ABSTRACT
This chapter examines what has happened to Samoa over the last few decades in terms of migration and remittances as well as examining how these changes have altered Samoan culture, particularly traditional gift exchanges. There is a Samoan community in Colorado Springs composed largely of American Samoans who served in the US military. Samoans have become a truly transnational population. A part-Samoan trader was a central figure in the village economy, and the church's Samoan pastor was a key individual in the village's religious life. Remittances are a pillar of the Samoan economy and have helped increase family and individual incomes by at least 20-fold since the 1960s. The National University of Samoa is a centre for Samoan scholarship and the teaching of Samoan culture. Tourism has also arrived, with Samoans living abroad making up a large percentage of the visitors.
