American Samoa Flag

Description

The American Samoa flag is available from Flags Online in full-size and desk formats, printed on both sides and made to last outdoors.

About the American Samoa Flag

The American Samoa flag sets an American bald eagle against a deep red triangle, a combination that captures the territory’s dual identity as both a Pacific island group governed under Samoan custom and an unincorporated territory of the United States. It is one of the few American flags to place a bald eagle alongside symbols drawn entirely from local tradition rather than European heraldry. The result reads immediately as American in its colour scheme while remaining unmistakably Samoan in its detail.

Colours and Symbolism

Red, white and blue were chosen deliberately to echo the United States flag and signal American Samoa’s constitutional relationship with the mainland. At the centre of the American Samoa flag, a bald eagle grips two traditional objects of Samoan chiefly authority: a fue, a fly-whisk carried by orators, and a to’oto’o, a carved staff used in formal ceremony. Together they represent the fa’a Samoa, the Samoan way of life and its system of matai, or chiefly leadership, which continues to shape much of local custom and land tenure. The white border framing the red triangle adds a further nod to Samoan design tradition, which favours strong, simple contrasts.

History of the American Samoa Flag

American Samoa became a United States territory in the early twentieth century following an 1899 agreement that divided the Samoan islands between Germany and the United States, with the eastern islands falling under American administration. For decades the territory flew only the United States flag and had no official flag of its own. That changed in 1960, when local leaders and the territorial government introduced a flag combining American symbolism with Samoan cultural emblems, adopting it formally alongside a new territorial constitution. It has remained unchanged since.

Flying and Displaying the Flag

In American Samoa, the American Samoa flag is flown alongside the Stars and Stripes on government buildings, schools and at official ceremonies, with the United States flag typically given the position of precedence. Flag Day, marking the anniversary of the 1900 cession of Tutuila to the United States, is one of the territory’s major public holidays and sees the flag displayed widely across the islands. Because the design incorporates specific chiefly regalia, it is generally treated with the same respect given to ceremonial objects in Samoan custom, not merely as decoration.

American Samoa Flag Sizes and Pricing

• 180 x 120cm — R860
• 22 x 15cm Desk Flag (10 units) — R800
• 10 x 15cm Desk Flag (10 units) — R650
• 90 x 60cm — R400

Material and Construction

Made from 100% polyester bunting material and digitally printed on both sides. Hemmed all around with two rows of stitching and finished with a polyester webbing heading. Rope and toggle for hoisting included.

Supplied in packs of 10. Printed on both sides onto polyester and supplied with a black plastic stick and removable base — take the base off and it doubles as a hand waving flag.

Ordering and Delivery

Every American Samoa flag is printed to order and dispatched from our Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and Johannesburg branches, with courier delivery nationwide. Bulk and school orders are welcome — contact us for volume pricing on quantities of 10 or more.

Additional information