Land Rights and Law in American Sāmoa

October 18, 11:00am - 12:30pm
West Oʻahu Campus, Nāulu Center UH West OÊ»ahu

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Dr. Line-Noue Memea Kruse will be speaking on issues that affect land tenure, culture, and law in American Sāmoa. The research for this topic comes from primary sources found in in New Zealand, Sāmoa, Germany, Hawaiʻi, and California since the 1850s to the twentieth century. Dr. Kruse addresses how land tenure in American Sāmoa has changed from all native (communally owned) land prior to 1890 to more land being owned by individuals than the entire government of American Sāmoa, now. She asserts that the introduction of adverse possession rights by the US Navy has evolved into individual rights of communal lands and the cultural obligation to clans and families are being negatively impacted by these land tenure changes. So much so, Dr. Kruse asserts, that as the citizenship lawsuits filed in federal courts in Washington D.C. may one day address the changed nature of Sāmoan culture and lessening of communal obligation within the family clans that there no longer exists the dissimilar culture protecting American Sāmoan's communal land rights exclusive to American Sāmoans and matai titles in an American territory.

Dr. Memea Kruse currently teaches at the Pacific Islands Studies, Political Science, History, Religion departments at Brigham Young University-Hawaiʻi. She was also the first person of Samoan descent to be a territorial planner and manager of the Planning division in the American Sāmoan Government and thus brings a wealth of experience on knowledge in this field.

Dr. Kruse will also be selling copies of her newly published book, "The Pacific Insular Case of American Sāmoa: Land Rights and Law in Unincorporated Territories," which highlights the impacts of U.S. colonialism on land tenure in American Sāmoa. [https://www.palgrave.com/de/book/9783319699707] This free event is open to UHWO students, faculty, staff and the to the general public. For those who are not able to attend, this event will be livestreamed on our Facebook account.

Ticket Information
Free

Event Sponsor
Humanities/Hawaiian-Pacific Studies/Samoan Classes, West Oʻahu Campus

More Information
Samoan Language Courses, (808) 689-2355, wosamoan@hawaii.edu

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Thursday, October 18
10:00am	RIO Involvement Fair Mānoa Campus, Campus Center Complex and Courtyard
11:00am	Land Rights and Law in American Sāmoa West Oʻahu Campus, Nāulu Center UH West OÊ»ahu
11:00am	Sāmoana Lecture Series West Oʻahu Campus, Nāulu Center
12:00pm	"Kihawahine: Shapeshifting Life and Afterlife of Maui's Famous Akua Mo'o." Mānoa Campus, Kuykendall 409A
1:00pm	Hookani Kulanui: Danny Carvalho West Oʻahu Campus, Campus Center, Dining Hall
1:00pm	HIPAA and Protecting Health Information Mānoa Campus, UH Cancer Center, Sullivan Center
1:30pm	Tips & Guidelines For Preparing Conference Posters Mānoa Campus, Kuykendall 106 Events Room
3:00pm	Oceanography Seminar - Rosie Alegado Mānoa Campus, Marine Science Building 114
4:00pm	Finding Common Sound Mānoa Campus, Center for Korean Studies
5:30pm	On Hawaiian Sovereignty & Indigenous Politics Mānoa Campus, Saunders 624
6:30pm	Hanauma Bay Educational Lecture Series Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve Theater
7:30pm	AIA Archaeology Lecture--Profs. John and Colleen Darnell Doris Duke Theatre, Honolulu Museum of Art