#americansamoa

Woah, Momma! Have you met the famous coral head, Big Momma?

Thousands of miles west of the U.S. coastline and south of the Equator, resilient reefs thrive and super-sized corals, including Big Momma, grow within and around the protected waters of National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa. This living marine laboratory provides a better understanding of coral biology and may unlock secrets to how corals cope with changing ocean conditions.

Dive in to this living laboratory:

Parade of Nations – American Samoa

French: Samoa Américaines // English: American Samoa // Japanese: アメリカ領サモア (Amerikaryō Samoa)

    American Samoa formed its National Olympic Committee in 1987 and participated in its first Olympics as a country at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics. They haven’t hosted any Olympic Games, but they’ve participated in 8 Summer Games and 1 Winter Game. The Olympic sports in which American Samoa has competed are Athletics (i.e. track and field, road running, racewalking, & cross country running), Boxing, Judo, Swimming, and Weightlifting.

Kimono Maker: Shiraki-Sensho/白木染匠

    “Samoa is divided into east and west; West Samoa is a ‘Samoa independent country,’ while East Samoa is still an American territory. I aimed for a graphical work with the national flag as a motif. This graphical design is a difficult technique to draw with a hand-painted Yuzen, hand-threaded, gold leaf, and embroidery. It’s a wonderful work with design ability and technical ability to reproduce it.”[1]

Obi Maker: Rakuyo Orimono Co., Ltd. /洛陽織物

    “In American Samoa, there are two traditional dyeing and weaving methods using barkcloth called ‘shiapou.’ This time, it was constructed based on the handwriting method called Mamanu, which was dyed and woven by a local Shiapou artist. Motif is often used in design at Shiapou. It’s a design that incorporates various local animals and plants into the lattice.” [1]

Bibliography

Source 1 – Kimono Project for American Samoa

(https://kimono.piow.jp/nation/156.html)

UrbanNesian American Samoa Tees and Decals available at Shopurbannesian.com

It's a bird... it's a plane... it's a FLOOF!

Well, it's actually a bird. This white, fluffy chick, known as a red-footed booby, can be found in National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa.

Dive into https://americansamoa.noaa.gov/ to explore the science and research, marine life, and cultural heritage going on in this special place.