There are four levels of government in American Samoa, corresponding to the four types of legal geographic entities:
- From 1951 to 1977, the Department of the Interior appointed American Samoa’s governors; beginning in 1977, Samoans have been able to elect their own governor and lieutenant governor. There also is an 18-member senate chosen by Samoan custom from the 14 counties, and a 20-member house of representatives elected by popular vote; the latter also includes a nonvoting delegate elected from Swains Island. The two legislative bodies constitute the Fono.
- There are three districts that make up the first-order subdivisions: Eastern and Western on Tutuila Island (Eastern District also includes the island of Aunu’u) and Manu’a (composed of Ofu, Olosega, and Ta’u Islands). Each has a district governor, appointed by the Governor of American Samoa, and a district council, “chosen … in accordance with Samoan custom” (American Samoa Code, 1981). Swains Island and Rose Island are not in any district. Swains Island is administered by the village government and a representative of the Governor. Rose Island is an unpopulated coral atoll that is a wildlife refuge under the jurisdiction of the American Samoa government, but is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
- The districts are divided into 14 counties that compose the MCDs. Each county has a county chief, appointed by the Governor of American Samoa, and a county council, chosen in accordance with Samoan custom.
- All land area of American Samoa except Rose Island is assigned to a village. Each village has a village chief, or pulenuu, whom the Governor of American Samoa appoints from among the chiefs resident in each village, and a village council, which consists of all the chiefs and heads of families resident in the village. Accordingly, the Census Bureau treats the villages as if they were incorporated places. The villages are defined by land ownership, or land usership, rather than legally established boundaries. Land surveyed before 1900 (pre-U.S. acquisition) belongs to a specific owner; however, native custom and usage is by far the most common form of land tenure in American Samoa, affecting over 96 percent of all land. The villages are based on traditional communities, which regulate the use and
Puerto Rico and the Outlying Areas7-17
