(a) Any person claiming succession to a matai title shall file with the Territorial Registrar a written claim of succession to the title.
(b) A claim must be accompanied by a certificate from the chiefs of the village to which the claimed title is attached to the effect that the matai title is an old and traditional title of the Samoan people, and a petition signed by 25 blood members of the title claimed. The blood members must be at least 18 years of age and residents of American Samoa at the time the petition is filed. The petition must state that a family meeting was called and held for the purpose of selecting a successor to the title in question, according to the traditions of the family. In the event the family does not have a sufficient number of members qualified as herein required to support the claim, the claimant shall so state in a signed affidavit.
(c) The Territorial Registrar, if not satisfied with the validity of information offered in the petition, shall require proof of age, blood relation to the title in question, residence and the insufficiency of blood members if that is claimed.
History: 1962, PL 7-38; 1968, PL 10-61; 1970, PL 11-117.