Preliminary Anthropologist's Report - Bikini Atoll Survey 1967 (Companion Documents 178333-178334,178336-178337)

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The Bikini people had lived on their atoll for many They a'nd their fellow Marshallese came under the foreigners less than one hundred years ago, The was succeeded by that of the Japanese at the Brief Historical Background onset of World War I. The Japanese rule was termlnsted by the American forces during World War II. Contact with the Outside World The people of Bikini Atoll were not the isolated twentieth century "Stone Age primitives' as described by sensationalist news reporters and other journalists. They were and are, however, less sophisticated than other more acculturated Plarshallese, but they had been In contact with the rest of the Narahall Islands, and had been exposed to at least some of the aspects of Western culture. Every two months a Japanese schooner vislted Bikini. to purchase copra and Some of the Bikini to sell food, clothing, and other goods. Japanese official made a visit to the atoll. and attended school elsewhere _ Other Marshalleve visited

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The small Bikini community had developed a cloee in-group feeling during the years of relative isolation prior to the coming of the white man and found satisfaction and security in their closely knit personal relationships and communal life. World War II and the Bikini People The Blkinl people were directly affected by World War II In that three of their young men who had been attending the Japanese government school on Jaluit Atoll were drafted as laborers and sent to Enewetak Atoll. They were later killed there In the American bombing and bombardment of that huge and Important Japanese military base. There were only six Japanese soldiers et Blklnl, however; wireless station operators also manned the ammunltion stores. These men were all killed by American bombing and shelling. Little damage was done to ECM_nl, however, and the Blkilni people were much better off tha;; Marshallese In areas such as Jaluit, Encwetsk and Kwajaleln, where heaq flghtlng 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. Communlcatlons were restored and wartime hardshlps were alleviated when the American armed forces captured the Marshall Islands early In 19llll. The serious hardships of the Bikini people were yet to come however.

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Early in 1946 it :ETS decided that BfkPnf Atoll was the most suitable location for the testing 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 more than a quarter of a century of autocratic Japanese rule, agreed to leave their ancestral home. The possibilities of resettlement in the Marshalls were very limited because land 13 sc8rce (only about 74 square miles) and very little of it Is available for settlement. The Marshallese jealously guard their land rights and will not willingly part with them.’ The 166 Bikinians were offered the choice of moving to either Ujae, Lae, or Rongerlk, all atolls In the northwestern Marshalls. Ujae and Lae were already regularly inhablted, but Rongerik was only exploited by the people of neighboring Rongelap, who had land rights on the atoll. These people visited Rongerlk to make copra, to fish, and to gather other foods. For this reason, presumably, as well as the fact that It was the closest to Blklni, the Blitini people opted to go to Rongerik Ujae or Iae. A village was built on Rongerik by Navy Seabees of Bikini_ men, and all ol‘ the Blklnl people were moved to that 1 For a detailed report of’ the movements of’ the Bikini people from Bikini to Rongerlk and to Klli, see Mason, Leonard ‘The Vol. 9, No. 1, Spring 1950, pp. 5-15. I__-

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atoil on March 6, lgL!6_ .Eongerl!chas a dry land area of 0.65 square miles, sca'ctercd over approximately 17 lsiands. It has a lagoon area of 55.36 square miles. This is much smaller than the 2.32-square-~rniie iand area and 229.40-square-mile lagoon area of Blkfn%, with j;.ts36 islands The attempt to settle at Ron:;erilcwas a failure, aliegedly due to the insufflclenc natural resources. A Board of Investigation convened by the Navy on June 2, 1947, recommended that the displaced Bikfnians be moved again. The Bikinians through their leader "King" Juda, as he was erroneously christened by romantIcally minded newsmen, accompanied by three leaders (aiab) of Bikini, Inspected Rongerlk,-_I K111, UJliang, Wotto and Ujae to try to find a sultable place in which to 1-e lscnte their pcopl_e. The Bikini people were Interested In getting back to their ancestral home as rapidly a3 possibic arid ha-d a1icgcdl.y rcgardcd the past and future rescttlcmentv as only temporary. The pcrlod from June 2, 1947, to September 1, 1947, was spent in inspecting these possible resettlement areas, On August 26, 1947 the council of the ex-Bikini people on Rongerik sent tile following letter to the American authorltlcs: Gentlemen: We the council have held a meeting to flnd the best place to go to. We have been to some other places to inspect &nd have consldercd them. In moving we find it quite n problem. The place we all agreed to stay on

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It was obvious that the Blkini,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 hardshlps of neighboring Rongerik to a new move, in hope of being able to return to their ancestral home. It was decided however, that the best Interests of the Bikini people would be served by transferring them to Ujllang Atoll, the westernmost of the Marshalls. Ujllang belonged to the government, as heir to the Imperial Japanese government which had seized It from its former Oerman ownera, who had 'purcha8edH the tiny atoll from its former chief. A group of Bikini men and Navy Seabees arrlved at Ujilang In late November to prepare a village for another resettlement attempt. Shortly after their arrival, an annoucement was made that the atoll of Enewetak, west of Bikini, and north of Ujilang, would be commandeered as another testing ground for atomic weapons It was then decided that the Enewetak lnhabitants would be resettled on Ujllang. This left the ex-Biklnl people right where they were 31x months earller, but undoubtedly with increased feelings of insecurity, frustratlon and general bewilderment. In January of 1948 Anthropologist Leonard Mason of the University of Hawaii, made a fleld investigation of the problem at the request of the Navy. He found among other things that the relocated Bikinians were sufferlng serious hardshlps on

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were not getting enough to eat. He recommended that the Bikini people be moved to another locatlon. Sojourn on Kwajaleln Upon the basis of Mason's investigation and recommendation, the ex-Blklnians were agaln moved to a temporary locatlon on Kwajaleln Island In the middle In March, 1948. Here, in a "tent city" In the midst of Marshallese workers from far and wlde, as well as thousands of American members of the armed force8, the wandering Blklnlans awaited the next move. Once agaln a tour of inspectlon was made of available and possible location8 for resettlement, The possibllltles finally narrowed down to Wotto Atoll, which was populated, and the single island of Kill In the southern Marshalls. Kill wa8 not populated and was U.S. The majority of the Blklnl people allegedly voted for Kill as against Wotto, and in early November of 1948 the 184 Blklnlans were transferred to Kill Island.2 true, and is home of the Bikini people 16 a low single coral one and one half miles long, on an axis of 063” widest point. The extent of the area la with no lagoon area and a small frlnglng 2 The Increase in populatlon was caused of a mlle wlde at Its only 0.36 square miles, reef. This compares by the addition of Bikinians who had married out, plus thelr spouses and

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very unfavorably, of course, with the 2.32 square miles of dry land area, the 229.40 square miles oflagoon area, and the large reef area8 of Bikini Atoll. Kill. 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 1914. It was leased to a Japanese company and operated as a copra plantation until 1940. There were allegedly not more than about thirty Marshallcse laborers working on the plantatlon at a time. Food was brought in from Jalult Atoll, about thirty miles to the southeast. Chickens and swine were raised to supplement the Imported foodstuffs. A small number of breadfrulttreee were planted and used, but the Island wan primarily a copra plantation. Kill passed into the hands of the United States Government following World War II, and the few remaining plantation workers were evacuated. Kili, lying aa it does in the southern Marshall, enjoy3 a heavy rainfall and has rich and deep soil, for the Marshalls. Most of the island, 198.04 acres have been planted to coconut palms (131.17 acres). A taro patch area occupies the center of the island to the extent of 4.25 acres. There are a number of bearing breadfruit trees, 3 some edible pandanus, a3 well as banana, papaya and pumpkin plantinga. 3 A seTious breadfriut blight has destroyed on Kill. and remains unchecked. A method this menace has not yet been found, many of the trees

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Unfortunately, the Lack of a lagoon or protected anchorage presents very serious problems to the inhabitants of KlJi. The unfavorable axfs of the island (063-24~1~) 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 December through March . the equatorial front lies to the south, and northeasterly winds prevail. Ianding conditions are therefore generally unfavorable. From November into late March it Is possible to get a boat ashore only during a few very brief periods, because of 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 utilization of the important marine resources, which at best are inflnitely poorer than those of the atoll. of Bikini. The Resettlement on Kill 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 exfstance where marine resources were abundant and the lagoon and .land areas stretched away a8 far as the eye could see, to a small, Isolated Island without a lagoon, and wlthout the rich marlne resources which are found in an atoll environment, was drastic. This psychological attitude toward Kill was and has continued to be a vital Importance in the lack of adjustment. The refusal to accept the move to Kill a3 final

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and desirable has prevented a wholehearted attempt to adjust to the island. The writer was closely involved p!lth the former Blkirli people during his years of service as DistrSct Anthropologist in the Marshall Island. He leved on Kill for sever81 prolonged periods and was able to see what lffe on Kill. is like, In his opinion the complaints of the ex-Bikini people on Kili are valid. Conditions are certainly unfavorable. There are pact when the island 9s isolated and the people are very short of food. There Is no doubt that Kill. could support a smaller population, if the island could be supplied adequately from the outside world. However, the only solution acceptable to the former Bikinlans, as a whole, is to return them to Attempts to Rid in the Adjustment Process- IThe Administration of the Trust Territory made various efforts to assist the relocated Bikinlans to make a successful ad Justment to Kill. A fifty-foot schooner was purchased and turned over to the group. This was to be used to supply the island in addition to the regular field trip stops. The craft was soon lost in the surf due to mishandling by the inexperlenced crew. A second craft was provided several years later. This was a great help but was lost In a typhoon which swept through the southern &rahails in December of 1957. Qovernment land was provided for the use of the K3.11 people on the nclgilboring atoll of Jalul_t, Sever81 acres on Jabwor Island were used as 8 Village area. HOUseB, a storehouse, and other

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structures were erected by the government. These were to be used by the members of the 81111. boat crew the craft was anchored off Jabwor. Three provided from which the Kill residents of coconuts, pandanus and other local foods. and others while smaller islands were Jabwor could obtain The typhoon wiped out the village on Jabwor and the few Kill people there left the atoll for good. A community development project was set up to asslat 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 Ba&a has continued but other fterns are no longer made for export. Attempts were made to exploit the large taro patch area as a source of food, and possibly cash Income. Two taro lifts were made to KusaLe Island in the Ponape District. Large quantities of high quality taro plants were obtained and planted on Kfll. It Boon became obvious that the former Blkinians, to whom tar0 was a very minor and unlmportant item, were not interested In cultlvatlng~thls useful plant. It should be added that taro cultivation is becoming increasingly of less Importance throughout the Marshalls, even In those areas In the, southern Marshall where taro once flourished. The taro patch itself was ruined during the typhoon of December 1957. Wave action flooded the area with salt water, which killed the few plants which were left and affected the freshwater lens,

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The Community lkvelo~ent F’rojeot on Kili was terminated some time after the typhoon.' It was not continued by the Attempts by the Admlnistration to obtain another location for the displaced Bfklnians have been abortive. The economic difficulties of the former Bikini people were alleviated when they were paid the sum of $325,000 by the Government In exchange for the use of Bikini Atoll. The Interest from the trust fund, into which $300,000 was placed is a guaranteed income which helps the local economy. This ~G.11.become less slgniflcant as the population increases, as it has since the fund was established in 1956. Present Attitudes Toward Kili The attitudes of Magistrate Juda, the leader of the Kill community, and of other lcadlng people of the community with whom I talked on Hajuro, Kwajaleln and Ebeye in connection with the Bfkini Atoll Survey, seemed to be unchanged. They still say that Kill is no good, it is like a prison, there is not enough food there, and the like. The same objections which were …