tradition that also maintains they have lived at their home
atoll since the “beginning of time.” The two largest
islands, Enewetak in the SE and Engebi in the NE, have
served as the two main villages at the atoll. Because of
their geographically isolated locale, the Enewetak people
and culture as a whole have evolved separately in some
respects from their neighbors at the remaining Marshall
Islands. Before the previous century, the Enewetak people
were known for their long distance travel and navigation,
visiting the inhabited islands of the Caroline archipelago
to the southeast. They were also known as builders of
the largest ocean-going canoes (15 m in length)
constructed in the Marshalls at that time.
Recent history
The Spanish explorer Alvaro de Saavedra is credited
for the European discovery of Enewetak Atoll in 1529.
Afterward, Enewetak was visited only once in 1792 before
Captain Fearn of the vessel Hunter mapped the atoll
in 1794. In 1898, Germany declared the Marshalls and
several other Pacific areas as Protectorates, and
a German trader contracted the Enewetak people to
extend their plantings to promote the copra trade at
Enewetak Atoll and another atoll, Ujelang. Before
this time, the Enewetak people never relied much on
Ujelang, a much smaller atoll 200 km to the southwest.
Ujelang was previously inhabited by a separate clan of
Marshallese until most were wiped out by a typhoon near
the end of the nineteenth century, with the survivors later
migrating to the southern Marshall Islands and never
returning.
Japan took possession of most German territories in
1914 when World War I began, including the Marshall
Islands and retained custody of them after the war and
defeat of Germany via a Mandate from the League of
Nations. For 30 years, Japan administered Enewetak from
its headquarters at Pohnpei Island in the Caroline Islands
because of its closer proximity vis-à-vis the Jaluit Atoll
headquarters in the southern Marshalls. In turn, this further isolated the Enewetak people from the remaining
Marshallese during the next 3 decades. Japanese rule initially focused on trade, but after 1935, and in violation
of the Mandate, Japan began construction of military
bases and airstrips throughout the Marshalls, including at
Engebi and Enewetak Islands on Enewetak Atoll. The
Enewetak islanders were caught in the crossfire during
the January 1944 battle of Enewetak between Japanese
and American forces. A tenth of the islanders were killed,
and virtually all their food crops, vegetation, and dwellings at Enewetak and Engebi Islands were destroyed by
the heavy initial bombardment. After the battle, the Americans moved the Enewetak survivors to two small eastern
islets at the atoll. By early 1946, the Americans had built
a military base at Enewetak and convinced the 141
islanders to temporarily resettle at Ujelang Atoll in order
for make way for the nuclear testing program. The
islanders did not return to their home atoll for 34 years,
after numerous false promises and 43 nuclear tests from
1948 to 1958 (Table 1, Figure 3) at Enewetak.
The Nuclear Era
The Americans soon included both Bikini and Enewetak
as part of a new U.S. Pacific Proving Ground. The
Enewetak islanders remained at Ujelang despite dwindling subsistence resources, expanding population, substandard living conditions, and infrequent visits by supply
vessels at the much smaller atoll. Meanwhile at Enewetak,
the force of some of the nuclear tests was underestimated,
others malfunctioned, and some islands became heavily
contaminated with radionuclides, and remained unsafe
for resettlement and agricultural use unless cleaned up.
In particular, the “Mike” test of 1952 was the first atmospheric detonation of a hydrogen bomb, and created
a large crater nearly 2 km across, resulting in the fracturing
and slumping of a portion of the northern fore reef just
north of the crater (Figure 4).
Finally in 1972, after the threat of protest and legal
action, the United States agreed to resettlement after
“unspecified activities” were completed. These activities
were later determined to be the Pacific Area Cratering
Experiments (PACE) designed to evaluate the geological
characteristics of cratering from some past nuclear tests
by examining existing bomb craters and also simulating
their effects by detonating large quantities of conventional
explosives at targeted reefs. The PACE program refrained
from using radio-nuclides to insure compliance with the
provisions of the Partial Test Ban Treaty ratified in 1963.
After learning about the potential physical damage from
the PACE proposal at a community meeting, the Enewetak
people labeled PACE as “evil” and directed their attorneys
to sue in U.S. Federal Court, demanding that the proposal
be subject to the U.S. Environmental Policy Act. Subsequently, the United States dropped the PACE project,
and in 1976 agreed to finance a partial resettlement.
Of particular concern was the incomplete combustion
of one test conducted at Runit Island leading to the scattering of plutonium 239 over the island and reef. Given the
half life of the isotope is now estimated at 24,000 years
(Argonne National Laboratory, 2005), this posed
a serious threat to the returning islanders. The United
States budgeted $120 million to collect and place contaminated soil mixed with concrete into Cactus Crater north of
the island, and cap it with an 18-in. thick concrete dome
(Figure 5a and b). Nevertheless, there was more contaminated soil at Runit than could be encrypted, and a further
decision was made to ban the island from all visitation
and use indefinitely. After the United States completed
other cleanup actions, the remaining 543 Enewetak people
were finally repatriated to their home atoll in 1980. Since
then the population has fluctuated between 800 and 1,000
residents. In 2000, the Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims
Tribunal awarded more than $340 million to the Enewetak
people for loss of use, hardship, medical difficulties, and
further nuclear cleanup.
ENEWETAK ATOLL, MARSHALL ISLANDS
383
atoll since the “beginning of time.” The two largest
islands, Enewetak in the SE and Engebi in the NE, have
served as the two main villages at the atoll. Because of
their geographically isolated locale, the Enewetak people
and culture as a whole have evolved separately in some
respects from their neighbors at the remaining Marshall
Islands. Before the previous century, the Enewetak people
were known for their long distance travel and navigation,
visiting the inhabited islands of the Caroline archipelago
to the southeast. They were also known as builders of
the largest ocean-going canoes (15 m in length)
constructed in the Marshalls at that time.
Recent history
The Spanish explorer Alvaro de Saavedra is credited
for the European discovery of Enewetak Atoll in 1529.
Afterward, Enewetak was visited only once in 1792 before
Captain Fearn of the vessel Hunter mapped the atoll
in 1794. In 1898, Germany declared the Marshalls and
several other Pacific areas as Protectorates, and
a German trader contracted the Enewetak people to
extend their plantings to promote the copra trade at
Enewetak Atoll and another atoll, Ujelang. Before
this time, the Enewetak people never relied much on
Ujelang, a much smaller atoll 200 km to the southwest.
Ujelang was previously inhabited by a separate clan of
Marshallese until most were wiped out by a typhoon near
the end of the nineteenth century, with the survivors later
migrating to the southern Marshall Islands and never
returning.
Japan took possession of most German territories in
1914 when World War I began, including the Marshall
Islands and retained custody of them after the war and
defeat of Germany via a Mandate from the League of
Nations. For 30 years, Japan administered Enewetak from
its headquarters at Pohnpei Island in the Caroline Islands
because of its closer proximity vis-à-vis the Jaluit Atoll
headquarters in the southern Marshalls. In turn, this further isolated the Enewetak people from the remaining
Marshallese during the next 3 decades. Japanese rule initially focused on trade, but after 1935, and in violation
of the Mandate, Japan began construction of military
bases and airstrips throughout the Marshalls, including at
Engebi and Enewetak Islands on Enewetak Atoll. The
Enewetak islanders were caught in the crossfire during
the January 1944 battle of Enewetak between Japanese
and American forces. A tenth of the islanders were killed,
and virtually all their food crops, vegetation, and dwellings at Enewetak and Engebi Islands were destroyed by
the heavy initial bombardment. After the battle, the Americans moved the Enewetak survivors to two small eastern
islets at the atoll. By early 1946, the Americans had built
a military base at Enewetak and convinced the 141
islanders to temporarily resettle at Ujelang Atoll in order
for make way for the nuclear testing program. The
islanders did not return to their home atoll for 34 years,
after numerous false promises and 43 nuclear tests from
1948 to 1958 (Table 1, Figure 3) at Enewetak.
The Nuclear Era
The Americans soon included both Bikini and Enewetak
as part of a new U.S. Pacific Proving Ground. The
Enewetak islanders remained at Ujelang despite dwindling subsistence resources, expanding population, substandard living conditions, and infrequent visits by supply
vessels at the much smaller atoll. Meanwhile at Enewetak,
the force of some of the nuclear tests was underestimated,
others malfunctioned, and some islands became heavily
contaminated with radionuclides, and remained unsafe
for resettlement and agricultural use unless cleaned up.
In particular, the “Mike” test of 1952 was the first atmospheric detonation of a hydrogen bomb, and created
a large crater nearly 2 km across, resulting in the fracturing
and slumping of a portion of the northern fore reef just
north of the crater (Figure 4).
Finally in 1972, after the threat of protest and legal
action, the United States agreed to resettlement after
“unspecified activities” were completed. These activities
were later determined to be the Pacific Area Cratering
Experiments (PACE) designed to evaluate the geological
characteristics of cratering from some past nuclear tests
by examining existing bomb craters and also simulating
their effects by detonating large quantities of conventional
explosives at targeted reefs. The PACE program refrained
from using radio-nuclides to insure compliance with the
provisions of the Partial Test Ban Treaty ratified in 1963.
After learning about the potential physical damage from
the PACE proposal at a community meeting, the Enewetak
people labeled PACE as “evil” and directed their attorneys
to sue in U.S. Federal Court, demanding that the proposal
be subject to the U.S. Environmental Policy Act. Subsequently, the United States dropped the PACE project,
and in 1976 agreed to finance a partial resettlement.
Of particular concern was the incomplete combustion
of one test conducted at Runit Island leading to the scattering of plutonium 239 over the island and reef. Given the
half life of the isotope is now estimated at 24,000 years
(Argonne National Laboratory, 2005), this posed
a serious threat to the returning islanders. The United
States budgeted $120 million to collect and place contaminated soil mixed with concrete into Cactus Crater north of
the island, and cap it with an 18-in. thick concrete dome
(Figure 5a and b). Nevertheless, there was more contaminated soil at Runit than could be encrypted, and a further
decision was made to ban the island from all visitation
and use indefinitely. After the United States completed
other cleanup actions, the remaining 543 Enewetak people
were finally repatriated to their home atoll in 1980. Since
then the population has fluctuated between 800 and 1,000
residents. In 2000, the Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims
Tribunal awarded more than $340 million to the Enewetak
people for loss of use, hardship, medical difficulties, and
further nuclear cleanup.
ENEWETAK ATOLL, MARSHALL ISLANDS
383