Samoan New Zealanders

Samoan New Zealanders are Samoan immigrants in New Zealand, their descendants, and New Zealanders of Samoan ethnic descent. They constitute one of New Zealand's most sizeable ethnic minorities. In the 2013 census, 144,138 New Zealanders identified themselves as being of Samoan ethnicity with 50,658 stating that they were born in Samoa, and 636 stating that they were born in American Samoa.[1]

Samoan New Zealanders
Total population
144,138 (2013)
Languages
English, Samoan
Religion
Christianity

History

Overview

The country of Samoa (distinct from American Samoa) has a unique historical relationship with New Zealand, having been administered by New Zealand from 1914 to 1962.

Notable levels of Samoan migration to New Zealand began in the 1950s. In the 1970s, Samoan illegal immigrants were the targets of notorious "dawn raids" by the police, which led to accusations of ethnic bias in tackling illicit immigration. That same decade, some Samoan New Zealanders joined the newborn Polynesian Panthers, an organisation dedicated to supporting Pacific Islander New Zealanders, for example by providing information on their legal rights.[2] The number of Samoan-born residents in New Zealand doubled to over 24,000 during the 1970s.[2]

In 1982, a number of Samoan-born residents were granted citizenship with the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act. Samoan immigration in New Zealand has subsequently been regulated by quotas. Since 2002, 1,100 Samoans are granted entry each year.[2]

Demographics

The 1874 census recorded 6 Samoans in New Zealand. Numbers have increased steadily ever since, to 279 in 1936, 1,336 in 1951, 19,711 in 1976, 24,141 in 1981, and 47,118 in 2001.[1]

A majority of New Zealanders of Samoan ethnicity today are New Zealand-born.[2] At the 2013 census, 62.7 percent of Samoan New Zealanders were born in New Zealand. Of the overseas-born population, 84 percent had been living in New Zealand for at least five years, and 48 percent had been living in New Zealand for at least 20 years.[3]

Two-thirds (66.5 percent) of Samoan New Zealanders live in the Auckland Region, with 15.5 percent living in the Wellington Region, 10.9 percent elsewhere in the North Island and 7.1 percent in the South Island. Just under 94 percent live in a main urban area (i.e. population 30,000 or more). Of those living in Auckland, 50.8 percent live in the Mangere-Otahuhu, Otara-Papatoetoe and Manurewa local board areas.[3]

At the 2013 census, 63.8 percent of Samoan New Zealanders were in the labour force, of which 15.3 percent were unemployed. The large employment industries of Samoans were manufacturing (17.3 percent), health care and social assistance (9.1 percent), and retail trade (8.7 percent).[3]

Culture

In 2001, 64% of ethnic Samoan New Zealanders were able to speak the Samoan language.[4] Samoan is the third most-spoken language in New Zealand, behind English and Maori.[5]

Samoan cultural values, the "Samoan way of life" (fa‘asamoa), are reportedly retained particularly by elderly members of the community, and include respect and mutual help within the extended family (‘aiga), as well as fa‘alavelave (ceremonial and family obligations), and attendance at a Christian church.[4] In 2013, 83.4 percent of Samoans affiliated with at least one religion, compared with 55.0 percent for all New Zealanders.[3]

Traditional tattooing (tatau) is embraced by some Samoan New Zealanders, both men and women, as an expression of cultural identity.[6]

Samoans have contributed significantly to New Zealand culture in the fields of art, music, literature and sport.[7]

Notable Samoan New Zealanders
Tana Umaga, of the All Blacks
Scribe (rapper)

Arts

Sports

All Blacks (past & present)

General

Politics

See also

References
  1. "Samoans: Facts and Figures". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  2. "Samoans: History and migration". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  3. "Population and geography – 2013 Census ethnic group profiles: Samoan". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  4. "Samoans: Life in New Zealand". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  5. "French: People and culture". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  6. Susana Talagi (8 April 2008). "Sacred marks identify Samoans". Fairfax New Zealand. Archived from the original on 28 April 2008.
  7. "Samoans: Contributions to New Zealand". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
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