Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 20, Number 04, 1 April 2003 — New land board head approves building luxury Kona golf homes on ali'i burials [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]
New land board head approves building luxury Kona golf homes on ali'i burials
Kūkākūkā
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By Dickie Nelson Since December 2000, Protect Keōpuka Ohana (PKO) has pursued 1250 Oceanside Partners to redress the desecration of many Hawaiian burial sites located on Hōkūli'a, Oceanside's multi million dollar gated community in Kealakekua, Kona Hema. At the same time, PKO sued the State Historical Preserve Division (SHPD), a subordinate unit of the Division of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) for its systematic failure to implement burial protection and trail preservation laws. Although PKO dismissed the DLNR from the lawsuit in exchange for its promise to protect the revered burial site known as Pu'u Ohau, PKO is now poised to sue DLNR agam after its new director Peter Young reneged on that promise. For a brief time, the ushering in of a new state administration under the promising leadership of Governor Linda Lingle seemed. to offer Hawaiians a breath of fresh air to business as usual. Former SHPD Administrator Don Hibbard and his Archaeological Branch Chief Ross Cordy resigned as of December 2002. They left a wake of problems in that division that will require great managerial skill to overcome and resolve. SJThe [Hawai'i lsland] burial eouneil was convinced that^uch a revered site must be protected as a whole . f One could have easily presumed that the new chief (Lingle) influenced the departure of Hibbard and Cordy as a start of cleaning house in DLNR. So, in the eyes of the Hawaiians, Lingle was apparently fulfilling her gubernatorial eampaign promise to be a friend to the Hawaiians by doing what is necessary to finally make things "pono." Shortly thereafter, Governor Lingle appointed Peter Young to head the much-troubled DLNR. Then, before Mr. Young even appeared before the Senate Committee on Land, Water, and Hawaiian Affairs at his confirmation hearing, he made a swift and unilateral decision to reverse a 1999 recommendation made by the Hawai'i Island Burial Council (HIBC) to protect the entire hill
known as Pu'u Ohau. Pu'u Ohau is recognized by the Hawaiian community as the sacred burial plaee for many Hawaiians. The pu'u contains the remains of Kamaeokalani, the grandmother of King Kalākaua and Queen Lili'uokalani and probably many of her retinue. The burial eouneil was convinced that such a revered site must be protected as a whole. Instead, Mr. Young chose to side with the developer so it could market five muhi-million dollar residential lots on the northern slope of this hill as well as install sand traps and part of the grassing for the second fairway of its golf course. His action also violated a specific promise to follow the 1999 burial eouneil recommendation. It also promises new litigation against the DLNR, whieh PKO had dismissed against the agency, relying on DLNR's promise to protect the pu'u. This decision by Mr. Young has infuriated many, many Hawaiians in our community of West Hawai'i and beyond. As the July issue of the Hawai'i Island Journal stated "Mr. Young is off to a rocky start." The fact that Mr. Young is not Hawaiian, was a real estate appraiser, and opened the way for 1250 to make millions of dollars in the sale of 5 premium lots located on the pu'u raised the eyebrows of not only the
Hawaiian community but the thousands of non Hawaiians that are sympathetic to the Hawaiian cause. Young's decisions suggest he has a very glaring bias favoring developers! This developer bias of Mr. Young is further reinforced with the appointment of Dan Davidson as his deputy. Davidson, the former head of the Land Use Research Foundation (LURF) a landowner/developer advocacy group that opposes, amongst other things, the enforcement of traditional and customary rights to access and gathering. The LURF also opposed the Waiāhole ditch proceeding, the restoration of Windward O'ahu stream flows for habitat and cultural resources protection. What ean be done about the state's failure to protect Pu'u Ohau? I believe the Hawaiian community would forgive Mr. Young, who obviously lacks cultural sensitivity, if he rescinded his decision for not following cultural and legal protocols. However, it has been my personal observation that while the solution offered is simple, historically, people in high places have great difficulty in confessing wrongdoing, asking the community for forgiveness and then moving on to make decisions that would satisfy our community. The Young decision
on Pu'u Ohau forces PKO to sue the state again. Will Governor Lingle condone business as usual? The Democratic Party was plagued with this embarrassing civil service disease! So when the new Republican leader was elected, promising to appoint quality people to her cabinet posts, this happens! If I heard Governor Lingle correctly in her five-year campaign speech, she insured us (the community of taxpayers) that her administration would restore trust in government by serving the community to whieh the State owes its allegiance. Lingle emphatically stated over and over again that she advocates for the Hawaiian cause and would not cater to special interest groups. The latest appointments for DLNR clearly raises that nagging specter over state government onee again. Has Governor Lingle forgotten her promises so soon after the November election? Dickie Nelson is a resident of Kawanui, Kona Hema, near the Hōkūli'a project site. He is also president of the Hui Kāko 'o association ofNative Hawaiians awaiting homestead lots. Views expressed in this discussion forum are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of
The declslon by new DLNR head PeterYoung allowS the HōkOH'a developer to bulld luxury homes nearly halfway up the pu u upslope of falrways already encroachlng upon burlals known to be contalned throughout Pu'u Ohau. The pu'u is recognlzed by the Hawalian community as the sacred burial plaee of ail'i, and is known to contaln the remains of Kamaeokalanl, the grandmother of King Kalōkaua and Oueen Uli'uokalani and probably many of her retlnue.
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