For a territory with under 200 km2 of total dry land mass, land in American Samoa is at the center of culture and history. Unlike in the mainland United States, land is not an investment to be bought and sold freely. Rather, it is governed by a traditional tenure system, binding families and the traditions they hold to particular plots for centuries.
Nearly all land in the territory is held communally, and is occupied and held in accordance with family lines and village titles. A palagi (off-islander) arriving in Tutuila hoping to purchase a beautiful swath of the island’s beachfront property will be out of luck; by law, land in the territory cannot be conveyed to any person who is less than half Samoan by blood.
Perhaps the most visible manifestation of the connection between land and family is the traditional Samoan practice of burying ancestors on family land. Most homes in the territory are fronted by several elaborate graves—deceased relatives of the family that currently occupies the house.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation