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Written by Staff Writer
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NYC Polynesian Count
Data possibly skewed
We received some comments, which are highly welcomed, about our NYC report. We quote:
"As any Polynesian knows when filling out forms, they always ask your
ethnicity. The box always reads Asian/Pacific Islander. It
is at this moment that we ask ourselves, "is that me?" Some of
can safely say yes. The Ah Sus, the Wongs, the Ah Mus, etc.
Any Samoan who somewhere in their ancestry can trace one of their
progenetors to Asia. But, what of the Samoans who if there
is an early non-Samoan progenetor they were of German or English
descent. Then, this form fails to capture accurate data."
Yes, we have all filled out this form from time to time. But, it
appears that the census bureau took this into consideration. As we pulled up the actual census form it was clear that the Feds broke up each ethnicity into their own category.
Samoans are the second most numerous group of Polynesians in the US
As we looked into further into the cesus report We found some
more interesting facts about Samoans in the US. About 1 out of
every 4 Pacific Islander in the US is a Samoan (22.5%.)
Only Native Hawaiians are more
numerous than Samoans. As a result, Samoans have their own
category on the census form.
Other facts of interest are that Samoan households average 4.43
persons. The family income is around $41,000, and about 1/3 of
the Samoan households own their house.
Source: Census Report 2000
Other Forms
This reader, who requested to remain annonymous, had a good
point. Since, many Federally funded programs which attempt to
help Pacific Islanders, allot funds to certain programs according to
ethnicity. Then, If these programs continue to inclue Asian with
Pacific Islander, the programs may not be helping the Pacific Islanders
as intended because the Pacific Islander population is significantly
smaller that the Asian population.
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