Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A message posted on social media is criticizing the grant award that the Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior Katherine MacGregor announced during her American Samoa Flag Day speech on April 17, 2026. The award of $270,000 she said is to the American Samoa Government specifically for education and outreach on critical issues, including deep-sea minerals.

The message was posted by Ti’a Reid, as a member of the community, and not as Chair of the American Samoa Democratic Party. He said that he is highly concerned about the impact of deepsea mining, and does not belong to any particular environmental group, but supports groups such as Puipui Measina, Finafinau, Faasao Amerika Samoa, and Pacific Island Heritage Coalition, who are committed to local environmental concerns and are alliances taking action for our island’s future.

The poster-message, “NOT WORTH $270K” — is self-explanatory, and criticism of the message is noted in a Letter to the Editor (April 25, 2026) from the American Samoa Republican Party that Samoa News is publishing in today’s issue (see in Editorial section).

The ASRP LTE points out that “…Despite claims by some opponents that this grant is merely a vehicle to promote the Trump Administration’s agenda rather than provide genuine information, the reality is that transparent education is essential for our community to make informed decisions based on facts, not fear.”

Samoa News reached out for comment from Congresswoman Amata about the local Republican Party’s support of deepsea mining, which is in opposition to her public statements on the issue.

Amata replied in a statement: “I have been opposed to seabed mining in the waters that surround American Samoa, since the start of this process by the federal government over a year ago.

I submitted comments to the Interior Department in opposition during the public comment period last year and have made similar comments in opposition at congressional committee hearings.

It is healthy to disagree with your party at times and this is one of those times – I put the people first and party second. That is why I consistently ranked as one of the most bipartisan members of Congress according to the Bipartisan Index produced by the Lugar Center. I make my own decisions, and I stand with our people.

The ocean that surrounds American Samoa belongs to the people of American Samoa – it is our heritage.”

The local public debate over deepsea mining is taking place across the Pacific — including the Cook Islands, and US territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI) — with opposition directed toward the untested nature of deepsea mining, the seeming lack of revenue paid to territorial governments in exchange for these minerals, and the federal government’s lack of meaningful engagement with territorial communities and leaders.

Of note: Unlike states, territories do not have automatic claim on revenues generated by offshore mining in U.S. exclusive economic zones.

The Center for American Progress (CAP) in its article, Why Alaska and U.S. Territories Get Damage, Not Dollars, From Deep-Sea Mining, states that “indigenous leaders have identified the Trump administration’s approach as ‘resource colonialism’. This is a model in which extraction proceeds, profits flow outward, and Indigenous peoples and local communities are left with permanent ecological damage and no economic return.”