(Re)storying Okinawa: Mapping Military Waste
“The runway that continues to run sticky over your foreheads, thoughts and feet, the area with the golf course, plastered with stars all over it … Wandering people, people who want to know the truth, people who are hungry for ‘freedom,’ we swore we would never fight, mothers, do you know this pitifiul map?”
—Kishaba Jun, “Pitiful Map” (qtd. in Ryukyu Shimpo)
“(Re)storying Okinawa: Mapping Military Waste” aims to visualize the histories and sites of military waste in the Lūchū islands/Okinawa. Using mapping technologies, archival sources, place-based fieldwork, and community-generated data, the map makes visible the legacies of military waste in what some have called the “hidden empire” of the United States. By bringing to light these incidents of military waste, (Re)storying Okinawa aims to bring greater awareness around how Okinawans bear the costs and impact of ongoing US military occupation. Using storytelling practices, this map ultimately seeks to “(re)story” and restore Okinawan relations to land by centering Okinawan voices and experiences.
(Re)storying Okinawa: Mapping Military Waste 