Samoana student represents territory at national agriculture conference

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Samoana High School student Mataio Suluai represented the territory at a three-day Intertribal Agriculture Council Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, December 12–14, 2023. He was chosen by the Intertribal Agriculture Council board to receive a full-paid trip scholarship to the prestigious national conference after participating in an annual essay contest.

The Native-founded Intertribal Agriculture Council’s (IAC) goal is to pursue and promote the preservation, development, and use of natural agricultural resources for the benefit of indigenous tribes.

“IAC's Annual Conference is for Tribal leaders, ranchers, farmers, producers, traditional food practitioners, youth and young professionals, and American Indian/Alaskan Native agribusiness owners and entrepreneurs seeking new markets or export expansion, plus USDA and other IAC partners. The three-day event offered solutions to collectively address historical and contemporary challenges in native American agriculture to increase economic opportunities for Tribal communities nationwide.”

All sessions and the native youth travel were supported by the US Department of Agriculture, the Office of Tribal Relations, the Native American Agriculture Fund, and several other organizations from across the nation. Mataio was chosen with forty other high school students from indigenous tribes around the country, and he was the only representative from a Pacific island. Mataio is the third youth leader from Finafinau to represent American Samoa at the Intertribal Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

As one of the winning essays, Mataio aimed to devise a strategy to leverage the Farm Bill to promote American Samoa's crop exports. The problems with American Samoa's deficiency in exports were the main topic of Mataio's essay. In this, he elaborated on the emphasis of the island’s bounty of resources to cultivate crops and improve the quality of life in his community. Mataio cites the farm bill as evidence that the benefits of the legislation might be used as a means of stimulating farming and advancing the island's economic development. 

Participants in the high school youth essay competition and members of indigenous tribes attended a luncheon when the 2023 Native Farm Bill update was discussed in the general session. Following the conference's second day, a youth track session featured presentations and workshops by Native tribal members and United States Department of Agriculture personnel on topics such as creating a resume, understanding what it takes to find work across the food system, developing a comprehensive strategy to advance the adoption of soil health systems, building capacity for processing meat and poultry, and everyday sustainable agriculture practices like making hot honey and traditional teas.

During the concluding day of the conference, presenters highlighted the chances for youth to engage in agricultural internships and for college professionals to serve as interns for IAC.

Mataio said, “I'm grateful to be part of Finafinau as I would not have had this opportunity to be the sole representative of my island at this prestigious conference. It was surreal to represent my island and share the efforts that our local environmental agencies and organizations are doing for the benefit of my community. I was proud to share my viewpoint in which I believe American Samoa is among the best locations for agriculture because of its excellent soil and plentiful water supply.” 

Mataio had the chance to discuss the problems impacting his neighborhood with USDA representatives and Native farmers. He also spoke on behalf of Finafinau, the nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Sabrina Suluai-Mahuka and advocates for land stewardship, environmental resilience, and youth leadership development.

In all, Mataio wants to use this experience and the new information he has learned to further his role as a young environmental Finafinau leader at the school and territory levels. 

Born in American Samoa, the Filipino- Samoan student and environmental champion is the vice president of the chapter at his school and treasurer of the national student council for Finafinau.