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American Samoa

American (Amerika) Samoa is a group of six Polynesian islands in the South Pacific. Fourteen degrees below the equator, it is the United States' southern-most territory. It is known as the heart of Polynesia. If you drew a triangle from Hawaii, New Zealand and Tahiti you would find Samoa in the middle. Western Samoa is a neighboring independent country that shares the same culture. American Samoa became an unorganized U.S. territory in 1900. The Samoas arguably represent the largest population of polynesian people and they take pride in a strong culture that has survived outside incursions amazingly well.