Oceanian Americans or Oceanic Americans are
Americans
Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...
whose ancestors came from
Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...
, a region which is compose of the
Australian continent
The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts by the names Sahul (), Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, Meganesia, or Papualand to distinguish it from the Australia, country of Australia, is located within the Southern ...
and the
Pacific Islands
Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...
.
There are basically two Oceanian American groups, that well represent the racial and cultural population of Oceania: Euro-Oceanian Americans (
Australian Americans
Australian Americans are Americans who have Australian ancestry.
History
The history of the Australian American population almost follows the story of both British Americans and Irish Americans, as Australia was a British political territory a ...
and
New Zealand Americans) and the
indigenous peoples of Oceania
The indigenous peoples of Oceania are Aboriginal Australians, Papuans, and Austronesians (Melanesians (including Torres Strait Islanders), Micronesians, and Polynesians). These indigenous peoples have a historical continuity with pre-colonial soc ...
in the United States or
Pacific Islander Americans
Pacific Islander Americans (also known as Oceanian Americans) are Americans who are of Pacific Islander ancestry (or are descendants of the indigenous peoples of Oceania or of Austronesian descent). For its purposes, the United States census ...
(Chamorro Americans, Samoan Americans, etc.) Most of the Euro-Oceanians are descended from the European settlers in Oceania; while
Pacific Islanders
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...
are of indigenous Oceanian descent.
Oceanian Americans in the United States Censuses, 2000 and 2010
Oceanian Americans in the
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
[The Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Population, Census 2000]
/ref> - 2010 U.S. Census:
References
{{Demographics of the United States