Memo to E E Held, Subject: Preliminary Report of Bikini Survey

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Subj: Preliminary report of above survey. X have submitted a detailed Bikini Survey Log to you. This contains, as you know, complete descriptions of each island and islet in the atoll. I have also submitted, at your request, a map with the local names of these land units, coded with the presently accepted designations• Included in this log,which covers every day of the survey, are data pertinent to the rehabilitation of each island, the economic potential of the individual island and surrounding reefs and marina areas, and dthar data of significance in planning for the possible return of the former Bikini inhabitants to this atoll. These data will be included in my final report. The present report vrl.ll primarily attempt to ansvTer the questions posed by you' and other members of the survey party. As you know, some of the important questinns asked cannot be answered at this time. Additional research, interviewing, and data from the field will be needed for a complete report. As you know, I wil£ return to the Marshalls about 1 July, 196? employee of the Trust Territory administration. I mill be able to obtain further first hand information, which will be transmitted to you. For these reasons, the present report is to be regarded as preliminary. If you, or other members of tha survey team have any further questions, or suggestions send them to me. I will try to obtain the answers to them. US DOE ARCHIVES BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY Th.e Bikini people had lived on their atoll for many generations. They, and their fellow Karshallese came under the domination of foreigners less than one hundred years ago. The German regime was succeeded by that of the Japanese at the onset of World War I. Tha Japanese rule was terminated by the American forces during World War II, Contact with the Outside World The oeople of Bikini Atoll wore not the isolated Twentieth Cnntury "Stone Age primitives" as described/sensationalist news reporters, and other journalists. They were and are, however, less sonhisticated than other more acculturated Karshallese, but they had been in contact with the rest of the Marshall Islands, and had been exposed to at least some of the aspects of Western culture. Every two months a Japanese schooner visited Bikini to purchase copra and to sell food, clothing, ari other goods. Every six months a Japanese official made a visit to the atoll. Some of the Bikini people visited other atolls, married out, and attended school elsewhere. Other Marshallese visit -d Bikini. The small Bikini community had developed a close ir.-gro^n feeling during the years of tslative isolation prior to the coming of the white man, and found satisfaction and security in their closely knit personal relationships and World War II and the Bikini People The Bikini neonle were directly affected by World War II in that thr .e of their young men v.'ho had been attending tha Japanese government school on Jaluit Atoll, w\:re drafted as laborers and sent to Enevetrk Atoll. They were later killed there in the American bombing an-’ bombardment of that huge and important Japanese Departnwrt of Energy Historian s Office BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY by Anorican bombing and f hc?.lin<»,. Little damaao was done to bikini hovever, and the bikini people vore nuch better ofl’ than r-'ar.'ihalleso in tirons ouch as Jaluit, Enevetak and ICwajalein where heavy fighting occurred. The Bikini people suffered, as did the other Marshallese, from the cut-off of supply lines from Japan with the resultant cessation of imports of necessary consumer goods, and exportation of copra. Communications were restored and war-time hardships were alleviated when the American armed forces captured the Marshall Islands early in l?lih. The serious hardships of the Bikini people were yet to come ho1-ever. Evacuation of Bikini ^ Early in 19U6 it was decided that Bikini Atoll was the most suitable location for the tes ing of atomic weapons. The Bikini people were asked to leave and, as might have been expected of a people of their historical conditioning to obedience, especially after jbtojre than a quarter of a century of autocratic Japanese rule, agreed to leave their ancestral hone. The possibilities of resettlement in the Marshalls were very limited due to the fact that land is scarce (only about 7b square miles) and that very little of it is available for settlement. The Marshallese jealously guard their land rights and will not willingly oart with Problems of Resettlement The 166 Bikinians were offered the choice of moving to either Ujae, Lae, or Rongerik, all atolls in the northvrestem Marshalls, Ujae and Lae were already regularly inhabited, but Rongerik was only exploited by the people of neighboring Rongelap who had land rights in the atoll. These people visited Rongerik to make conra, to fish, an 1 to gather ether foo ls. For this reason, presumably, ar, well as For a detailed report of the movements of tha Bikini people from Bikini to Rongerik Denarbuent of Energy BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY Vh? fact that it v:a3 the .osast to liikird, the Biko.rd p Is opted to go to Rongerik rather than Ujai or Lae, A village nas built on Rongerik by Lavy Soabees and a group of liikini men,$md all of the Bikini people viere moved to that atoll on March 6,19i|6. Rongerik has a dry land area of 0,65 square miles, scattered over approximatelyl? islands. It has a lagoon area of 55.33 square miles. This is considerably smaller than the 2.32 square mile land area and 229.1)0 square mile lagoon area of Bikini, with The attempt to settle at Rongerik was a failure, a?-legedly due to the Insufficient natural resources, A Board of Investigation convened by the TIavy on June 2,19h7, recommended that tho displaced Bikinians be moved again. The Bikinians through their leader "King" Juda, as he was erroneously christened by romantically minded newsmen, accompanied by three leaders (alab)of Bikini, inspected Rongerik, Kili, Ujilang, Wotto and Ujae to try to find a suitable place in which to relocate their people. The Bikini people were interested in getting back to their ancestral home as rapidly as possible, and had allegedly regarded the past and future resettlements as only temporary. The period from June 2, 19U7, to September 1, 19U7, was spent in inspecting these possible resettlement areas. On August 26, 19U7 the council of the exBikini people on Rongerik sent the following letter to the Anerican authorities! Gentlancn: Vie the council have held a meeting to find the best place to go to, We have been to some other places to inspect and have eonsidored them. In moving we find it quite a problem. The place we all agreed to stay on is Rongerik Atoll, ,v s/ Vie, The Go ncil It was obvious that the Bikini leaders refused to accept the fact that they would not be allowed to return to Bikini some day, and for that reason preferred to suffer the hardships of neighboring Rongerik, to a new move, in the hope of being able to return to their ancestral home.

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BEST AVAILABLE PQPY served by transferring than to TTjilang Atoll, the'vestermost of the Karshalls, Ujilang belonged to the government, as heir to the Imperial Japanese govemnent vrhich had seised it from its former (Jermansowners who had "purchasedthe tiny A group of Bikini men and Navy Seabees arrived at Ujilang in late November to ' prepare a village for another resettlement attempt* Shortly after their arrival, announcement was made that the atoll of Enevietak, west of Bikini, and north of Ujilang would be commandeered as another testing ground for atomic weapons. It was then decided that the Enevetak inhabitants would be resettled on Ujilang. This left the ex-Bikini people right where they were six months earlier, but undoubtedly with increased feelings of insecurity, frustration and general bewilderment. In January of 19U8 Anthropologist Leonard Mason of the University of Hawaii, made a field investigation of the problem at tho request of the. Navy. He found among other things that the relocated Bikinians were suffering serious hardships on Rongerik, and, despite a well organized communal organization, were not getting enog^h to eat. He recommended that tho Bikini people be.moved to another location* Sojourn on Kwajaloln were again moved, to a temporary location on Kwajalein Island in tho middle of March, 19ii8. Here, in a "tent city" in the midst of Marshallese workers from far and wide, as well as thousands of American members of the armed forces, the wandering Bikinians awaited the next move. Once again a tour of inspection was- made of available and possible locations for resettlement. The possibilities finally narrowed down to Wotto Atoll which was populated, and the single island of Kilt in the southern Marshalls, Kili was not populated and was U.S.Government property. The majority of tbo Bikini people allegedly voted for Kili as against Wotto, and in early November of 19li8 the IftJj Bikinians wero transferred to Kili Island. Tie increase in population was caused by the addition of Bikinians who had married out, plus their spouses and offspring; BEST AVAILABLE COPY Z*>

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Kilj. Island BEST AVAILABLE COPY Tho row home of the Jiikini people is a loa>r oinf'le coral abort onp and one half miles Ion", on an .axis of 063* true, and is approximately three-fourths of a mile wide at its widest point, Tho area is only 0,36 square milos in'extent/- with no lagoon area and a small fringing reef. This compares very unfavorably of course with the 2,32 square miles of dry land area, the 229,UO square miles of j-"- lagoon area, and the large reef areas of Bikini Atoll, __ - f/ • Kili was purchased by German traders from the local chiefs and was operated*- as a commercial copra plantation by the Germans, The title to the island was transferred to the Japanese Government when the Japanese seized the Marshalls in 1911i, It was leased to a Japanese company and operated as a copra plantation until 19li0, There were allegedly not more than about thirty Marshallese laborers working on the plantation at a time. Food was brought in from Jaluit Atoll, .about thirty ' miles to the southeast. Chickens and swine were raised to supplement the imported<‘ foodstuffs, A small number of breadfruit trees were planted and used, but tho island was primarily a copra plantation, Kili passed into the hands of the United States Government following World War II, and the few remaining plantation workess Kili, lying as it does in the southern Marshalls, enjoys a heavy rainfall and has rich and deep soil, for the Karshalls, Most of tho islands 198,0U acres have been planted to coconut palms (191,17 acres,) A taro patch area occupies the center of the island to the extent of U.25 acres. There are a number of bearing breadfruit trees, some edible pandanus, as well as banana, papava and pumpkin plantings. Unfortunately, the lack of a lagoon or protected anchorage presents very serious problems to tho inhabitants of Kill, The unfavorable axis of the Island - (063-2UC^). in relation to the prevailing northeast trade winds and the shelving, comparatively narrow reef, are factors which cause the island to be isolated during many months of the year. From Deoember through Marsh the equatorial front lies to 3A serious breadfruit blight has destroyed many of the trees on Kili and remains unchecked, A method of controlling this menace has not yet

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY the south, and north torly vrln is prevail. Landing 1 iitions are therefore orally unfavorable. From November into lain March it is possible to f»ot a boat ashore only during a few very brief periods, due to the large breakers which ' crash against the rocky beaches. Copra cannot be loaded and trade goods cannot be off-loaded. These unfavorable surf conditions naturally prevent utilizationof the important marine resources, which at best are infinitely poorer than . those of the atoll of Bikini, • i The Resettlement on till The ex-Bikini people apparently experienced difficulty in adjusting to Kili from almost the very beginning. This was due in part to the different ecological conditions, The^ change from an atoll existence where marine resources were abundant, and the lagoon and land areas stretched away as far as the eye could see, to a small, isolated -island without a lagoon, and without the rich marine resources which are found An an atoll environment, was drastic. Thu psychological attitude toward Kili was and has continued to be of vital importance . in the lack of adjustment. The refusal to accept tha move to Kili as final and desirable has prevented a wholehearted attempt to adjust to the island. The writer wae closeUy involved with the former Bikini people during hia years of service as District Anthropologist in the Marshall Islands, Ha lived on Kili for several prolonged periods and was able to see what life on Kili is like. In his opinion the complaints of the ex-Bikini popple on Kili are valid'. Conditions are certainly unfavorable, Thero are periods when the island is isolated and the people are very short of food. There is no doubt that Kili could support a smaller population, if the island could be supplied adequately from the outsider world. However, the only solution acceptable to the former Bikinians, as a whole, is to return them to Bikini. Department of Energy

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY roloo 'trd Bihinians to ntko a ciicce^efnl '’djuat.ncnt to rail. A fifty foot schooner va.3 pnrchsLodd and turned over to the groun. Tnis vas to bo used to supply the island in addition to the regular field trip stops. The craft vas soon lost in the surf due to rishandling by the inexperienced crev-, A second craft vas provided several years later. This was a great heldj but was lost in a typhoon which swept through the southern Marshalls in December of 19o7. Government land was provided for the use of the Kili people on the neighboring atoll of Jaluit. Several acres on Jabwor Island were used as a village area, houses, a storehouse, and other structures were erected by the government. These v;ere to bo used by the members of the Kili boat crev!, and others ’-.vile the craft was anchored off Jabwor. Three smaller islands were provided from vrhich the Kili residents of Jabwor could obtain coconuts, pandanus and other local foods. The typhoon wiped out the village on Jabwor and the few Kili people there left the atoll for good. A community development project was set up to assist the Kili people to develop and exploit the resources of the island to the maximum. Handicraft production was stimulated. The production of the now famous Kili Bags has continued but other items are no longer mads for export. Attempts vrere made to exploit the large taro patch area as a scarce of food, and possibly cash income. Two taro lifts were made to Kusaie Island in the ponape District. Largo quantities of high quality taro plants wero obtained …