1980, in the first election for Delegate, Fofō ran as an independent and entered a three-way race for the seat. 

When Fofō entered the House at the beginning of the 97th US Congress (1981–1983), he was assigned to the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, where he served through the 98th Congress (1983–1985). He also served on the Public Works and Transportation Committee for his entire tenure in the House, eventually becoming the chair of the Subcommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds during the 100th Congress (1987–1989).

Throughout his career, Fofō took on two additional committee assignments: the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee for the 99th and 100th Congresses (1985–1989), and the Foreign Affairs Committee during his final term. 

Without the ability to vote on legislation on the House Floor, Fofō focused on the time-honored tradition of constituent service. He employed an intimate approach with his modest constituency of roughly 34,000 people— right down to writing personal replies to letters that arrived at his DC office.

In Congress, Fofō did not hesitate to embrace some measure of federal assistance for his largely poor constituency when he supported the Hunger Relief Act of 1984, which covered the states and U.S. territories. “America and its territories promote freedom, equality, and opportunity, and I believe that no American should experience hunger in this land of plenty,”  Fofō said.

One of his principal concerns was that Congress retain sole discretion to amend the American Samoa constitution, rather than delegating that power to the Secretary of the Interior. 

Fofō believed that as the only unorganized and unincorporated territory in the United States, American Samoa needed its status to be directly addressed by Congress: “A people’s constitution, its basic governing document, cannot be placed at the mercy of one man.”

By giving itself the authority to act on any changes, Congress ensured that the Secretary of the Interior did not have unilateral authority to amend the American Samoa Constitution and that the territorial government could develop in an orderly, democratic fashion. At stake in that debate were issues of traditional Samoan land rights and titles that the Interior Department sought to open to federal court review.

During his time in Congress, Fofō introduced 13 bills across four terms, all of which focused on issues related to American Samoa.

Unfortunately, all of these bills failed to advance in committee, with only one, H.R. 3555, which aimed to amend a joint resolution concerning the cession of certain Samoan islands to the United States, receiving a subcommittee hearing. His speeches on the House floor addressed a range of critical topics, including education, unemployment, job creation, the protection of American Samoa's tuna fishing and canning industry, infrastructure improvements, and regional security issues in the Pacific islands during the latter stages of the Cold War.

Among the bills authored by Fofō were proposals to amend the National Housing Act to extend loan mortgage insurance programs to American Samoa, grant the Samoan Delegate the authority to make appointments to U.S. service academies, establish a National Guard in American Samoa, amend the Social Security Act to create a Medicaid program for Samoa, exempt Samoan U.S. nationals from language requirements for citizenship, and empower the American Samoa legislature to draft a constitution for local self-government. Despite his efforts, Fofō managed to secure only a handful of cosponsors for these bills, with some receiving none.

Due to his inability to vote, Fofō's legislative achievements were often modest. He took credit for persuading Congress to allow duty-free transportation of fish products within the Pacific territories and advocated for maintaining import fees on tuna shipped to the United States from the Caribbean. 

Fofō was particularly concerned that American Samoa’s tuna fishing and packing industry, the territory's primary job sector, would face an "economic disaster" if subjected to increased competition. He also promoted a provision allowing American Samoans to join the U.S. Merchant Marine.