22 



KISTE 



The years on Ujilang were quite difficult. The atoll is 

 much smaller than Enewetak and has correspondingly 

 fewer resources. Enewetak has 39 islands with a total land 

 area of 2.75 square miles; its large lagoon covers 387.99 

 square miles. In contrast, Ujilang has 21 islands which col- 

 lectively constitute only 0.67 square miles (Holmes and 

 Narver, 1975; Tobin, 1968). 



Compounding the problem of living on a smaller atoll 

 with a greatly reduced resource base, the people, like 

 other Micronesians, have rapidly increased in numbers. 

 The total population at the time of relocation was only 

 141. By the early 1950s, the number had increased to 

 about 170. By 1977, the population had reached 400 

 (Kiste, 1977). A census taken in 1978 reported 540 

 (Carucci, 1980), and today the number is probably in the 

 vicinity of 600, a four-fold increase since relocation. 



Population pressures on Ujilang's resources obviously 

 increased during the people's years on the atoll, and on 

 numerous occasions, food supplies from the land were 

 depleted. Coconuts that might have been converted into 

 copra were needed for sustenance, and as a consequence, 

 the people had little cash to purchase imports. The situa- 

 tion was exacerbated because Ujilang is distant from the 

 government center at Majuro, and ships carrying food and 

 other supplies frequently failed to service the atoll. As a 

 result, the people suffered considerable physical depriva- 

 tion. For those who knew it well, memories of life at 

 Enewetak brought despair, and younger people became 

 convinced that they had been deprived of their true home 

 where want was unknown. The desire to return to 

 Enewetak increased with each passing year (Kiste, 1977). 



In spite of the adversities suffered and the periods of 

 discouragement, the people always maintained a great 

 sense of pride in themselves and a determination to control 

 as much of their destiny as possible. EXiring the initial 

 years of U. S. rule, the jseople sized up the Americans and 

 attempted to determine the best ways of dealing with 

 them. Until the mid-1960s, they tried to get help by mak- 

 ing complaints and fjetitions to the administration. Welfare 

 measures were occasionally implemented, but more often 

 than not, the people's pleas went unheeded. During this 

 period, the traditional political structure remained intact. 

 The chiefs functioned in their usual roles, and as many 

 traditional leaders elsewhere, they resisted American 

 efforts to introduce Western political forms — in this 

 instance, a council form of government headed by an 

 elected magistrate. By the early 1960s, however, some 

 change was observable. The two chiefs were by then older 

 men. Some contemporary issues required that the 

 decision-making processes be opened to include younger 

 men who had attended American schools and/or had been 

 employed by the administration. Meetings of adult males 

 were occasionally held, and some decisions about commu- 

 nity affairs were decided by a majority vote. 



In 1967, exceptionaDy poor conditions on Ujilang and 

 a realization that previous pleas to the administration had 

 largely been ineffective prompted the people to take a 

 much more aggressive stance. After an absence of 6 



months, a field trip vessel called. Much to the surprise of 

 the official in charge, the people boarded the ship and 

 announced their intention to abandon the atoll. A poten- 

 tially dangerous voyage on an overloaded ship was 

 avoided when the officials volunteered to remain on the 

 atoll and "suffer from starvation" until the administration 

 responded to the situation. The display of assertiveness 

 produced results. Substantial amounts of food and other 

 supplies were soon delivered, and the District Administra- 

 tor of the Marshalls came to hear the people's grievances. 



The sit-in aboard ship and another threat to abandon 

 Ujilang a year later had the greatest support from younger 

 adults. The sit-in also seems to have been linked to a 

 major transformation in the community's political structure. 

 Sometime during late 1967, the two chiefs had yielded to 

 younger men. A magistrate and a council of 12 were 

 elected. Reflecting the traditional division of the popula- 

 tion, the riEnjebi and the riEnewetak each elected six coun- 

 cilmen. The magistrate became the head of the entire com- 

 munity; the council became its legislative body. The chiefs, 

 however, continued to function importantly as advisers and 

 men of substantial influence (Kiste, 1977). 



In 1968, the people evidenced considerable sophistica- 

 tion about the larger world when they petitioned the 

 United Nations for assistance in returning to Enewetak. In 

 August, it was learned that Bikini was judged to be safe 

 from radiation and that it could be returned to its people.' 

 The news caused great resentment among the riEnjebi and 

 riEnewetak, and they strongly protested their continued 

 alienation from home. The protest produced results. In 

 1970, in an effort to satisfy the people, the United States 

 Congress authorized a payment of $1,020,000 to the peo- 

 ple of Enewetak. Other payments were to follow in later 

 years. 



The initial attempt to placate the people was not suc- 

 cessful. In late 1971, they announced their intention to 

 return home before the end of the following year. Depart- 

 ment of Defense (DOD) officials contended, however, that 

 it was necessary for Enewetak to remain under DOD's con- 

 trol. This was rejected, and by early 1972, the people 

 obtained legal counsel from the recently created Microne- 

 sian Legal Services Corporation (MLSC). The people then 

 informed officials that they would institute legal action if 

 Enewetak was not returned to them. On April 18, 1972, 

 the long-awaited day arrived; it was announced that the 

 U. S. would surrender Enewetak by the end of 1973 after 

 certain "unspecified activities" had been completed there. 



The p)eople had won a major victory, but it soon 

 became apparent that the "unsp>ecified activities" were a 

 threat to their future well-being. The activities were part of 



*ln 1968-69 a cleanup was conducted at Bikini Atoll, and a 

 residential complex was established About 140 Bikini people 

 returned to Bikini in the early 1970s, but by 1978 it became 

 apparent that the radiation content of foods grown at Bikini made 

 permanent residence there inadvisable. The Bikinians were again 

 removed from their atoll and, at this writing, have not yet 

 returned. 



