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Program to highlight ‘Samoan Exiles on Saipan’ next month
A nearly forgotten chapter of local history will be highlighted during an upcoming public program hosted by the Northern Marianas Humanities Council next month.
“Samoan Exiles on Saipan, 1909-1915,” scheduled for June 17-20, will explore the events and personalities associated with the exile of 10 Samoan chiefs and their families to Saipan during the German administration.
Samoan exiles aboard the German warship SMS Jaguar in April 1909 just before departing for Saipan. Included in this photo are Lauaki Namulau’ulu Mamoe, standing with staff, and Iiga Pisa, seated at far left. (National Library of New Zealand)
The program will feature public presentations, the dedication of historical markers, oral history interviews, and a special ceremony hosted by Saipan’s Samoan community.
There will be two presentations. The first, scheduled for the evening of Thursday, June 18, will feature a talk by Dr. Malama Meleisea covering the Mau a Pule. Meleisea is the director of the Center for Samoan Studies at the National University of Samoa.
The second presentation, scheduled for the evening of Friday, June 19, will focus on the youngest of the exiled chiefs, Iiga Pisa, who gained fame by undertaking a 120-mile voyage from Saipan to Guam in a traditional Samoan paddling canoe. This presentation will be made by a senior representative of the late chief’s family.
Both presentations start at 6pm at the Visitors Center Theater, American Memorial Park. They are free and open to the public.
The program will also include the dedication of two interpretive signs marking sites associated with the exile’s six-year stay on Saipan; one just north of Lower Base and the second at Agingan Beach.
Activities will conclude with a special ceremony on June 20 hosted by members of Saipan’s Samoan community who have been planning the event in conjunction with the Humanities Council for the past few months.
A longer-term goal of the program is the preparation of a booklet that provides a history of the exiles that may be used by the Public School System and Northern Marianas College.
This booklet will include information from both written and oral historical sources and illustrated with period photographs. The council hopes to complete this publication by early next year.
For more information about this upcoming program check the council’s website at www.northernmarianashumanities.org or call Council staff at 235-4785. (NMI Humanities Council)
