How Did We Get Here

American Samoans: Transforming to American Culture.

An individuals' culture is learned behavior and past down generation to generation. Culture is a combination of values, beliefs, customs, and lifestyle. When a patient comes into the hospital, he/she's culture doesn't change because their illness requires medical attention. For that reason understanding the influence of cultural factors and their outcomes play a vital role in healthcare. Healthcare providers and physicians needs to incorporate an understanding of how a patients' culture will effect patient management. Therefore all healthcare providers as well as physicians should be required to be cultural competent. As the United States become a diverse population, it's imperative that all health care providers develop the knowledge and skills that is needed to provide adequate culturally competent care (Hilgenberg, 2005).

There are roughly 50,000 American Samoans living in both Hawaii and on the U.S mainland (The World Fact book website, 2005). Many come to the mainland to give their families a better life. Moving to the mainland to have access to better education and job opportunities, most Samoans left their home country to have a better way of life. Samoans left their country, but they continue to practice and believe in their cultural lifestyles. The majority Samoan immigrants are young people, minor skilled workers, and their children (Saau, 1999).

My co-worker Asoka Lemi gave me extraordinary insight about his countries history, culture, and migration to the U.S mainland. He shared her in-depth story with me in a compassionate way. I saw and felt the emotions as he sat through the interview, and he allowed me to enter his culture through his strong words. Asoka was one of many children who migrated to America with his family in the early 70's. With his family looking for better opportunities and better living conditions, they left their village of Vailoatai and headed to the U.S. At the age of 7, he was forced to care for his younger siblings, while his parents worked various low paying jobs. His father was abusive to his mother and young brother and sister. His father will come home and take his anger and frustrations out on all of them, including little Asoka. Since Asoka was the oldest he received most of the beating. His father came home one day and beat him severely, and left him for his mother to care for bleeding Asoka. With Asoka mother concerned for his safety, she took him away from the home and left him with neighbors. A few days later, the one of the neighbors took 8 year old Asoka to a public health center in town. Asoka was confused, but went with hesitation. A volunteer name Bob Braymer worked for the Peace Corps, and was stationed in American Samoa befriended Asoka and took care of him. He treated Asoka wounds with ointments and bandages. Asoka stayed at the health center until his parents could be found. After a few months, two pivotal incidents happened. First Asoka found out that his father had killed his mother, and his brother and sister was no where to be found. Second, Asoka wounds became infected mainly his right leg. After the Peace Corp team tried to save Asoka from losing his leg, there was nothing else could be done to save it, and his right leg below the knee was amputated. Asoka lost his leg and his family in a matter of months. Mr. Braymer played an important part of Asoka life while he was going through hardship at such a young age. Mr. Braymer continued to work in American Samoa for 2 years, and continued to be a mentor to little Asoka. Eventually Mr. Bob Braymer's time in American Samoa was coming to an end, and he decided to arrange for little Asoka to return to the States with him. Mr. Braymer with Asoka in tote left Asoka homeland and moved to San Antonio, Texas. After two years and no contact with Asoka family, Mr. Braymer and his wife adopted him.

Although Asoka was removed from his native land when he was young, he still remembers life in his village in American Samoa. He's determined to keep as much of his Samoan culture as possible. He was become Americanized and has somewhat oppressed some memories of his life on the island due to his circumstances as a child.

Geography

American (Amerika) Samoa is a group of seven Polynesian islands in the South Pacific: five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island). Fourteen degrees below the equator, it's the United States' southern-most territory. It's known as the heart of Polynesia. Western Samoa is a neighboring independent country that's shares the same culture. Approximately 64,000 people live on the small stretch of islands, most inhabiting the main island of Tutuila.

History

American Samoa, according to the archaeological research, was settled by Polynesians migrating from Fiji about 3,000 years ago. Until the arrival of the colonizing powers, the main island of the territory; Tutuila was under the jurisdiction of chiefs. The Dutch navigator Jacob Roggeveen was the first European to sight the islands of American Samoa in 1722. In 1899, the three rival powers in the region; Germany, Britain, and the United States signed a treaty under which the United States took possession of the seven islands which form American Samoa today. Germany annexed the western part of Samoa. For more than 50 years, the territory was used as a strategic foothold in the Southern Hemisphere, and it was placed under the jurisdiction of the US Navy. It was transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1951. Today, it's the main processing site for the American tuna fishing fleet in the Pacific Ocean (The World Fact book website, 2005).

Government

American Samoa is an unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States. American Samoa has a unique status as an American possession in the Pacific. The inhabitants are American "nationals" but not American "citizens". They can travel and work freely in the United States; however they can not vote in the Federal election. People from Western Samoa must apply to become permanent U.S. residents; American Samoan people don't have to go through this process. Their executive branch of government consists of a governor, and a lieutenant governor. Both are elected for a four-year term. The legislative assembly; the fono, is a mixture of traditional and western political systems. The senate consists of 18 traditional chiefs, or matai, chosen for four years by their country councils, while 20 members of the House of Representatives

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