GARY T. KUBOTA / GKUBOTA@STARBULLETIN.COM Hokule'a Captain Bruce Blankenfeld presented a ho'okupu, or ceremonial gift, to Bikinian and Marshall Islands Sen. Tomaki Juda. The ho'okupu included a piece of coral from the Protect Kahoolawe Ohana and a book describing the group's struggle to halt the bombing of their island. Bikinians want the U.S. government to clean their atoll of nuclear contamination. CLICK FOR LARGE

Voyagers' gift cites shared goals

The ho'okupu included a piece of coral from the Protect Kahoolawe Ohana and a book describing the group's struggle

MAJURO, The Marshall Islands » A group of native Hawaiians who have witnessed the effects that military bombing has on an island paid homage to a Micronesian atoll ravaged by nuclear tests.

The crew of the Hokule'a delivered a ho'okupu, or ceremonial gift, to Bikini Atoll islanders this morning (yesterday, Hawaii time), recognizing their common goal of restoring their respective islands that remain orphans of the Cold War.

FOLLOW ALONG » Follow the voyage of Hokule'a at the Polynesian Voyaging Society web site at: www.pvs.hawaii.org » Star-Bulletin reporter Gary Kubota is sailing with Hokule'a and will respond to selected reader questions from the canoe via satellite hookup, when possible. Email questions to hokulea@starbulletin.com

The ceremony occurred aboard the Hokule'a in Majuro, where the double-hulled sailing canoe had arrived a day earlier from Hawaii.

Hokule'a Capt. Bruce Blankenfeld hosted the visitors, who included Mayor Eldon Note and Marshall Islands Sen. Tomaki Juda.

Juda, who was forced to leave Bikini when he was 4 because the United States wanted to use the atoll for nuclear tests, said he understands how it feels when an island is lost because of military use, such as Kahoolawe.

"We have the same problems they have," Juda said. "We really feel sorry for them. I think the United States government is wrong. Every time the military use lands, they should do the clearing."

Atwood Makanani, an Ohana member and also a member of the Hokule'a crew, said he hoped the ceremony would deepen the world's understanding of the plight of Pacific peoples who have suffered the brunt of military tests.

He said he also hoped it would help to bring about some healing for Bikinians to know they are not alone in their quest to one day return to their atoll.

At least 167 Bikinians in the Marshall Islands were forced to leave their atoll in 1946, as the United States prepared to use their homeland for 23 atomic and hydrogen bomb tests.

After a limited cleanup, some of the Bikinians returned to the atoll in the early 1970s but were removed after medical officials found the land was contaminated with radioactive cesium-137, strontium-90 and plutonium. Bikini has a lagoon area of about 240 square miles with 25 islands and a dry-land area of 2.94 square miles.

In Hawaii, the 45-square-mile Kahoolawe was used for bombing practice from World War II until 1990. Kahoolawe was returned to the state of Hawaii in 1994.

The Navy cleared ordnance from 70 percent of the surface, and 15 percent of the subsurface land has been cleared down to 4 feet and could possibly be used for human habitation, including camping.

Makanani said the U.S. government hasn't lived up to its obligation to return Kahoolawe to its previous habitable state.