Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — An article looking at deep-sea mining (DSM) and how decisions about the ocean are made for American Samoa focusing on the Deeds of Cession of 1900 and 1904 and how decisions about our ocean are still connected to those agreements has recently been published in the International Journal for Public Policy, Law and Development (Vol. 3, Issue 1).

The new article is by Dan Aga, and titled, “Structural Gaps in Deep-Sea Mining Governance: American Samoa and the Territorial Public Law Framework.”  Tapaau Dr. Dan Aga is the former executive director of the ASG Office of Political Status, Constitutional Review, and Federal Relations.

The article looks at deep-sea mining (DSM) and how decisions about the ocean are made for American Samoa. It explains that there are gaps in the current system, especially in how environmental risks and major decisions are handled.

It further focuses on the Deeds of Cession of 1900 and 1904, and that these are the agreements that created the relationship between the Samoan people and the United States. The article shows that today’s decisions about the ocean are still connected to those agreements.

According to the author, this is important because the Deeds include promises to protect Samoan land, culture, and the well-being of the people.

The article asks whether current decisions are consistent with those original commitments.

The publication comes as more people are talking about the Deeds of Cession, especially with Flag Day 2026 looming on April 17. A public poll is also found on samoanews.com to understand how people see the Deeds today and whether they are still important.

The full article is available can be found on:

International Journal for Public Policy, Law and Development

You can mark your ballot in this week’s poll: What do the Deeds of Cession represent to you? OUR HISTORY / A LEGAL DOCUMENT / BOTH / NOT SURE — on our website — www.samoanews.com

Upcoming polls in following weeks include:

• Do you think the Deeds of Cession are important today?

  YES / NO / NOT SURE

• Should the meaning of the Deeds be more widely shared or taught?

YES / NO / NOT SURE