24 RADIOLOGICAL CLEANUP OF ENEWETAK ATOLL compact village on small Aomon Island which, as indicated earlier, fej within the domain of the Enewetak [sland chief. After several months. the people of Enjebi moved to the adjacent Bijire (Tilda) Island which way within the domain of their own iroij. With these relocations. the dri-Enjeb; and dri-Enewetak were no longer separated by the atoll’s lurge lagoon. and, while retaining their dual political structure. they had, in fact, become a single community.-+.25 The consolidation of the population into one community and the new compact settlement pattern were continued with the transfer of the islanders to Ujelang Atoll in 1947. This atoll has only one sizeable island. Ujelang Island, and the entire population was settled there. Navy officials established a dividing line at the midpoint of the island and allotted the western half to the people of Enjebi and the eastern half to the people of Enewetak Island. A compactvillage was constructed in the middle ofthe island with the Enjebi and Enewetak people occupying houses on their respective sides of the dividing line. Later, each group divided the land on its portion of the island. Ata still later date, other islands in the Ujelang Atoll were divided among membersof the two groups. 26.27 During the first few years on Ujelang, the traditional political structure remained intact. The chiefs functioned in their accustomed roles and resisted American efforts to introduce democratic institutions. It had been intended by American planners that each atoll population be governed by an elected governmental council of elders headed by an elected magistrate, but this was not acceptable to theiroijs. By the early 1960’s, however, some change was observable. Both chiefs were, by then, quite aged men, who had matured in an earlier era. Some of the contemporary problems required that the decision-making process be opened to include younger men who had attended schools and/or had some other experiences with the American administration. Meetings of all males were held occasionally, and some decisions about community affairs were decided by a majority vote. The authority and status of the chiefs declined further in the later 1960’s when the old Enjebi chief died and was succeededin office by his younger brother, who was also elderly and suffered the additional disadvantage of frequent poor health. 28 These events precipitated a major transformation of the political structure. The chiefs yielded to younger men who desired, and had been gaining; a greater voice in communityaffairs. In 1968, a magistrate and a council of 12 men were elected. Reflecting the traditional division of the population, the people of Enjebi elected six councilmen from amongtheir ranks, and the people of Enewetakelected six from theirs. Themagistrate became the head of the entire community, and the council bécame the legislative body governing the people's affairs. In a later election, the 12 councilmen wereelected from the population at large, not equally from the