Bravo for the Marshallese Regaining Control in a Post-Nuclear, Post-Colonial World

by Barker, Holly M.

• ISBN13: 9780534613266
• ISBN10: 0534613268
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-08-22
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

This case study describes the role an applied anthropologist takes to help Marshallese communities understand the impact of radiation exposure on the environment and themselves, and addresses problems stemming from the U.S. nuclear weapons testing program conducted in the Marshall Islands from 1946-1958. The author demonstrates how the U.S. Government limits its responsibilities for dealing with the problems it created in the Marshall Islands. Through archival, life history, and ethnographic research, the author constructs a compelling history of the testing program from a Marshallese perspective. For more than five decades, the Marshallese have experienced the effects of the weapons testing program on their health and their environment. This book amplifies the voice of the Marshallese who share their knowledge about illnesses, premature deaths, and exile from their homelands. The author uses linguistic analysis to show how the Marshallese developed a unique radiation language to discuss problems related to their radiation exposure ? problems that never existed before the testing program. Drawing on her own experiences working with the Government of the Marshall Islands, the author emphasizes the role of an applied anthropologist in influencing policy, and empowering community leaders to seek meaningful remedies.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Preface	xiii
Introduction	1	(3)
Chapter 1 Setting the Stage: Geography, Social/Political Organization, and the Language of the Marshall Islands	4	(11)
Location and Ecology	4	(5)
Early Migration	9	(1)
Social and Political Structure	9	(2)
The Marshallese Language and Its Dialects	11	(4)
Chapter 2 A Colonial History of the Marshall Islands	15	(18)
Colonial Expansion	15	(2)
U.S. Naval Administration of the Marshall Islands	17	(7)
The Arrival of Anthropologists	24	(5)
Move toward Self-Governance	29	(1)
Compact of Free Association	29	(4)
Chapter 3 The U.S. Nuclear Weapons Testing Program	33	(17)
The Official U.S. Government Account of the Events	33	(2)
Limitations in U.S. Government Responsibility	35	(3)
Recently Declassified U.S. Government Documents	38	(11)
Conclusion	49	(1)
Chapter 4 Ethnography and a Marshallese Narrative of History	50	(10)
Witness Testimonies: March 1, 1954 The Day the U.S. Government Detonated the Bravo Shot	51	(2)
Witness Testimonies: Evacuation and the Decontamination Process	53	(1)
Witness Testimonies: Birth Defects	53	(2)
Witness Testimonies: Other Medical and Environmental Problems	55	(1)
Witness Testimonies: Interactions with U.S. Government Medical Providers and Scientists	56	(1)
A Marshallese Narrative of History	57	(2)
Conclusion	59	(1)
Chapter 5 Alienation from the Land: The Rongelap Experience	60	(19)
Importance of Geography	60	(1)
Importance of Land	61	(3)
Damage, Injury, and Loss	64	(1)
Movements of the Community	64	(1)
Human Environmental Interactions	64	(3)
Experiences in Exile	67	(1)
Loss of Self-sufficiency	68	(2)
Burial	70	(2)
Stigma/Psychological Problems	72	(2)
Social Consequences of Loss of Land	74	(4)
Conclusion	78	(1)
Chapter 6 Language and the Testing Program	79	(18)
Radiation and a Colonial Language of Control	80	(2)
Language as Resistance	82	(14)
Conclusion	96	(1)
Chapter 7 Uncovering Themes in Linguistic Data	97	(18)
Assigning Responsibility	98	(4)
Powerlessness	102	(3)
Women's Reproductive Illnesses	105	(6)
A Unique Marshallese Radiation Language	111	(3)
Conclusion	114	(1)
Chapter 8 Changed Circumstances: A Petition to the U.S. Congress	115	(6)
Advisory Committee on Changed Circumstances	117	(1)
Content of the Petition	117	(2)
Review of the Petition	119	(1)
Conclusion	120	(1)
Chapter 9 Other Case Studies	121	(19)
Hiroshima/Nagasaki	121	(3)
French Polynesia	124	(3)
Chernobyl	127	(3)
Nevada	130	(2)
Hanford	132	(4)
Subjects of Human Radiation Experimentation	136	(2)
Conclusion	138	(2)
Chapter 10 Methodology and Community Empowerment	140	(13)
Developing Bonds of Trust	140	(1)
Learning the Language	141	(1)
Archival Research	141	(1)
Access to Information	141	(1)
Building on the Work of Others	141	(1)
Life Story and Oral History Collection	142	(1)
Local Counterparts and Key Informants	143	(1)
Public Education and Training of Students	143	(2)
Transcription and Translation	145	(1)
Observation	146	(1)
Expect to Be Challenged	147	(1)
Fieldnotes	148	(1)
Repeat Visits to the Field	148	(1)
The Policy Realm	148	(1)
Methods of the NCT Project	149	(2)
Conclusion	151	(2)
Chapter 11 A Broader Understanding of the Consequences of the Testing Program	153	(6)
Flaws in the U.S. Government's Accounting of History	154	(2)
A New Narrative of History	156	(2)
Looking toward the Future	158	(1)
Bibliography	159	(6)
Appendix Categories for Personal Injury Awards, Nuclear Claims Tribunal	165	(2)
Glossary	167	(1)
Credits	168	(1)
Index	169