Flag Day in American Samoa Date in the current year: April 17, 2024

Samoans never used any kind of flag to represent their nation. They first began to utilize flags after the arrival of Europeans in the early 18th century, but the early history of Samoan flags is poorly documented.

In 1899, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States agreed to divide the Samoan Islands between Germany and the United States at the Tripartite Convention. The United States officially took control over the eastern part of the archipelago on April 17, 1900, and raised the American flag over Samoa.

The flag of the United States was used as the official flag of American Samoa from 1900 to 1960. As Samoans began to be more active in the local government, local leaders were invited to help the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry design a new territorial flag. The final design consisted of a red-edged white triangle with a bald eagle clutching a war club and fly-whisk, situated horizontally between two dark blue triangles.

Each element of the flag has a symbolic meaning. The colors red, white and blue are traditionally utilized by both Samoa and the United States. The bald eagle represents the United States, while a fly whisk and war club are traditional Samoan symbols, representing the wisdom of traditional leaders and the power of the government, respectively.

The flag of American Samoa was officially adopted on April 17, 1960 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the raising of the US flag over American Samoa. Its adoption anniversary is now celebrated as American Samoa Flag Day.