Amerika Samoa

Amerika Samoa, a temporary exhibition in the Regenstein Halls of the Pacific, will transport visitors to American Samoa with the help of co-curators, Reggie Meredith Fitiao and Su’a Uilisone Fitiao of Fa’asamoa Arts, a nonprofit art studio and gallery based in Leone, American Samoa. 

Amerika Samoa will highlight two art forms: siapo mamanu (painted barkcloth) and tatau (tattoo). Visitors will learn about the technical aspects of these artistic practices, as well as their cultural importance and meaning, showing that siapo and tatau are more than art forms — their designs and patterns are records of traditions, identity, and connection to the land and ocean. The exhibition will show how traditional patterns represent Samoan identity, values, and history.

Each practice is presented through contemporary works, curated with assistance from the Chicago community. In July 2025, Fa’asamoa Arts held two workshops at the Field Museum. Members of Chicago’s Samoan community—as well as museum visitors and staff—were able to contribute in the creation of a large siapo mamanu for the exhibition, and restored a 19th-century outrigger canoe. Meredith Fitiao, along with her team, coordinated the siapo design while also demonstrating bark cloth beating and sharing the cultural significance of ancestral patterns and motifs with the Chicago community.