Identity and Relocation: The Bikini Case

Abstract

38 years have elapsed since the Bikinians 1st learned of their impending relocation from Bikini atoll in the norther Marshall Islands due to its selection as a US nuclear test site. In 1946 they were still a little-travelled people and their identity had mainly been shaped by others who held them in low esteem. Relocation abruptly thrust the Bikinians into unwanted greater interaction with outsiders. At Rongerik they came into greater contact with Americans an ordeal that further eroded their self-confidence and on Kwajalein their enforced interaction with more acculturated wage laborers compounded negative feelings about their lack of sophistication. During this same period however the Bikinians began to see clearly the advantages of communicating often with the American authorities. By the late 1950s and 1960s a more positive image of themselves as Bikinians was emerging; they had come to view themselves as casualties of the US nuclear testing program. Due to a more favorable self-image the conviction of being victims of a great injustice and a variety of local complaints the Bikinians became more aggressive and more confident in their appeals and demands to US representatives. American administrations have been responsive to the community but the results of their actions have been mixed. The Kili development program produced no lasting benefits and the long-term provisions of food subsidies helped to make the Bikinians a dependent people -- a relationship with the US they do not find displeasing. Other Micronesians believe that the Bikinians have been astute negotiators with the US officials and consequently their stock has risen throughout the Marshalls. The Bikinians however remain a discontented people. The wisdom of providing a comparatively small society with considerable sums of money can be questioned; the long term impact of these actions have not been seriously considered.