Rent 9781111833848 | Bravo for the Marshallese : Regaining Control in a Post-Nuclear, Post-Colonial World

Summary Table of Contents

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.

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Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Setting the Stage: The Geography, Social/Political Organization, and Language of the Marshall Islands	p. 5
Location and Ecology	p. 5
Early Migration	p. 10
The Social and Political Structure	p. 10
The Marshallese Language and Its Dialects	p. 12
A Colonial History of the Marshall Islands	p. 16
Colonial Expansion	p. 16
U.S. Naval Administration of the Marshall Islands	p. 19
The Arrival of Anthropologists	p. 25
The Move toward Self-Governance	p. 29
The Compact of Free Association	p. 30
The U.S. Nuclear Weapons Testing Program	p. 34
The Official U.S. Government Account of the Events	p. 34
The Limitations on U.S. Government Responsibility	p. 36
Declassified U.S. Government Documents	p. 39
Conclusion	p. 49
Ethnography and a Marshallese Narrative of History	p. 50
Witness Testimonies: March 1, 1954-The Day the U.S. Government Detonated the Bravo Shot	p. 51
Witness Testimonies: Evacuation and the Decontamination Process	p. 53
Witness Testimonies: Birth Defects	p. 54
Witness Testimonies: Other Medical and Environmental Problems	p. 55
Witness Testimonies: Interactions with U.S. Government Medical Providers and Scientists	p. 56
A Marshallese Narrative of History	p. 57
Conclusion	p. 59
Alienation from the Land: The Rongelap Experience	p. 60
The Importance of Geography	p. 60
The Importance of Land	p. 61
Damage, Injury, and Loss	p. 63
Experiences in Exile	p. 64
The Loss of Self-Sufficiency	p. 66
Burial	p. 69
Stigma/Psychological Problems among the "Bombed People"	p. 71
Gender, Age, and Status in Exile	p. 72
Conclusion	p. 75
Language and the Testing Program	p. 76
Radiation and a Colonial Language of Control	p. 76
Language as Resistance	p. 79
Conclusion	p. 92
Uncovering Themes in Linguistic Data	p. 93
Assigning Responsibility	p. 94
Powerlessness	p. 98
Women's Reproductive Illnesses	p. 101
A Unique Marshallese Radiation Language	p. 107
Conclusion	p. 110
Changed Circumstances: Petitioning the U.S. Government	p. 111
Advisory Committee on Changed Circumstances	p. 113
Content of the Petition	p. 113
Review of the Petition	p. 115
Conclusion	p. 116
Other Case Studies	p. 117
Hiroshima/Nagasaki	p. 117
French Polynesia	p. 120
Chernobyl	p. 123
Nevada	p. 126
Hanford	p. 128
Subjects of Human Radiation Experimentation	p. 133
Conclusion	p. 135
Methods and Community Empowerment	p. 136
Developing Bonds of Trust	p. 136
Learning the Language	p. 136
Archival Research	p. 137
Access to Information	p. 137
Building on the Work of Others	p. 137
Life Story and Oral History Collection	p. 138
Local Counterparts and Key Informants	p. 139
Public Education and Training of Students	p. 139
Transcription and Translation	p. 141
Observation	p. 142
Expect to Be Challenged	p. 143
Fieldnotes	p. 144
Repeat Visits to the Field	p. 144
The Policy Realm	p. 144
Methods of the NCT Project	p. 145
Conclusion	p. 148
Competing Narratives of History	p. 149
Flaws in the U.S. Government's Accounting of History	p. 150
A New Narrative of History	p. 152
Looking toward the Future	p. 153
The Failure of Reconciliation and the Mobility of Structural Violence	p. 155
Rongelap Ultimatum	p. 156
Structural Violence	p. 157
Mounting Tension	p. 158
Mixed Messages	p. 161
Applied and Public Anthropology	p. 163
Budgetary Cuts Threaten Lives of Washington's Hungry and Sick	p. 163
Nuclear Claims Tribunal	p. 165
Anthropology and the Rongelap Land Claim	p. 166
Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise	p. 168
Conclusion	p. 172
Bibliography	p. 175
Appendix Categories for Personal Injury Awards, Nuclear Claims Tribunal	p. 182
Glossary	p. 184
Index	p. 185
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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