Hosted by ANA Pacific Region TTA Center
Wednesday, May 25, 2022 9:00 am HST
In celebration of AANHPI Heritage Month, this webinar features three trailblazing leaders in the Samoan community who make great efforts to keep the language alive both in Samoa and in the various Samoan diaspora communities across the U.S. The Samoan language has a unique context among the Native languages that ANA supports; Samoans live in every U.S. state, with more than 200,000 Samoans living on the continental U.S. (vs. 49,710 in American Samoa). This diaspora often loses their language fluency with each generation born away from home, but there exists a network of Samoan language programs revitalizing culture and community in more than 10 states.
Our guests will speak on topics including: a glimpse into the history of Samoan language and culture; the importance of language learning as a determinant of the social, mental, and physical health of Samoan families; the prevalence of Samoan populations across all regions of the U.S.; and various Samoan language continuity programs that exist across the country.