Graphic by Sofía Savid ’24.
By Helen Gloege ’23
Staff Writer
Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner is a self-described “Marshallese poet, writer, performance artist and journalist,” according to her website. Jetn̄il-Kijiner is from the Marshall Islands and is currently based in their capital city, Majuro. According to her website, Jetn̄il-Kijiner’s main focuses are nuclear testing and climate change.
The Marshall Islands has a history of nuclear because of the Cold War atomic bomb testing program that took place between 1946 and 1958. During this period, the United States “detonated 67 nuclear bombs on, in and above the Marshall Islands,” the Los Angeles Times reported. Scientific American compared the amount of nuclear testing done on the Marshall Islands as “equal [to] the energy yield of 7,000 Hiroshima bombs.” This nuclear testing caused the “vaporizing [of] whole islands … and exiling [of] hundreds of people from their homes,” according to the LA Times.
The area of the Marshall Islands where Jetn̄il-Kijiner is based is especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. A report from the World Bank published in October 2021 stated that the Marshall Islands “could lose significant and crucial parts of its land and infrastructure” due to rising sea levels.
This loss would include “40 percent of buildings in the Marshall Islands’ capital of Majuro [being] permanently flooded,” and entire islands potentially disappearing, as reported in The Guardian. According to the same source, Jetn̄il-Kijiner “was shocked to learn that her island would be so badly affected,” she said, “It’s a really difficult report to get through.”
Jetn̄il-Kijiner is also known for her poetry. She “recited her poem ‘Dear Matafele Peinam’ … at the 2014 opening ceremony of the United Nations Secretary General’s Climate Summit,” Edge Effects reported. The poem was written for her daughter and aimed to encourage “countries to rethink their environmental policies.”
In 2017, Jetn̄il-Kijiner published a book of poetry called “Iep Jāltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter.” The book “highlights the traumas of colonialism, racism, forced migration, the legacy of American nuclear testing and the impending threats of climate change” and is the “first published book of poetry written by a Marshallese author,” according to the University of Arizona Press. According to her website, Jetn̄il-Kijiner’s poetry focuses on climate change, forced migration, adaptation and racism in America. Her poetry can be found on her website along with her blog posts.
Poetry is not Jetn̄il-Kijiner’s only art form, as she has also “created art installations and performances” at places like The Smithsonian and the Queensland Art Gallery,” according to the University of California Los Angeles’s Institute of the Environment & Sustainability. Jetn̄il-Kijiner uses the formats of poetry and performance to explore her “culture’s rich storytelling,” according to her personal website.
Jetn̄il-Kijiner is the co-founder and director for Majuro-based nonprofit Jo-Jikum, an organization focused on “empowering Marshallese youth to turn the tides, become change-makers and creators and contribute to the survival of their lush, thriving islands,” according to Jo-Jikum’s website. As said by Atmos, Jetn̄il-Kijiner additionally works as a climate envoy for the Marshall Islands Ministry of Environment.