They [the previous chiefs of old] looked after the island, the fish, the turtles. They watched and did things that were good for the people... I have been to Hawaii, to Saipan, to Guam, to Tahiti, to Los Angeles. Don't they see that soon, very soon, change will crash on this island like a wave? [...] I am afraid of what's happening to my island. [...] I think money will break this island. Now on Woleai, Lamotrek, Pulusuk, and Puluwat, too, people fish in their motorboats and ask for money when they divide the catch. This was never our custom. In our custom everybody eats, not just those with money.

The Last Navigator (1987)