Where FSM’ers May Be Found

Hawaii (9,000 FSM citizens as of 2008)

  • Oahu
  • Big Island (Chuukese in Hilo, some in Kona)
  • Maui (Pohnpeians working on pineapple plantation)

Washington (perhaps several hundred, as many as 800)

  • Seattle & Tacoma
  • Vancouver (Chuukese)

Oregon (perhaps 1,500-2,000)

  • Portland
  • Salem and through Willamete Valley
California
  • San Diego (30-40 Chuukese)
  • Pasadena (50 or so Chuukese and some Pohnpeians)
  • north of LA (Kosraeans)
  • San Francisco Bay Area (mainland Yapese)
  • three military bases in state: small base in San Diego, Pendleton near Camarillo, and another one (modest Chuukese and Yapese presence on these bases)
  • Sacramento (Kosraeans)

Arizona? (200 or so)

  • Phoenix (Chuukese)
  • Mesa (Chuukese)
  • Tempe

Texas

  • Corsicana and Dallas (100 OI Yapese and Chuukese)
  • Fort Worth
  • Fort Hood military base (some FSM people there)

Oklahoma (sprinkling of Chuukese)

  • Enid
  • Miami (Chuukese working in mushroom factory)
  • Oklahoma City

Colorado

  • Denver (Chuukese, most of them working for airlines food services or as baggage handlers at airport)

Missouri

  • Kansas City (as many as 2,000 in the area, including many Chuukese and Pohnpeians; also Kosraeans attending Park University)
  • Marshall (Pohnpeians)
  • St. Joseph (Chuukese)
  • Neosho (100 Mokilese and Pohnpeians)
  • Joplin

Wisconsin

  • Park Falls (60-80 Chuukese and Pohnpeians)
  • Eau Claire (maybe 20 or so, two households in 09)

Minnesota

  • Savage (60 Kosraeans)
  • Austin (40-50 Mokilese)

Iowa

  • Storm Lake (200 Pohnpeians)
  • Altoona (25-30 Pohnpeians)
  • Dubuque (Chuukese)

Kansas

  • Junction City (handful of Pohnpeians, but other Micronesians at Fort Riley, the nearby military base)

Ohio

  • Cincinnati (perhaps 200 Pohnpeians)
  • Cleveland (few Chuukese or Pohnpeians)

Tennessee (some Pohnpeians)

  • Nashville
  • Knoxville

Alabama

  • Mobile (Pohnpeians)

Florida (Pohnpeians, Chuukese and OI Yapese)

  • Orlando (perhaps 100 Pohnpeians)
  • Clearwater
  • Tampa

Georgia (Pohnpeians)

  • Savannah
  • Augusta
  • Atlanta

South Carolina (Pohnpeians)

  • Myrtle Beach
  • Charleston

North Carolina (perhaps 100-300 in state)

  • Greenfield (Chuukese and OI Yapese)
  • Raleigh
  • Fayetteville (Fort Bragg is in the vicinity, and there are FSM military there)

Virginia

  • Virginia Beach (Kosraeans and Pohnpeians)
  • Falls Church (Chuukese)

Pennsylvania

  • Hanover (few OI Yapese and some Pohnpeians)

New York

  • Albany (few Chuukese, especially from Fefan)
  • Binghamton (few Yapese)

Connecticut (few Pohnpeians and Chuukese)

…………………………

Here?s our list. If you have any places to add, let us know. We?re always happy to update our information.

 

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About the author

Francis X. Hezel, SJ
Francis X. Hezel, SJ

Francis X. Hezel, SJ, is a Jesuit priest who has lived and worked in Micronesia since 1963. At different times he has served as high school teacher, school administrator, pastor, and regional superior to the Jesuits of Micronesia. He spent thirty years directing the Micronesian Seminar, a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Pohnpei, Micronesia. He has written and spoken widely about social change and its impact on island societies. He has also written several books on Micronesian history, including The First Taint of Civilization, Strangers in Their Own Land, and The New Shape of Old Island Cultures. His most recent book, Making Sense of Micronesia: The Logic of Pacific Island Culture, is available through University of Hawaii Press.