RADIOLOGICAL CLEANUP OF ENEWETAK ATOLL The fauna of Enewetak may be divided, for convenience, into three groups accordingto their habitat: sea, land, or air. Certainly, the sea life is the most numerous in variety and number. In 1953, there were some 700 species of fish alone reported in the waters of the lagoon and surrounding ocean.!5 In addition to fish, edible sea fauna includes crabs, lobsters, sea turtles, clams, and oysters. Besides domesticated dogs, mammals are limited to three species, two of rats and one house mouse. Reptiles include at feast four species of geckoes, three skinks, a blind snake, and a monitor lizard introduced by the Japanese to control rats. The turtles are the green and the hawkbill, both inhabitants of the sea. Invertebrates include snails, nocturnal crabs, centipedes, scorpions, spiders, and other insects of considerable variety including cockroaches, scale insects, termites, fruit beetles, fruit flies, ants, and others. !6 Thirty-two species of birds have been reported from Enewetak Atoll including seabirds, shorebirds, a heron, a cuckoo, and domestic fowl. Of these, nine are definitely known to breed ontheislands, and six others are suspected to do so but have not been observed with nests or young birds.!7 Some of these birds serve as food sources in the form of meat or eggs. It will be recounted later in this documentary how concern over the nesting of one species of bird delayed progress in cleaning up contaminated soil. Figure 1-25 illustrates the density of bird population on one island of the atoll. me ee a 20 Description and History: 1526-1972 21 PEOPLE Most anthropologists are ‘of the opinion that the Marshalls and other islands of Micronesia were settled by people who migrated from the area of Indonesia into the insular Pacific centuries ago. Reflecting the ancient migration patterns in Oceania, the Marshallese language belongs to the large Malayo-Polynesian language family which spreads from Madagascar, through the Indonesian area, and across Micronesia, Polynesia, and most regions of Melanesia. Physically, the Marshallese are relatively short in stature and of stocky build. They have brown skin, brown eyes, broadflat noses, straight to curly black hair, and sparse body hair.!8 According to their own oral tradition, the dri-Enewetak had always lived on Enewetak Atoll before their relocation to Ujelang in 1947. Because of the atoll’s isolated location in the northwestern region of the Marshallese archipelago, the people of Enewetak had relatively little contact with other people prior to the European era. As a consequence, the language and culture became differentiated from those of other Marshall Islanders, and the people no longer identified themselves with the others. Rather, they think of themselves as a people who were separate and unique from the islanders to the east and south. !? The past and current accomplishments of the dri-Enewetak indicate intelligence and qualities of ingenuity, self-reliance, and hardiness which have allowed them to meet the challenge of the atoll environment, one that is quite restrictive when compared to the high volcanic islands of Oceania. Long before the advent of Europeans, the Marshallese had developed a culture which represented a sophisticated adaptation to their ecological setting. They were skilled navigators, an art which has largely been lost with the availability of travel on the vessels of foreigners, but they remain expert builders of sailing canoes and are among the world’s best fishermen. To traders, missionaries, and the successive colonial - governments which have dominated the islands over the past century, they have been quick to respond by learning and adjusting to each of these outsiders. Today, they have achieved a good understanding of the behavior and values of Americans, and several have distinguished themselves in government and mission schools operated by Americans. 20 Figure 1-26 portrays a typical family grouping of the Marshall Islands. ECONOMY AND POLITICS FIGURE 1-25. SEA BIRDS ON BOKEN (/RENE) ISLAND. Throughout the Marshall Islands the traditional forms of setthement patterns and exploitation of the natural resources are characterized by several general features. The first is that the people on an atoll reside on