I wonder if originally the only way to preserve the familial land ownership laws and clan leadership rules was to have American Samoans as legal residents but n

I wonder if originally the only way to preserve the familial land ownership laws and clan leadership rules was to have American Samoans as legal residents but not citizens. Such a kludge is the only reasonable justification I have ever found convincing, outside the arguments used at the time that were clearly farcical then and even moreso now.