Bravo for the Marshallese : regaining control in a post-nuclear, post-colonial world / Holly M. Barker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Barker, Holly M.

Contributor:

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Series:

Case studies on contemporary social issues

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History.

Marshall Islands--History.

Marshall Islands.

Nuclear weapons--Testing.

Nuclear weapons.

Physical Description:

xv, 172 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Australia ; Belmont, CA : Thomson/Wadsworth, [2004]

Contents:

Chapter 1 Setting the Stage: Geography, Social/Political Organization, and the Language of the Marshall Islands 4

Location and Ecology 4

Early Migration 9

Social and Political Structure 9

The Marshallese Language and Its Dialects 11

Chapter 2 A Colonial History of the Marshall Islands 15

Colonial Expansion 15

U.S. Naval Administration of the Marshall Islands 17

The Arrival of Anthropologists 24

Move toward Self-Governance 29

Compact of Free Association 29

Chapter 3 The U.S. Nuclear Weapons Testing Program 33

The Official U.S. Government Account of the Events 33

Limitations in U.S. Government Responsibility 35

Recently Declassified U.S. Government Documents 38

Chapter 4 Ethnography and a Marshallese Narrative of History 50

Witness Testimonies: March 1, 1954

The Day the U.S. Government Detonated the Bravo Shot 51

Witness Testimonies: Evacuation and the Decontamination Process 53

Witness Testimonies: Birth Defects 53

Witness Testimonies: Other Medical and Environmental Problems 55

Witness Testimonies: Interactions with U.S. Government Medical Providers and Scientists 56

A Marshallese Narrative of History 57

Chapter 5 Alienation from the Land: The Rongelap Experience 60

Importance of Geography 60

Importance of Land 61

Damage, Injury, and Loss 64

Movements of the Community 64

Human Environmental Interactions 64

Experiences in Exile 67

Loss of Self-sufficiency 68

Burial 70

Stigma/Psychological Problems 72

Social Consequences of Loss of Land 74

Chapter 6 Language and the Testing Program 79

Radiation and a Colonial Language of Control 80

Language as Resistance 82

Chapter 7 Uncovering Themes in Linguistic Data 97

Assigning Responsibility 98

Powerlessness 102

Women's Reproductive Illnesses 105

A Unique Marshallese Radiation Language 111

Chapter 8 Changed Circumstances: A Petition to the U.S. Congress 115

Advisory Committee on Changed Circumstances 117

Content of the Petition 117

Review of the Petition 119

Chapter 9 Other Case Studies 121

Hiroshima/Nagasaki 121

French Polynesia 124

Chernobyl 127

Nevada 130

Hanford 132

Subjects of Human Radiation Experimentation 136

Chapter 10 Methodology and Community Empowerment 140

Developing Bonds of Trust 140

Learning the Language 141

Archival Research 141

Access to Information 141

Building on the Work of Others 141

Life Story and Oral History Collection 142

Local Counterparts and Key Informants 143

Public Education and Training of Students 143

Transcription and Translation 145

Observation 146

Expect to Be Challenged 147

Fieldnotes 148

Repeat Visits to the Field 148

The Policy Realm 148

Methods of the NCT Project 149

Chapter 11 A Broader Understanding of the Consequences of the Testing Program 153

Flaws in the U.S. Government's Accounting of History 154

A New Narrative of History 156

Looking toward the Future 158

Appendix Categories for Personal Injury Awards, Nuclear Claims Tribunal 165.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 159-164) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

0534613268

OCLC:

53025724