Kili Island
NASA Astronaut Photography image of Kili Island
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 Kili Island
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| Geography | |
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| Location | North Pacific |
| Coordinates | 5°38′46″N 169°07′42″E / 5.64611°N 169.12833°E |
| Archipelago | Ralik |
| Total islands | 1 |
| Area | 0.93 km2 (0.36 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 3 m (10 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 600 (2005) |
| Ethnic groups | Marshallese |
Kili Island or Kili Atoll (Marshallese: Kōle, [kɤ͡elʲee̯]) is an island of 0.93 square kilometres (0.36 sq mi) located in the Marshall Islands. It is the temporary home of about 600 inhabitants who are descended from islanders who originally lived on Bikini Atoll. They were relocated when they agreed to let the U.S. government temporarily use their home for nuclear testing in 1945. Kili Island became their home after two prior relocations failed. The island does not have a natural lagoon and cannot produce enough food to enable the islanders to be self-sufficient. It is part of the legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. The island is approximately 48 kilometres (30 mi) southwest of Jaluit. It is one of the smallest islands in the Marshall Islands.
Kili Atoll was claimed by the Empire of Germany along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1884. After World War I, the island came under the South Pacific Mandate of the Empire of Japan. Following the end of World War II, it came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
Kili was uninhabited until November 2, 1948 when the United States government relocated the Bikini Atoll's indigenous population from Rongerik Atoll, where they had previously been relocated after their first relocation to Kwajalein Atoll failed. The islanders had consented to what they believed was temporary use of their island for nuclear tests. They thought they would be able to return to their island home within a few years.
On Kwajalein Atoll, the islanders were living in tents on a strip of grass alongside the airport runway. In June 1948 the Bikini residents chose Kili Island as a long-term home. The small island was uninhabited and wasn't ruled by a paramount king, or iroij. In June the Bikini community chose two dozen men to accompany eight Seabees to Kili to begin constructing a village. In November 1948, the residents, now totaling 184 individuals, moved to Kili Island, but soon learned that the new location was incompatible with their traditional diet and lifestyle based on lagoon fishing.
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