Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 12, 1 December 2004 — Kawaihae Cave artifact hearings set for March [ARTICLE]

Kawaihae Cave artifact hearings set for March

By Sterling Kini Wong Afederal review committee has announced that it will hear testimony in Hawai'i in March on the controversial Kawaihae Cave repatriation issue. The committee that oversees the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act has been asked to reconsider its previous decision that Bishop Museum must recall 83 funerary objects that it repatriated to Hawaiian claimants four years ago on indefinite loan. In 2003, the committee found that the loan process was flawed because the museum failed to properly hear from all 13 claimants, several of whom want the items recovered from Kawaihae Cave on Hawai'i island, where the objects are believed to have been reburied. Hui Mālama I Nā Kūpuna O Hawai'i Nei, the group that the items were repatriated to, has refused to reopen the cave, claiming that the transfer of the items was part of a permanent repatriation. The items were originally stolen from Kawaihae Cave in 1905 by David Forbes and later sold to Bishop Museum. The NAGPRA committee hearing will be held on March 14-15, and possibly on March 13. The committee has not yet determined whether the meetings will be on Hawai'i island or on O'ahu. In other news on burial artifact issues: • The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will conduct a hearing in

Honolulu on Dec. 8 to gather public input on changing NAGPRA, including amendng the definition of "Native Hawaiian organization." See "Briefs" on page 3 for more information. • Several claimants including Hui Mālama are pushing for the National Park Service to repatriate five items in the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park collection. The items are also from the Forbes collection taken from Kawaihae Cave. A spokesperson for the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park said the agency was already preparing a notice of repatriation independently of claimants' request. • Abigail Kawanānakoa, a wealthy Campbell Estate heiress and descendant of the Kalākaua royal family, could end up being a pivotal player in repatriation claims now that her organization Nā Lei Ali'i Kawanānakoa has been recognized as a claimant under NAGPRA. However, her organization is so far only eligible to be a part of a repatriation elaim for three items in Bishop Museum's collection that were taken from Moloka'i. • Federal and state investigators are wrapping up their probe of repatriated artifacts that showed up for sale on the black market; however, officials have not yet said when any potential arrests would be made. The artifacts were repatriated to four groups, including Hui Mālama, who then reburied them in Kanupa Cave in South Kohala in November 2003. However, last August several of the items were reportedly offered for sale to a private collector by a Hawai'i island antique shop. Members of Hui Mālama said that thieves broke into the cave and stole the items despite numerous protective measures. ■