2012 FLAG DAY ADDRESS
Governor Togiola Tulafono
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Veterans Memorial Stadium
Tafuna, American Samoa
americansamoa.gov
"...But if we have any pride, we must seek to change that political status. All other countries, major and minor, have changed their status so they can be truly self-governed with self-determination. We must have that (for) American Samoa."
Talofa Amerika Samoa. Happy anniversary. One hundred and twelve!
I offer greetings to your excellencies, dignitaries, the government representatives, members of the diplomatic corps in the Pacific Islands representing your respective governments, I welcome you to American Samoa and thank you for gracing our shores in this celebration with your presence. Fa’afetai tele.
Welcome to the Honorable Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Fatialofa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa; and also welcome to Assistant Secretary Anthony Babauta of the United States Department of the Interior, and Director of Insular Affairs Mr. Nikolao Pula. Talofa.
It is truly an honor to welcome His Highness Tupouto’a Ulukalala ’Aho’eitu - Crown Prince of Tonga. Thank you for joining us in this celebration. We welcome the Governor-General of Tuvalu Sir Iakoba Taei Italeli, and talofa to the Titular Head of Tokelau – Ulu o Tokelau, Le Aliki Faipule, Kerisiano Kalolo.
Greetings also to American Samoa’s representative in the U.S. Congress, the Honorable Faleomavaega Eni, U.S. military officials, invited guest and the people of American Samoa.
One hundred and twelve years ago, a couple of hundred people gathered on top of Sogelau Hill with a makeshift flagpole, and raised the United States flag over the islands of Tutuila and Aunu’u. It was not the first time the flag was raised as it was raised in 1872 and 1878. Then on April 17th 1900, it was raised again shortly after the signing of the Agreement of Cession. The agreement in its first part recites with no uncertainty, the action of the three major powers of the world; Germany, Great Britain and the United States of America. Where in 1899, they met in Berlin and executed the Berlin Treaty where they partitioned the sovereign nation of Samoa where they agreed that when they returned, all islands East of longitude 171 West of Greenwich would be under the control of the United States of America, and islands West of this line would be under the control of Germany.
We had no say. We had no agreement to be partitioned. We did not seek to be partitioned. We were a sovereign nation and the agreement does speak to that. It acknowledges that Samoa is a sovereign nation of its own. Since that time, our chiefs in Tutuila and Aunu’u, and four years later in Manu’a, have ceded the complete authority to legislate and control the islands to the United States Government.
So therefore, everything that we exercise today, we only exercise the power that is not ours; the power that belongs to someone else. That is why our forefathers thought to keep the agreement in an unorganized, unincorporated fashion. Perhaps that is why later generations of Samoans never sought to change the unorganized, unincorporated status.
For us, we have been too busy trying to define what those words meant. But we failed our duty as citizens to seek out the message and read between the lines what it meant. I think the time has come for us to do our duty and read between the lines. If we have been left unorganized and unincorporated for 112 years, I ask you, are you happy with that? Is that a political status that you would like your children to grow up in? I say this, life has been good. But if we have any pride, we must seek to change that political status. All other countries, major and minor, have changed their status so they can be truly self-governed with self-determination. We must have that American Samoa.
We cannot do that unless we do it for ourselves, and I say the time has come for us to rise up and determine for ourselves what it is that we want to do or self-determination will never come. Self-governance will not happen if we do not rise together and work together. You see, as I read more into the history of these agreements, Captain Benjamin Tilley in 1902 read it right and he promulgated the first, initial regulation that still lives today that said there shall be no alienation of communal and cultural land unless it is approved by the governor. Why did he seek to do that? Because he sought to read in between the lines the agreements in its most essential essence was that Samoa shall be preserved for Samoans. I believe that is the underlying essence of these agreements but we have failed to see it for all these years.
Captain Tilley saw it. And that regulation has become the law. It has been enacted by our own legislative enactments since that time. It was an effort to stop the rush to sell communal land to merchants and to people who were offering money. If that Captain had not seen the essence of that agreement and sought to do what he did, I dare say, American Samoa would not be what it is today. We would not have any land. We would not have the best of the lands that we have now. I say, it is time that we do our duty and rise up and make that determination for ourselves for no one else will.
The time is now and we must act. Let us have a great celebration today and let us have a moment to think about what it is that our forefathers left for us to do. Let us re-examine the essence of these agreements and do what our fore parents wanted us to do.
Soifua.
(Samoan version)
Lauga o le Sisiga Fu’a 2012
Afioga i le Kovana Sili o Amerika Samoa
Togiola T.A. Tulafono
Aso Lua, 17 Aperila 2012
Malae i Lupelele
Veterans Memorial Stadium
Tafuna, Amerika Samoa
Ua paia Lupelele. Ua paia le aso. Ua mamalu fo’i le fetalai mae’ae’a o le tu’ua o le saofiga – le tofa ia Afuola Nanai. Paepae ma teuteu fa’alaulelei sa ma faigata o lenei aso aua le paia o le Faleagafulu, aua le pa’ia o le Manu’a Tele, aua fo’i le tapua’iga a le usoga ia Pule ma Tumua. O pa’ia na o le atunu’usa o Samoa, o le a ou le toe au’ili’iliina, ae tau ia ina fa’apipii i ai lo’u leo fa’atauva’a.
Ou te fa’atulou atu ma fa’anoi atu - fa’aagafua ia le tulaga ma le leo ona o fuafuaga o lenei aso. Pa’ia o le Malo o Amerika Samoa i lona tafatolu tutusa, ou te fa’atulou atu. Pa’ia fo’i o ekalesia i ona fa’auluuluga ma ona ta’itai o lo’o tapua’ia le saogalemu ma le filemu o le atunu’u ma nounou manu aua le manuia o Amerika Samoa. Ou te fa’atulou. Fa’amalilie, aumaia se avanoa, tau ia ona ou fa’afeiloa’i atu e fai ma sui o le Malo ma le tatou atunu’u i a tatou malo fa’aaloalogia.
Fa’atalofa atu i lau afioga i le ali’i Palemia Tuila’epa Lupesoliai Fatialofa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi ma le au malaga, ae maise ai o le mamalu o Pule ma Tumua ua pa’au mai e fa’amamalu ma fa’amatagofie lenei aso - mai alalafaga, o outou olo sa o le atunu’u, ae maise ai o le malu o malo ua outou tilitili anuanu mai ona o le fa’atalau’ula atu a lenei itu o le atunu’u. Fa’afetai tele i lau afioga, malo le fai uso, faafetai le fa’aaloalo.
Fa’atalofa atu i le afio mai o lau afioga i le sui failautusi - greetings to Assistant Secretary Anthony Papauta of the United States Department of Interior. O le matagaluega o lo’o tatou fai pa’aga ia ma lau faigamalaga. O se tasi fo’i o alo o le atunu’u, le susuga ia Nikolao Pula o lo’o va’ava’a lua i le galuega. Talofa.
Fa’atalofa atu i le mamalu tele i le susu mai o lau susuga i le perenise fa’au’uina, lau susuga Tupouto’a Ulukalala ’Aho’eitu - Crown Prince of Tonga. Lau Afioga i le Kovana Senerale o Tuvalu, lau Susuga Italelei ma le faletua, ia o le a ou le fa’apapalagi atu aua e te malamalama lelei i le gagana Samoa. Talofa, afio maia. Le Aliki Faipule, lau afioga i le Ulu o Tokelau, malo tauasa, fa’afetai susu mai e fa’amamalu le matou aso, Lau Susuga Kerisiano Kalolo.
Fa’atalofa atu i lau tofa Faleomavaega Eni, o le sui filifilia o le atunu’u i le Konekeresi, ali’i ma ta’ita’i sinia o le vaega’au a le Malo Tele, le vala’aulia, ma le mamalu ma le pa’ia o tagatanu’u o Amerika Samoa. Fa’afetai tala’a’ao mai.
Amerika Samoa, selau sefulu ma le lua tausaga talu ai i luga o si mauga laitiiti e igoa ia Sogelau i le tala fa’atai o le taulaga i Fagatogo, a o fa’afeagai ma le uafu tele o lo’o i ai nei, sa faia ai le sauniga o le sainiga o le feagaiga o le tu’uina atu. Ina ua uma le sainia o lea feagaiga, sa tala a’e loa a’ao o le Kapeteni Benjamin Tilley ma le mamalu o le atunu’u sa vala’aulia ma sisiina a’e le tagavai o le Malo Tele o Amerika i le tulaga aloa’ia. E le o le taimi muamua lea na sisi a’e ai le fu’a a Amerika i totonu o Amerika Samoa po o Tutuila ma Manu’a. Sa sisi i le 1872 ina ua faia le feagaiga ma le afioga i le Ma’oputasi felagolagoma’i ma le Malo Tele. Sa toe sisi fo’i la i le 1878 ina ua toe osi fo’i leisi feagaiga ma le afioga i le Ma’oputasi ma le talafaatai o le taulaga mo le puipuiga a le Iunaite Setete.
Sa fa’apena ona aluma’i ae peita’i i le 1899, sa o mai fa’atasi malo e tolu - Peretania, Siamani ma le Iunaite Setete. Sa o i Perelini, Siamani sa fai ai le latou fono, ma fai ai le latou maliliega o le a o mai e vaevae Samoa. O le a vaevae Samoa.
O motu uma i le itu i sasa’e, o le laina 171 o le a tu’uese mai, mai totonu o le pule’aga fa’asamoa o le atunu’u e tasi. Sa fa’apena ona fai lea e ta’ua i le ta fegaiga. O le vaega muamua o le fegaiga a Tutuila ma Aunu’u o lo’o faamatalatalaina ai e fa’apea: “Ua uma ona matou vaevaea outou. O lea ua matou malilie e tu’u mai le itu lea i sasa’e i lalo o le pule’aga a le Malo a le Iunaite Setete, a o sisifo o le a tumau ia Siamani.”
Sa fa’apena ona fai ae peita’i sa le finagalo le Manu’a Tele e saini lea maliliega. Afe iva selau ma le fa (1904) Iulai 16 fa’ato’a sainia ai se maliliega mo Manu’a. Ae i lea fo’i feagaiga i lona ulutala, sa fa’amatalaina ai le mea na tupu i Perelini (1899): “Ua uma ona matou vaevaeina le atunu’u.” Ona fa’ato’a fai lea o le feagaiga i le vaega lua, o le tu’uina atu; Tu’uina atu ma le fa’amautuina o le pule e fai ai le tulafono ma le fa’atautaiga atoa o motu i sasa’e o Samoa. Selau sefulu ma le lua tausaga o Tutuila ma Aunu’u, selau sefulu ma le valu tausaga o motu o Manu’a. Mai ia tausaga uma, o lo’o tatou galulue i lalo o le ta’u “e le’i tu’ufa’atasia” - unorganized. E le’i tu’ua i totonu, unincorporated. O ia tu’ufa’atasiga ma ia fa’amaumauga o lea ua tatou tini taunu’u i le aso; selau sefulu ma le lua tausaga o tatou fa’afuata’ape ai lava ma le tu’uina ai i totonu.
O le a fa’apu’upuu a’u tala. O le fesili ou te fa’atula’ i lenei aso Amerika Samoa, o ‘e fiafia i lea tulaga? O le fesili lona lua, ua tatou malilie ea tatou o fa’asalalau ai lava fa’apea mo seisi selau sefulu ma le lua tausaga? I lo’u su’esu’e i nei maliliega Amerika Samoa, ua atagia mai ia te a’u le le mautu ona fa’ataunu’u o tatou tiute fa’atagata nu’u. O le fesili e sili ona taua, o le a le mea na finagalo ai o outou tua’a ma o tatou matua e tu’u ai fa’apea maliliega fa’apea? Tu’u ai fa’asalalau pe fa’afuata’ape ai pea, aua ne’i matua, filogia i totonu ae tatou feso’ota’i pea? Ua alu le selau sefulu lua tausaga o tatou taumafai e fa’amatala le uiga o upu ae o le mea ua tatou le faia i o tatou tiute faa’atagatanu’u, o le faitau le feau la e ta’u mai i totonu o upu ia. Ua alu uma le tatou taimi e fa’amatala le upu a ua galo le agaga o le maliliega ma le feagaiga.
O le mea lea ou te tula’i ai i lenei aso Amerika Samoa. Pe le ua o’o ea i le taimi e tatou va’ai i totonu o le agaga o ia feagaiga po o taunu’u pe leai? Pe tatou te o fa’asalalau ai fa’apea mo seisi selau ma sefulu lua tausaga? O le tatou tiute mo tupulaga lumana’i, saili, fa’atonu, fa’alelei, fa’amautu ina ia manuia tupulaga o lumana’i.
Ia soifua ma ia manuia le sisigafu’a o lenei tausaga. Soifua.
