Pipe Dreams, Pipelines: Militarization of American Samoa

At the Moment: Asian American News

Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians have historically been the most overrepresented demographic in the U.S. Military. This week, we speak with Gabby Langkilde, an American Samoan, about her experiences growing up near an army base and dealing with military recruitment in high school. Then, we discuss the military’s role in colonialism and citizenship, as well as the pitfalls of grouping Pacific Islander Americans with Asian Americans.

Our guest this week was Gabrielle T. Langkilde, an American Samoan and recent graduate from Harvard University with a degree in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her biweekly column “Pasefika” appeared in The Harvard Crimson in 2019 and 2020.

Mentioned in this episode (and more):

• “The Militarization of the Pacific” by Gabrielle T. Langkilde (The Harvard Crimson)
• Island of Warriors, from the docuseries America By The Numbers (PBS)
• “Why it’s time to retire the term ‘Asian Pacific Islander’” by Naomi Ishisaka (Seattle Times)

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