Micronesian Americans

Last updated
Micronesian American
Total population
21,596 (2020 census estimate). [1]
Regions with significant populations
Pacific American Islands (Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and Hawaii), West Coast (Southern California and Portland, Oregon), Texas, Kansas City (Missouri) and Central Florida (in an area that extends from Orlando to Tampa and Clearwater)
Languages
English  · Chuukese  · Pohnpeian  · Yapese  · Kosraean  · Spanish
Religion
Protestantism (majority) and Catholicism (minority)
Related ethnic groups
English people  · other American groups of Micronesian origin (Chamorro, Palauan, Marshallese)

Micronesian Americans are Americans who are descended from people of the Federated States of Micronesia. According to the 2020 US Census, a total of 21,596 residents self-identified as having origins in the country, which consists of four states. More than half of these residents identified their origin as Chuuk State (12,464) with the rest as follows: 4,918 people from Pohnpei, 2,066 from Yap, and 2,148 people from Kosrae. [1]

Contents

History

Beginning in the early 1970s when the Pell Grant was extended, several hundred people from Micronesia (including both the Federated States of Micronesia and the other Micronesian island groups) emigrated yearly to the United States to attend college. [2] By the late 1970s, many Micronesians were emigrating to Guam and the rest of the U.S. with the intention of establishing a permanent residence there. [2] By 1980, several hundred people from the FSM were already residing in the U.S., with most of them being Outer Island Yapese. [2] They did not want to return to their country and did not want to settle in Yap, where they lacked social status and where land was scarce. [2]

In 1986, Micronesians obtained the right to live and work in the U.S. permanently, thanks to the Compact of Free Association covering the FSM, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau. [2] At first, the Micronesian emigrants to the U.S. under the compact were heavily Chuukese, with most of them settling in Guam and Saipan. [2] When both of these islands experienced recession in the early 1990s, Micronesians increasingly headed for Hawaii. [2] Micronesian migration to the U.S. increased significantly in the mid-1990s when compact funding for the FSM and the RMI decreased. [2]

Demography

In 2006, an article in the Micronesian Counselor estimated that over 30,000 Micronesian citizens were living in the United States and, and that one in four Micronesians were living in the U.S. or its territories. [2] However, in the 2010 U.S. census, only 8,185 U.S. residents said they were descended from the FSM. [3] This number increased to 21,596 in the 2020 census. [1]

About 1,200 people migrate yearly from the FSM to the U.S. to seek work and give their children a better education. [4]

Most US Micronesians live in the Pacific American Islands (Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and Hawaii). But many also live in southern California (such as San Diego or Pasadena), Portland, Oregon, Texas (Corsicana, mostly from Chuuk State), and Central Florida (where Micronesians, mostly Pohnpeians, are scattered across an area that extends from Orlando to Tampa and Clearwater). The Micronesian population is also increasing rapidly in other places in the United States, such as in Kansas City, Missouri, where the majority of the Micronesians are of Pohnpeian origin. [2]

Another large concentration of Micronesians exists in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas. The Pohnpeian population (including outer islands which are part of the state of Pohnpei) in these areas has been estimated between 5,000 to 7,000. Evidence of the vast Pohnpeian population in this area can be seen at the yearly softball tournament held in Neosho, Missouri, which is also a sister city of Kolonia, Pohnpei. A few Marshallese also live in northwest Arkansas (numbered in the thousands). Small Micronesian communities also live in places such as Miami, Oklahoma, where there are Chuukese in the hundreds, and Morristown, Tennessee, with a rapidly growing population of over 1,000 as of 2020.

The Micronesians living in the United States have created networks to unite all Micronesian families living in the areas in which they live and give him their support. This occurs in many parts of the country. Being mostly Protestant, networks generally rely on churches, that often profess the Protestant religion. However, these facilitates place heavy emphasize on the sports and recreation of its members rather than religious teachings. The relationship between the Micronesians in these networks makes life easier in the United States. [2] In addition to Protestants there is a minority of Catholic Micronesians in the U.S. So, according to the Chuuk Reform Movement website (a Chuuk chain, whose aimed at improving the life of this ethnic group in the United States), in May 2009 was ordained a priest of permanent way the Father Bruce Roby, in the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, being the first Catholic priest from the FSM on permanent assignment in the United States. [5]

Organizations

Many Micronesians live in southern California, where they have, at least, an association: The Micronesian Association of Southern California (Mascal), located in San Diego, to foster the relationship between the Micronesians residing in the United States. Furthermore, the association promotes educational opportunities, "career development" and establish some programs designed for promote the social awareness and services for its members. [6]

Notable people

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federated States of Micronesia</span> Country in Oceania

The Federated States of Micronesia, or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Micronesia, a subregion of Oceania. The federation consists of four states—from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae—that are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise around 607 islands that cover a longitudinal distance of almost 2,700 km (1,700 mi) just north of the equator. They lie northeast of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, south of Guam and the Marianas, west of Nauru and the Marshall Islands, east of Palau and the Philippines, about 2,900 km (1,800 mi) north of eastern Australia, 3,400 km (2,100 mi) southeast of Japan, and some 4,000 km (2,485 mi) southwest of the main islands of the Hawaiian Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Federated States of Micronesia</span> Historical development of the Federated States of Micronesia

The Federated States of Micronesia are located on the Caroline Islands in the western Pacific Ocean. The history of the modern Federated States of Micronesia is one of settlement by Micronesians; colonization by Spain, Germany, and Japan; United Nations trusteeship under United States-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; and gradual independence beginning with the ratification of a sovereign constitution in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of the Federated States of Micronesia</span>

Demographic features of the population of the Federated States of Micronesia include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects. The indigenous population of the Federated States of Micronesia, which is predominantly Micronesian, consists of various ethnolinguistic groups. English has become the common language. Population growth remains high at more than 3%, but is ameliorated somewhat by net emigration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micronesia</span> Subregion of Oceania

Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Polynesia to the east, and Melanesia to the south—as well as with the wider community of Austronesian peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands</span> US-administered UN trust territory (1947–1994)

The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. The Imperial Japanese South Seas Mandate had been seized by the US during the Pacific War, as Japan had administered the territory since the League of Nations gave Japan mandate over the area from Imperial Germany after World War I. However, in the 1930s, Japan left the League of Nations, and then invaded additional lands. During World War II, military control of the islands was disputed, but by the end of the war the islands had come under control of the Allies. The Trust Territory of the Pacific was created to administer the islands as part of the United States, while still under the auspices of the United Nations. Most of the island groups in the territory became independent states, with some degree of ties kept with the United States: the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau are today independent states in a Compact of Free Association with the US, while the Northern Mariana Islands remain under US jurisdiction, as an unincorporated territory and commonwealth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pohnpei</span> Island in Micronesia

Pohnpei is an island of the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group. It belongs to Pohnpei State, one of the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Major population centers on Pohnpei include Palikir, the FSM's capital, and Kolonia, the capital of Pohnpei State. Pohnpei is the largest island in the FSM, with an area of 334 km2 (129 sq mi), and a highest point of 782 m (2,566 ft), the most populous with 36,832 people, and the most developed single island in the FSM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palikir</span> Capital city of the Federated States of Micronesia

Palikir is the capital city of the Federated States of Micronesia located in the western Pacific Ocean. A town of slightly under 5,000 residents, it is part of the larger Sokehs municipality, which had a population of 6,647 as of 2010, out of the nation's total population of 106,487. It is situated on the northwest side of Pohnpei island, a high volcanic island surrounded by a fringing coral reef. Nearby to the northeast is the island's largest settlement, the coastal town of Kolonia. It was declared the capital of Micronesia in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of the Federated States of Micronesia</span> National flag

The flag of the Federated States of Micronesia was adopted on 30 November 1978. The blue field represents the Pacific Ocean. In an echo of U.S. heraldic practice, the stars represent the four federated states: Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae and Yap, arranged like the points of the compass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compact of Free Association</span> US-Micronesia-Marshall Islands-Palau agreements

The Compacts of Free Association (COFA) are international agreements establishing and governing the relationships of free association between the United States and the three Pacific Island sovereign states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau. As a result, these countries are sometimes known as the Freely Associated States (FASs). All three agreements next expire in 2043.

The Micronesians or Micronesian peoples are various closely related ethnic groups native to Micronesia, a region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They are a part of the Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, which has an Urheimat in Taiwan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Haglelgam</span>

John Richard Haglelgam is a Micronesian former politician who served as the second President of the Federated States of Micronesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuuk State</span> State in the Federated States of Micronesia

Chuuk State is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The other states are Kosrae State, Pohnpei State, and Yap State. It consists of several island groups: Namoneas, Faichuuk, the Hall Islands, Namonuito Atoll, Pattiw, and the Mortlock Islands. Chuuk is by far the FSM's most populous state, with 50,000 inhabitants on 120 square kilometers. Chuuk Lagoon is where most people live. Weno island, in the lagoon, is Chuuk's state capital and the country's biggest city. It may hold a referendum on independence in the near future, although this referendum has been repeatedly postponed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yap State</span> Constituent state of the Federation of Micronesia

The State of Yap is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia, located in the westernmost portion of the country. The state borders Palau to the southwest, Guam to the north, and Chuuk State to the east. According to the state's population census carried out in 2020, the total population is 11,577 residing across a total area of 119.54 sq km, though a large majority of the area is water. The only town area in the state, Colonia, serves as the state capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kolonia</span> Place in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia

Kolonia is a coastal town and the capital of Pohnpei State in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). It's not to be confused with the far smaller Colonia, the capital of the State of Yap. It was also the former FSM capital before being replaced by Palikir in 1989, located nearby to the southwest in the municipality of Sokehs. It has 6,074 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese Micronesians</span> Micronesians of Japanese descent

Japanese Micronesians, also Nikkei Micronesians or Micronesians of Japanese descent, refers to citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) who are of Japanese descent and are members of the Japanese global diaspora known as the Nikkei (日系).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in the Federated States of Micronesia</span> Overview of the status of women in the Federated States of Micronesia

Women in the Federated States of Micronesia are women who live in or are from the Federated States of Micronesia, an independent sovereign island nation composed of four states. Thus, FSM women includes women from the States of Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proposed Chuukese independence referendum</span> Scheduled independence referendum

An independence referendum for Chuuk State to secede from the Federated States of Micronesia was originally scheduled to take place in March 2015. However, it has been delayed three times and it is uncertain if it will take place. The most populous of the four states within the FSM, Chuuk has high levels of unemployment and there are long-standing tensions over the distribution of funding within the FSM. Other concerns include political power within the federation and the preservation of cultural identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health in the Federated States of Micronesia</span>

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that the Federated States of Micronesia are fulfilling 94.9% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to health based on its level of income. When looking at the right to health with respect to children, the Federated States of Micronesia achieve 97.1% of what is expected based on their current income. In regards to the right to health amongst the adult population, the country achieves only 91.9% of what is expected based on the nation's level of income. The Federated States of Micronesia fall into the "good" category when evaluating the right to reproductive health because the nation is fulfilling only 95.8% of what the nation is expected to achieve based on the resources (income) it has available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Federated States of Micronesia</span> Regional presence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Federated States of Micronesia refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The church's first known missionaries arrived on July 5, 1978. As of December 31, 2022, there were 5,966 members in 23 congregations in FSM. The LDS Church has congregations in every state in the FSM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Separatism in the Faichuk Islands</span> Political movement calling for autonomy for the Faichuk Islands.

The separatist movement in the Faichuk Islands is a political movement calling for autonomy and independence for the Faichuk Islands located in the state of Chuuk, in the Federated States of Micronesia, a federal country also made up of the states of Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rico, Brittany; Hanh, Joyce; Jacobs, Paul. "Detailed Look at Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Groups". US Census Bureau. United States Census. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Micronesians Abroad", Micronesian Counselor, published by Micronesian Seminar, authored by Francis X. Hezel and Eugenia Samuel, number 64, December 2006, retrieved 8 July 2013
  3. ↑ The Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Population: 2010 Census, 2010 Census Briefs, United States Bureau of the Census, May 2012
  4. ↑ "Far From the Pacific, Micronesians Increasingly Call Missouri Home", The World, Public Radio International, reported by Anna Boiko-Weyrauch, April 29, 2013, retrieved July 8, 2013
  5. ↑ Catholic Sentinel. Posted by Clarice Keating and Staff Writer, on July 7, 2010, to 11:22:00 AM. Retrieved 25 June 2013, to 13:05pm.
  6. ↑ The Micronesian Association of Southern California (Mascal) Archived 2013-12-15 at the Wayback Machine
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