Navigating US Culture for Marshallese People

 I moved to the United States when I was a young adult, and spent the first 10 years living in Marshallese communities where I was insulated from US culture. In 2007, I left my insular community for a job training program, and have never returned to living in a Marshallese community. I have had a lot of struggles trying to navigate mainstream US culture, and I always assume it's easier for immigrants who start a new life when they are young. They fit in better, they understand the mindset more naturally, and they learn the language quicker. However, it is equally problematic because my relatives who immigrated at a young age are lost here. For example, my half-brother Joel who I interviewed for this project, has really struggled, but not because he doesn't fit in here, but because he's lost his sense of Marshallese-ness. 

 Whenever I come across a news story about Marshallese immigrants in the US, it almost always talks about the poor health of Marshallese people. It makes me really sad. Without access to health care, Marshallese people living in the US have had some of the poorest health outcomes of any population in the world, especially diabetes and thyroid rates. “Health assessments of Marshallese adults in the United States found 44.2% in Hawaii and 46.5% in Arkansas had diabetes. An additional 25.3% in Hawaii and 21.4% in Arkansas had pre-diabetes” (McElfish et al. “Health Beliefs”). In addition to the diabetes crisis, the legacy of the nuclear testing lingers through high rates of cancers and thyroid disease. “Radioactive fallout from the tests devastated people’s health and was later documented to have caused an elevated incidence of thyroid disorders. First reported in the country in 1961, these disorders have afflicted at least 1,500” ( Raj) .

The Free Associated States or COFA nations. The 2009 Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act gave states the authority to extend Medicaid and CHIP benefits to lawfully residing children, including COFA migrants, and provided federal matching funds to offset the cost. Approximately half of the US states have adopted the provisions  (McElfish et al. “Effect of US Health Policies”). The two states with the largest Marshallese populations have very different health care support for Marshallese.  Hawaii has always provided health insurance through its state funds for Marshallese and other COFA children. In stark contrast, Arkansas does not provide any health insurance for COFA children. In order for Marshallese children who live in Arkansas to get CHIP benefits, “the Arkansas state government would need to submit a state plan amendment to the Center on Medicare and Medicaid Services and obtain approval. At present, Arkansas has not submitted such an amendment and ha...

  To understand the complicated situation for Marshallese immigrants living in the United States, one must understand the relationship between the Marshall Islands and the United States. From 1947 until 1986, Marshall Islands was under the administrative control of the United States as part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (McElfish et al.). In 1986, a new arrangement was made between several Pacific Island nations, including Marshall Islands, and the United States named the Compact of Free Association (COFA). The COFA gave the Marshall Islands sovereignty; and it allowed, and continues to allow, Marshallese citizens to freely enter, lawfully reside, and work in the United States without Visas or any other legal documents. (McElfish et al.) In exchange “Marshall Islands provides the United States with exclusive military use and control of 2 million square miles of ocean and land. The United States maintains a military installation on Kwajalein Atoll (...

F or Marshallese people, it is very important to know our history. We have a famous metaphor that compares the importance of learning one’s history to a canoe in the ocean. Marshallese cultural expert Cent Langidrik explains in A Marshall Islands History , “If you are traveling in your canoe in the middle of a storm and you cannot determine which direction you are traveling or where you are going, the best thing to do is to look behind you. The wake made by your boat will show you if you are going straight or moving from side to side without making any progress. Look backward to see where you are going” (3). Thus, to understand the great difficulties Marshallese people in the US face, specifically in regards to their health, one must understand how Marshallese people got here; looking backward to understand the present and see where we are going–and possibly try to change course. Traditional Marshallese Canoe  The relationship between the United States and the Marshall Islands bega...

Another part of Joel's interview that's really stuck with me is when we talked about education and his experience in US high school. Joel lives in Evansville, Indiana where there is a fairly large Marshallese population. Most of my closest relatives live there. Joel graduated from high school, but hasn’t gone to college yet. He liked school, and when I asked if he experienced racism or discrimination in high school, he kind of giggled and said, “Yeah, of course [without hesitation], the white kids were together and the brown and black kids were all friends.” Joel talked about how the basketball coaches wanted him to be on the team, but he never did. He said, “I didn’t feel like I was good enough to be on the team.” I asked him if he regrets his decision not to join the team and he said yes and no.  When Joel answered like that, I wondered if it was cultural or if Joel felt like he didn’t belong because he’s from a different culture or if he just didn’t want to be on the team. ...

 Since our interview a month ago, I've thought a lot about my conversation with my half-brother about religion.  The next topic I wanted to ask Joel about was his experience with religion. Back in the mid-1800’s German-American protestant missionaries arrived in the Marshall Islands. Marshallese people took Christianity very seriously. Even today, almost all Marshallese people are devoted to Christianity. They attend church every Sunday and often during the week. In my atoll of Wotje, there are more churches than stores. I was curious about Joel’s experience here in the US, but having been raised by a Marshallese Christian family. Joel said, “Church gatherings are very similar, but sometimes they are not as serious as back home.” I asked what that meant and he said, “Back home, nobody works on Sundays and everything’s shut down, and here, sometimes I have to work. And I only go to church when I have time.” Joel stated that, “It’s shocking how Americans brought Christianity to ...

  Aerial view of Wotje Atoll The Marshall Islands are composed of more than 1,200 islands  and islets in two parallel chains of coral atolls —the  Ratak, or Sunrise, to the east and the  Ralik, or Sunset, to the west. The islands are located just north of the equator. The 2023 population is 41,000. (Kiste). Marshall Islands Flag Kiste, Robert C.. "Marshall Islands". Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Nov. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/place/Marshall-Islands. Accessed 19 November 2023.

One month ago, I embarked on my Writing 121 Ethnographic Project by calling my half-brother Joel who lives in Evansville, Indiana. On a warm Saturday afternoon, I messaged my brother Joel to see if would do an interview with me. He didn't reply. Then I called him and asked him if he is willing to be interviewed. He didn't like the idea of interviewing him, but I pressured him by saying "Do it for me". So he finally agreed. He kept asking, "Why do you want to interview me?" and "What do I  have to say?" You might be wondering the same thing... Why would I interview my relative for an ethnographic project? Here's why. I moved to the United States when I was a young adult. I still think and act Marshallese, but my brother came here when he was little. He's attended school in US public schools and has both Marshallese friends and American friends. I was really curious about his experience of growing up here and being bi-cultural. How does he ke...