Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 4, 1 April 2000 — NAGPRA issue requires input and concurrence [ARTICLE]

NAGPRA issue requires input and concurrence

By Lani Ma'a Laplllo,Esq. Native Historic Preservatlon C o u n e i I

f inee 1990, the federal Native American Graves I Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) has enabled the return of thousands of our 'iwi kupuna \ (ancestral remains) and cultural objects. Presently, W discussion of NAGPRA in Hawai'i is focused on the repatriation of 'iwi kupuna and cultural objects from three burial caves at Honokoa Gulch, Kawaihae, South Kohala, Hawai'i island. This very significant collection was removed from the caves between 1905 and 1979, and later obtained by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum and the Hawai'i Volcanoes Naūonal Park Museum. The objects are either burial-associated, or items hidden away. Included in this eolleeūon are: 1 . Two wooden female images with human hair, 27 and 28 inches high. 2. Two ki'i 'aumakua, about three-and-a-half feet high. 3. One wooden bowl with two supporting carved figures and human teeth inlays, 14 inches byl 1 inches in diameter. 4. One wooded bowl with human teeth and ivory harpoon fragment inlays, 10 inches in diameter. 5. One wooden papamū or kōnane board with carved human figures as legs, 13 by 10 inches. 6. One wood cutting tool made from a shark's tooth

attached to a human clavicle. 7. One 'ahu'ula (feather eape) remnant. Items 1 -5 are among the best wooden carvings of Hawaiian craftsmanship in the world today. The status of some of these items appears to be of a chiefly nature and they could have been personal possessions of an unknown chief. Seventy-nine objects in the Bishop Museum inventory have been identified as found in these three caves. Pursuant to the NAGPRA, Native Hawaiian organizations ean file claims to repatriate certain types of cultural objects and items. In this instance, however, four Native Hawaiian organizations have filed claims to this collection: OHA, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Hawai'i Island Burial Council and Hui Mālama i nā Kūpuna. A decision on the disposition and treatment of these objects is a very serious matter. Some Hawaiians support reburial and other Hawaiians support having these objects cared for in a museum environment for the benefit of current and future Hawaiian generations. Of great eoneem are the issues of safety, protection and security of this unique collection. NAGPRA places substantial responsibility on museums and federal agencies. They are responsible for identifying and notifying appropriate parties, eonducting reasonable investigation and applying repatriation standards. Above all, the museum has the responsibility to act with the utmost good faith. Before deaccessioning or repatriating any part of its

collections, it must do so after receiving and acting on all relevant information and considering all relevant viewpoints. Given the mulūple claimants involved in this case, NAGPRA allows the museum to retain the collection until these issues are resolved and final decisions are made. Although these objects have since been transferred to one of the claimants, repatriation cannot technically occur until 30 days after notice has been published in the Federal Register. At this writing, notice has not been published. This decision is the first of its kind in Hawai'i and highly significant to all Hawaiians. In the old days, this would have been a family matter and final decisions would be made by those in the family who had the responsibility to mālama the 'iwi and objects. In keeping with the belief that people with a strong, long-term traditional and genealogieal connection with an area know what is right for that area, we understand that individuals and groups in the Waimea-Kawaihae area are very mueh interested in being involved in decision-making regarding the objects from the caves. If you would like more information, or are interested in participating in this process, please contact the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawaiian Rights Division at 594-1954. (The Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council is an advisory body to the OHA Board of Trustees on issues ofcultural and historic preservation.) ■