United States Department of the Interior 401888 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240 JUL 15 9977 Dr. Joseph E. Trimble Research Scientist Social Change Study Center Battelle Human Affairs Research Centers Post Office Box 5395 Seattle, Washington 98105 Dear DOr, Trimble: Your letter of July 5, 1977, on possible future research studies of readjustment of the peaples of Bikini and Enewetak after resettlement is being forwarded to the High Commissioner of the Trust Territory for his review and comment since any proposal of this nature would require his approval and cooperation, as well as that of the people concerned. Additionally, both groups have legal counsel of their own choosing who represent them and who also need to be consulted on any activity involv- ing their clients, We have several comments, though,since it seems that some confusion has resulted ja treating the Bikini and Enewetak situations as similar, Dr. Robert Kiste, of course, is well known to us through his research in the Marshalls. The preliminary proposal for a study on readjustment of Bikinians we assume was drawn largely from his background knowledge and it 1S an interesting proposal, However, the "Bikini research matrix" should not be superimposed in its entirety as a model for a followup study of the adjustment problems of the people of Enewetak, The people of Bikini were moved to Kili, an isolated island without a lagoon, and having other physical characteristics quite different from Bikini Atoll. The people of Enewetak Atol] have been living on Ujelang Atoll, which, although it is considerably smaller in extent than Enewetak Atoll, basically has similar atoll characteristics. For example, we doubt that the Ujelangese have now lost their lagoon fishing techniques as stated in your Jetter and given as an example of a readjustment pattern they have to relearn in Enewetak Atol). They have undergone many privations but also as a result of these privations and isolation, have had to rely more on certain traditional methods than many ether Marshallese, Neither have as many residents of Ujelang been dispersed throughout the Marshalls as is the case for the Kilians, Actually, except for students and a group of workers, rela~ tively few of the Ujelang people are dispersed in comparison with the Bikinians. Obviously, there will be many similarities of readjustment between the two groups but they will not all necessarily be the same. \ BEST COPY AVAILABLE