Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 4, 1 ʻApelila 1998 — UKANIPO HEIAU: Army and Leeward commumty find common ground [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

UKANIPO HEIAU: Army and Leeward commumty find common ground

By Jayson Harper f EVERAL MONTHS after an amphibious 1 landing was suspended at Makua Beach on O'ahu, the pristine Leeward valley finds 1 itself in the news again. However, this time W the Leeward community and the military may be reading from the same page. The Army is launching a cooperative eifort with the state and the community to create a preservation plan for the Ukanipo Heiau. The heiau (temple) is within the boundaries of the valley's live-fire range. Though not formally agreed upon, the plan may include setting up an advisory committee for efforts of site preservation, access, restoration and interpretation, according to Lauiie Lucking, Army cultural resources manager. The Army's recent move to open access to eultural sites within the valley is a weleome sign to many in the Leeward community, including Glenn Kila of Koa Mana, who represents a group of Leeward Hawaiian families. "I believe it's the See HEIAU, on page 6.

Ukanipo Heiau has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984.

phoīo: jayson harper

right step to restoring religious and cultural practices," said Kila. Ukanipo sits on land in the northwestern Kahanahāiki subdistrict of Mākua. The heiau complex is eomposed of a series of small terraces that lead up to a large platform 90 feet by 40 feet. The Army does not know when Ukanipo was built or the history of its use. Native Hawaiians wishing to practice religious traditions now have

access to the heiau through range officials, Lucking said. In recent years the Army has marked off other archaeological sites within the valley. Though more work needs to be done, the Army plans to work with the community to improve the site by mapping it, provinding better access and stabilizing the heiau walls, according to Lucking. ■ Additional inforrnation and quotes where takenfrom the Honolulu Advertiser ofMarch 24.

1 HEIAU From page 5