Expanding the plan to American Samoa causes cultural erasure

The government of American Samoa, however, recently filed a brief urging the court not to hear Fitisemanu, arguing that the constitutional separation between the states and the territories is essential to preserving fa’a Samoa, or the traditional Samoan way of life. The government worries that applying the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause to American Samoa would endanger the hereditary titles and land ownership essential to the matai system, potentially leading to the type of cultural erasure experienced by Native Hawaiians. These concerns raise an important question: How can we as a country address the racist logic found in the Insular Cases while ensuring that those efforts do not further harm indigenous communities or go against the wishes of those living in certain territories? I argue that the court should still overturn the Insular Cases, but this action must be accompanied by new political frameworks that support the self-determination of those living in US territories.