ne to bearing the consequences of decisions they had no say in, at a disproportional rate. American Samoa stands as the top US jurisdiction in terms of military recruitment, above any other state, territory, or free associated state of the US. As such, decisions by the US to go to war reverberate locally with disproportional casualty rates.
The fact that American Samoans are not American citizens stands as indicative of the territory’s history, its cultural idiosyncrasies, but also of its political, civil, and practical disadvantages. Like in the other territories, locals face the question of whether culture, traditions, and non-permanent autonomy have more value than integration; or on the other hand, if access to the world’s superpower is worth more than the risk of becoming independent. As they ponder, the reality stands that as territories they face a political disadvantage, and in American Samoa’s case, despite its inextricable patriotism and ties to the US, that extends to effectively being considered the last of the last: an unincorporated, unorganized territory, with no American citizens.