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Second-Class Citizens
What does it mean to be a national of the United States?
Nationals are born under the American flag, but live in the only unorganized, unincorporated territory of the US. This means they are a non-self-governing territory. They do however have a local government.
Due to the non-citizenship status, American Samoans are not allowed to vote in US elections, apply for and hold many jobs, exercise the right to bear arms, or become president of the United States.
In short: They live a handicapped American dream.
Some people feel deeply betrayed by the fact that they are not seen as citizens. Others argue that achieving birthright citizenship would have a deep impact on the Samoan way of living (fa’a samoa).
You now need to decide if you want to want to learn more about how American Samoans challenged their non-citizen statuts in court (click Tuaua v. United States) or explore the Samoan way of living. There, you will learn how citizenship interferes with Samoan traditions (click Fa’a Samoa – the Samoan way of living).