Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 1, 1 January 1989 — OHA Board Asks: Reconsider Honokahua Hotel Permit [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA Board Asks: Reconsider Honokahua Hotel Permit

Editor's Note: As this article went to press, Governor Waihe'e had met with Native Hawaiians protesting the excavation of burials at Honokahua, and he had called for disinterment to stop. Administration officials were reportedly working with Kapalua Land Co. to resolve thesituation. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Maui community group Hui Alanui O Makena are asking the Maui Planning Commission to reconsider the shoreline management area (SMA) permit allowing construction of a luxury hotel at Honokahua, Maui. Archaeological excavations have revealed that the proposed hotel is being built over a major Hawaiian burial ground. At its December 15, 1988 board meeting, the OHA Trustees expressed deep eoneem at the previously unknown extent of the burial site, and the disinterment of the remains of close to 1,000 individuals in the sand dunes at the site of Kapalua Land Company's proposed Ritz-Carlton Hotel. OHA Vice Chair Rod Burgess said, "With this information, and at least several months of excavation anticipated — it is imperative to review past permit approvals. We simply do not know how many more graves would be disturbed, and it is very appropriate to review whether disinterment at this scale should eonhnue. Thus, we are formally requesting the Maui Planning Commission to reconsider its previous SMA approval." In August 1987, OHA, along with Hui Alanui O Makena and the State Historic Preservation Office, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) whieh states that "prior private and govemmental decisions and approvals regarding Honokahua made the disturbance of Native Hawaiian graves inevitable, and participation by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was only to assure res-

pectful and dignified treatment of our ancestral bones." The MOA also calls for the preservation of an ancient trail on the property. At the time the MOA was signed, the full extent of the burial site was not apparent. Now it is known that the Honokahua sand dunes are a major Hawaiian burial ground. At its December 15th meeting, the OHA Trustees also reviewed OHA's participation in the MOA and expressed their continued support for its enforcement while reconsideration takes plaee.

The Board stressed that it never approved the development. To make sure that major ancient Hawaiian burial sites are not disturbed in the future, the Board has adopted the outline of a legislative paekage to be introduced at the 1989 state legislature. It calls for amendments to state law to tighten the procedure for the granting of disinterment permits. The following provisions are included in continued on page 2

The sand dunes in foreground look out over Honokahua Bay. site of the proposed Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Maui. Nearly 1000 aneieni Hawaiian burials have been uncovered here.

Honokahua permit, from page 1. the proposal: a. The Department of Health (DOH) (shall) be responsible solely for modern burials. Responsibility for pre-contact burials would be transferred to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). b. A public hearing (shall be required) before the issuance of a disinterment permit, whether by DOH or SHPO. Publication notices (shall be required) in two newspapers of statewide circulation, "Ka Wai O OHA," and a newspaper published in the county affected. e. Permits (shall be issued) containing a mandatory review mechanism in the event a major burial area is encōuntered. No other permits would be finalized until all reviews associated with disinterment are completed. If SHPO disinterment re-review indicates a major pre-contact burial area is involved, no permit would be issued and the area would be designated for preservation. At their December 15 meeting, OHATrustees called on the Governor, the Legislature of the State of Hawai'i and people of Hawai'i to support this proposed legislation. A few days after the Board's action, OHA Chairman Thomas Kaulukukui met with Governor John Waihee concerning the disturbance of burials at Honokahua. Following that meeting, the Governor named a task force to reevaluate the disinterment and relocation of human remains at the Maui site.