Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 5, 1 Mei 1992 — OHA and historic preservation and Halawa valley [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA and historic preservation and Halawa valley

by Clayton Hee Chairman OHA Board of Trustees

For almost five years the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has been an active party in the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) whieh outlines preservation, mitigation and treatment of Native Hawaiian cultural properties impacted by the

construction of H-3. Only after OHA initiated a lawsuit in 1983 were we able to trigger the "Section 106 process" of the Nahonal Historic Preservation Act whieh mandates a good faith effort to forge such a mitigation document and on-going review. By the terms of this MOA, eaeh of the signatories — the National Historic Preservation Advisory Council, the Federal Highways Administration, the State Historic Preservation Officer, the state Department of Transportation, and OHA — have agreed to work together to avoid or lessen the adverse impact on historic and cultural properties caused by the building of the highway. As a result of the commitment: 1. The Luluku agricultural terraces, the largest surviving field of lo'i on the island of O'ahu, have been preserved by altering the highway design in a wide loop to avoid the area; 2. A sacred structure, with likely associations to Kuku'iokane, has been preserved by redesign of an on-ramp and additional land acquisition; 3. The village area of Halawa containing sites of sacred function and a chief's compound were preserved, last year, by moving the intended route of the highway. Even these successes have not been without controversy. There is only one way to avoid all harm to cultural properties on a project of the scale and nature of H-3, and that is not to build the highway. That decision, however, was not and is not OHA's to make. This legislature and the United States Congress made the decision to build the H-3.

The role and function of OHA, then, is to assume the difficult but necessary responsibility of assuring that the maximum preservation and least possible harm occurs. We take this responsibility very seriousIy. Within the structure and the process of the MOA, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Historic Sites Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources are recognized "watchdogs. " By law, the DOT is required to contract archaeological services to investigate and assess cultural properties within the construction corridor. From the ineephon of the project, this eontract has been with the applied research division of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. By law and contract, the museum is required to develop and to submit its data recovery plans i . . . . . . . . . . . ..... _ ....... ....... . • • . . • . . - i

to the Historic Sites Division for review on adequacy, methodology and research design. Progress assessments, site visits, and possible additional recovery or research ean and does occur throughout this phase. OHA is consulted and, at least twice, has insisted on more intensive on-site work. As this information is gathered, site signifieanee and interpretation is also discussed. Cultural importance and assessment in particular, involves OHA. At site 85 — the Halawa village I mentioned earlier — the Historic Sites Division had completed its professional review. A site-visit by OHA and conversation with museum archaeologists about the significance and meaning of this property, led to the request for realigning the route.

Today, we are about mid-way in this process regarding Site 75 in Halawa. The applied research team has virtually completed its described, on-site, investigation. Lab tests and dating results are being concluded. The preliminary report on this site is expected by April 30. Our office is very aware of, and sensitive to the interpretation that Site 85 is believed, by some, to have a luakini heiau, and that Site 75 may then be a hale o papa <3r corresponding women's heiau. As we have stated in the board-approved "OHA Guidelines For Assessing Traditional Cultural Values In Historic Preservation Decisions": "... Simply, no level of government or OHA ean assert 'knowing everything' about every historic property and its cultural significance in the State of Hawai'i ..." That is why OHA has established a Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council. Fifteen members, including Aunty Namahana Mai'oho, Aunty Gladys Brandt, Rudy Mitchell, and Charley Ke'au, review and recommend preservation decisions to OHA. It was from their site-

visit to the Halawa village area that the decision to re-route the highway was determined. Onee again, the members of the eouneil are being asked to take the lead in assessing and making recommendation on Site 75. And I trust their judgment and determination to hear from all interested community groups, to seek additional cultural authorities, and to make a sound recommendation regarding future aehon. There are certain other public assurances I want to make explicit. First, OHA will not allow or participate in any "cover up" at Site 75 or any other property in Halawa valley. Second, while it may have taken legal eonfrontation to win OHA participation in the MOA, I am confident that the DOT and Federal Highways are actively cooperating with OHA and are sensitive to Hawaiian concerns and commitments to preserving the past. Third, our experiences with the staff and administration of the Bishop Museum have been open and forthright. While there may be open questioning about the firing or retention of certain employees, we consider such actions a matter of internal review by the museum board and director.

In conclusion, and most importantly, I want to offer the assurance that our role is to protect and preserve our Hawaiian past. We have already asked for, and DOT is pursuing, all design alternatives to avoid Site 75. We may never totally or absolutely agree on what these historic properties may truly have been in the historic past. But, in many ways, their signifieanee and spiritual meaning is rooted in simply being part of the past. Our connection to them, and their continuing resonance in our future is felt, and as already demonstrated, is deserving of as mueh protection as possible, whether a lo'i, a chief's house, or a heiau.