Thirty six Samoans and their families in Anchorage, Alaska have formed a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting and preserving the Samoan language, culture and arts in a far away corner of the world. 

The group - the “Alaska Samoan Community Corporation (A.S.C.)” - is a non-profit organisation endorsed by the Polynesian Association of Alaska (P.A.O.A) and prominent Samoan residents of Anchorage.

Among those to lend their support to the initiative include Pastor Matauaina “Moe” Tali, Mr. Robert Tofaeono, Ms. Lucy Hansen, Mr. Uluao Junior Aumavae, Mr. Enele Lefano, Mrs. May Levasa, Ms. Alofa Edwards, Ms. Janet Faafoi, Ms. Maddy Unutoa on the 11 December 2021.

Lusiana Fa'aneva Tuga-Hansen, C.E.O and Founder of the Pacific Association of Alaska, told the Samoa Observer that they see the A.S.C as a means of deepening bonds in the Samoan community. 

That too will mean the Pacific Association will give the A.S.C the right to handle matters concerning the Samoan population in Anchorage. Mrs. Hansen went to Alaska in 1985 and has been an active member of the Pacific Associations for at least 15 years.

The youngest Samoan member is the organisation’s C.E.O and founder, the 27-year-old Ms Maddy Unutoa.

Ms. Unutoa spoke passionately to the Samoa Observer about the supportive Pacific islander networks and their own local community of Samoans in Anchorage. Ms Unutoa is the eldest of 12 siblings.

Vaiomataimatu Maddy Unutoa said that she was concerned when she went to Alaska because her sons might lose touch with their culture and language. As a Samoan mother she was raised to believe that a village raises a child.

“ I wrote invitations to Samoan Communities here in Anchorage through various car clubs, churches, pastors, families, and friends. That led me to more Samoans in Anchorage I have not met before,” she said. 

“I reached out to the Polynesian Association of Alaska through their leader, Lucy Hansen, to seek their support as a sponsoring organisation for us as native Samoans in Alaska.

She also contacted other new non-profit organisations in the region formed to keep the flame of Pacific culture alive in an unlikely corner of the United States. 

In a statement, the organisation said Anchorage had visible ties to the Pacific Islands. But statewide, Alaska’s Pacific Islanders make up less than 2 percent of the state’s population, according to 2010 U.S. Census data. Nearly 12,000 Alaskans share Pacific Island heritage. Some 10,000 are Hawaiian, Samoan or Tongan in Anchorage alone. 

The motto of the organisation is taken after a famous Samoan song: “Lota Nu’u” (our beloved country). 

The organisation’s planning committee is soon looking forward to hosting its first annual event, a festival of Samoa’s Independence Day and a flag-day for America. The festival will recognise the oneness of American Samoa and Samoa itself. 

Membership includes Samoan Ministers and Pastors, Samoan high taking chiefs and high chiefs, prominent business owners and entrepreneurs.