Pacific Islander Americans
Pacific Islander Americans (also colloquially referred to as Islander Americans) are Americans who are of Pacific Islander ancestry (or are descendants of the indigenous peoples of Oceania or of Austronesian descent). For its purposes, the United States census also counts Aboriginal Australians as part of this group.[2][3]
Not to be confused with Oceanian Americans.
Pacific Islander Americans make up 0.5% of the U.S. population including those with partial Pacific Islander ancestry, enumerating about 1.4 million people. The largest ethnic subgroups of Pacific Islander Americans are Native Hawaiians, Samoans, and Chamorros. Much of the Pacific Islander population resides in Hawaii, Alaska, California, Utah, and Texas.
Pacific Islanders may be considered Oceanian Americans, but this group may include Australians and New Zealander-origin people, who can be of non-Pacific Islander ethnicity. Pacific Islander Americans are often mixed with other races, especially European and Asian, due to Pacific Islanders being a small population in most communities in mainland U.S. For instance, most Hawaiian Americans are only part Hawaiian in ethnicity.
American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands are insular areas (U.S. territories), while Hawaii is a state.
Military[edit]
Based on 2003 recruiting data, Pacific Islander Americans were 249% over-represented in the military.[39]
American Samoans are distinguished among the wider Pacific Islander group for enthusiasm for enlistment. In 2007, a Chicago Tribune reporter covering the island's military service noted, "American Samoa is one of the few places in the nation where military recruiters not only meet their enlistment quotas but soundly exceed them."[40] As of March 23, 2009, there have been 10 American Samoans who have died in Iraq, and 2 who have died in Afghanistan.[41]
Pacific Islander Americans are also represented in the United States Navy SEALs, making up .6% of the enlisted and .1% of the officers.[42]