La primera ola de inmigrantes samoanos llegó a Seattle después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Muchos de los recién llegados habían trabajado en la base naval de Pago Pago, capital de la Samoa Americana, que cerró al finalizar la guerra. Los inmigrantes posteriores se unieron a los miembros de sus familias ya establecidos para tener mejores oportunidades educativas y ocupacionales. Los primeros inmigrantes a la región establecieron iglesias, a menudo siguiendo las líneas familiares, que proporcionaban apoyo y mantenían las tradiciones culturales para la comunidad creciente. Los activistas y líderes samoanos crearon programas y centros comunitarios para honrar y preservar la cultura samoana y para luchar contra los problemas continuos de desempleo, pobreza, crimen, y las altas tasas de deserción escolar entre la juventud samoana, debido en parte a la falta de capacitación en el idioma inglés para quienes hablaban la lengua samoana. El Centro Samoano de Seattle (Seattle Samoan Center) y la Fuerza de Tareas Educativas Samoana (Samoan Educational Task Force) se fundaron en la década del 70, y la primera filial de la Asociación de Padres, Maestros y Alumnos para Samoanos e Isleños del Pacífico se formó en 2000. La comunidad valora a sus atletas y apoya con gran empeño la Liga Samoana de Cricket (Samoan Cricket League). En 1993 el primer "Aso Mo Samoa" o Día de la Comunidad Samoana celebró la cultura de Samoa con danzas populares, canciones, comida de las islas, vestimentas y ceremonias tradicionales, y un torneo de cricket. Esta comunidad resistente y apasionada sobrevivió la desatención del gobierno municipal y la desunión interna para emerger como una vibrante comunidad étnica en el sudeste de Seattle y en West Seattle. En el año 2000 unos 8,000 Samoanos Americanos vivían en el estado de Washington, con un 80 por ciento residiendo en los condados King y Pierce.
Comunidad samoana (Seattle)
- By Kathleen Kemezis
- Posted 11/29/2010
- HistoryLink.org Essay 9646
Sources:
David B. Berrian, "The Samoan Community in Seattle: A Needs Assessment," 1980, City of Seattle, Department of Human Resources; Max Boot, The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power (New York: Basic Books, 2002).Hilda Bryant, “The Northwest’s Newest Immigrants,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 13, 1981, p. B1-2; Cassie Chinn, “Narrative Report: Asian Pacific Islander Americans in Southeast Seattle,” manuscript dated December 15, 2009, The Wing Luke Asian Museum, Seattle, Washington; George Foster, “Samoa Comes to S. Holly St. (Taamu Faiumu became chief),” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 1, 1975, p. A-5; Shalin Hai-Jew, “Immigrant Workers Present Benefits and Challenges: E.O.C. Holds Workshop For Employees,” Northwest Asian Weekly, October 13, 1995, p. 6; J. J. Jensen, "Pasefika Helps Celebrate Pacific Islanders' Heritage," The Seattle Times, August 13, 2004, p. E-2; Kathleen Kemezis telephone interview with Pastor Washington Talaga, November 19, 2010, Seattle; Lydia Ruth Dougherty Kotchek, “Adaptive strategies of an invisible ethnic minority, the Samoan population of Seattle, Washington” (Ph. D. diss., University of Washington, 1975); Lynn Kruse, “Focus on Samoans,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 1, 1975, p. A-4; Phuong Cat Le, “A Swinging Sport for the Whole Family,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 18, 2001; Barbara Burns McGrath, “Seattle Fa'a Samoa (Samoans in Seattle, Washington),” The Contemporary Pacific Vol. 14, No. 2 (Fall 2002); John J. Reddin, “Nationality Groups Are Vital Segments in Seattle’s Progress,” The Seattle Sunday Times, October 23, 1960, p 18; John J. Reddin, “Small Fia Fia Ends Up with 120 Outdoors,” The Seattle Times, April 11, 1961, p. A; Fiasili Savusa, “Leo O Tupulaga Samoa: Voices of Samoa Raised for Change,” International Examiner, April 21-May 4, 2004, p. 8; Carol Simmons, “The South Pacific Islander Program Celebrates Its History,” Northwest Asian Weekly, July 10, 1993, p. 6; “Helping Samoan Students Beat Odds," The New York Times, July 29, 1992 (http://www.proquest.com.ezproxy.spl.org:2048/); James Tabafunda, “Betty Patu, An Educator Who Won’t Give Up,” Northwest Asian Weekly, December 5-11, 2009, p. 3; David A. Takami, Shared Dreams: A History of Asians and Pacific Americans in Washington State (Seattle: Washington Centennial Commission, 1989); Lornet Turnbull, "Statistics Often Cover Up Pacific Islanders' Plight," The Seattle Times, May 12, 2007, p. B-1; Frank Vinluan, “PTSA May Be First Based on Ethnicity -- Dropout Rate Concerns Pacific Islander group,” The Seattle Times, August 24, 2000, p. B-1; Karen West, “Fairview Space is Sought for Samoan Center,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 26, 1978, p. B-1.
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