52 Chapter Six From the Bikinians’ point of view. one major goal was achiev. ed during the project. To them. the agreement with the United States represented.an end to their subordinate sratus vis-a-vis the fw r aC r were manifest in their assertiveness in making numerous petitions to the administration and the strong stance taken by Juda and others in dealings with Americans. The Bikinians were no longer the meek and uncertain islanders who had readily acquiesced to the Americans’ request for their relocation a decade and a half eariier.. 500t2bb oe eeee ~athe paramount chief. As he had no legal or traditional! claim to Kili. he had no right to their services or resources. and in their eves. a significant victorv had been won. The financial compensation awarded the islanders increased their ability to purchase imported foods and material irems. This in turn increased the people's desire for a wider range of goods. a process that had begun eariv in their relocations. and made them more dependent upon the Americans and the outside world. At tne same time. the Bikinians’ income gave them less incentive to engage in the production ot copra and handicrart as a means Of satistving their wants. By the later 1950s and early 1960s. the experience that the eopie had acquired since chew initial relocation and the corresonding improvement in their own self-image gave them a greater contidence in themselves. These changes in the people's atritudes