THE FA’A SAMOA CULTURE IS OVER 3000 YEARS OLD AND a staple of samoan heritage. MYTHs AND LEGENDS tell tales of how THEY DESCENDED FROM THE GODS AND HEAVENS TO live on earth on THE ISLANDS.  samoans are a seafaring people who made their way across the pacific in canoes using the stars to guide them.  over the millenia samoa strengthened its ties with its neighbors fiji and tonga in the south pacific, and european and american settlers would begin exploring what they called the navigator islands.  in 1830 reverend john williams landed in samoa and the christian faith began to be interwoven into the fa'a samoa way of life and polynesian heritage.

in 1899 after years of civil war, the islands were divided into german territory to the west and what is now known as american samoa to the east.  in june of 1919 warren terhune was appointed governor of american samoa. during his time as governor he was the face of several controversies, many involving economic issues like tax revenue. Other issues stemmed from race, like revising restrictions on intermarriages between whites and ethnic samoans; controversy erupted when he banned marriages between navy sailors and Samoan natives.  During this time my grandmother, siniva mafa yandall, met my grandfather who was an irish american sailor and they had plans to marry.  his mother was outraged by their union and wrote the governor to relocate her son because he was due to marry a "savage".  he was sent out of samoa and They were never in contact again.
   
my mother never knew this until she recieved a letter from my grandmother dated 8-25-1969 and sent from her fall retreat in ensanada. my mother always was led to believe that her father was charles ambrose meade. when she contacted my grandmother for more details, she replied "i've told you all you need to know-that man got me pregnant, but he is not your father." the letter was put away and not shared with anyone until i started researching my samoan heritage just a few years ago.