thousands of years. Most of the individuals living on the island are indigenous peoples whose families have lived there for generations. There are at least 25 settlements on the island with more than 5 houses, with hundreds more small huts and farms scattered around the terrain. The island and its tribes are involved in the Kula Exchange, an exchange of goods between islands in the MASSIM archipelago that involves thousands of individuals who travel hundreds of miles by canoe in order to exchange Kula valuables. Villagers live in small, raised wood huts and in small close-knit communities. The inhabitants of the island speak in Austronesian language as part of the Trans-New Guinea language family. The two main settlements with the largest number of inhabitants on the island are Esa'ala on the northern side of the island followed by Sehulea on the south-eastern side of the island. The majority of the structures in both settlements are wooden huts made from nearby trees around the building. Most of the local population live along the shoreline. References D'Entrecasteaux Islands Islands of Milne Bay Province