He is a member of the several village lineages of Sāmoa. He has a Ph.D. from ANU-USP. His Ph.D Thesis Title is “Agaifanua ma Aganu'u fa'a Samoa: a history of a tama’aiga title dispute in Samoa.” Published in 2006 and re-printed 2008 as O Tama a ‘Aiga: the Politics of succession to Samoa’s Paramount Titles, Institute of Pacific Studies, USP. He is Associate Professor in History and Coordinator of History discipline in the School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Law, the University of the South Pacific. He is a member of the Pacific History Association having served as its past president and convenor of two conferences in 2002 in Samoa and 2008 in Fiji. Teaching Areas Pacific history from 19th century to 20th century, Internal rivalry over leadership succession as a factor in loss of autonomy and colonial control, Pan Pacific identity for Pacific Islanders of multiple ethnic ancestry.

His teaching and research interests are indigenous and introduced governance systems with special emphasis on the loss of autonomy in the 19th century and the possibility of losing it yet again. His post-graduate course on Pacific Island diasporic communities explores a Pan Pacific identity for the region's citizens in a future united Pacific Islands.