Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 1, 1 Ianuali 2007 — Agreement ends bitter lawsuit over Forbes Cave cultural objects [ARTICLE]

Agreement ends bitter lawsuit over Forbes Cave cultural objects

With court case over, museum has resumed repatriation consultations with claimants By Sterling Kini Weng Publicatinns Editnr On Dec. 8, a U.S. district judge approved a settlement that requires both Bishop Museum and Hui Mālama i nā Kūpuna o Hawai'i nei to pay for the $330,000 cost of recovering 83 cultural objects from a Hawai'i Island cave eomplex. Iudge David Ezra's ruling ends the contentious court case over the items that had split the Hawaiian community. With the 18-month case now over, Bishop Museum has resumed the federal repatriation process with the 14 currently recognized claimants to determine the ultimate fate of the cultural objects, whieh were removed from the caves several months ago and are currently being housed at the museum. The items at the center of the dispute represent some of the most important and wellpreserved historical pieces crafted by Native Hawaiians. They include a small female wood statute, several stick 'aumakua, wood bowls and gourds. The objects were first taken from a Kawaihae cave complex, whieh also contained human remains, by amateur archaeologist David Forbes and two others in 1905. Shortly afterward, the items were sold to Bishop Museum. The current controversy started in February 2000, when the museum loaned the items to members of Hui Mālama, who then reburied

them in the caves. In August 2005, the Royal Hawaiian Academy of Traditional Arts and Nā Fei Ali'i Kawānanakoa sued Hui Mālama and Bishop Museum, claiming that the other claimant groups didn't have a say in the loan and demanding that the federal repatriation process be restarted. The plaintiff groups then filed a preliminary motion to force the retrieval of the objects from the caves pending the resolution of the case. The lawsuit highlighted the various claimant groups' divergent opinions of exactly what the 83 objects are. The

plaintiff groups believe that the items were hidden away so they wouldn't be destroyed like many other spiritual objects after the fall of the traditional Hawaiian religion in the early 19th century. As such, they want the objects to be preserved in Bishop Museum. The members of Hui Mālama, on the other hand, believe that the objects are the personal possessions of those they were buried with and that removing the items amounts to stealing from the dead. Fast December, the oftenheated case resulted in the leader of Hui Mālama, Edward Halealoha Ayau, being found in contempt by U.S. District Iudge David Ezra for not providing details that would assist in the

retrieval of the objects from the cave. Ayau called Ezra's order "unconscionable," and said he would rather go to jail than participate in what he described as the descecration of kūpuna burials. He eventually spent three weeks in prison and was finally released on home confinement to participate in a court-ordered mediation process. After the mediation ended in April with the two sides unahle to reach a resolution, Ezra ordered a survey of the cave and the retrieval of the objects by a group of government agencies and Bishop Museum officials. Ayau, who as a part of the agreement was released from house arrest, said that Hui Mālama agreed to the settlement so it could refocus on its mission of protecting Hawaiian remains and "moepū" or funerary objects. "The case was taxing on us, not just financially, but spiritually and emotionally," he said. "With the moepū removed from the cave, there was no point in continuing with the case." George Van Buren, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, said that they are pleased with the outcome of the lawsuit because the items were recovered safely and all the claimants will be able to participate in the repatriation process when it resumes. "That's what we wanted from the start," he said. Bishop Museum Collections Manager Betty Kam, who is helping to coordinate the repatriation of the items, said that this is the first case for the museum in whieh items had to be recovered and the federal repatriation process restarted. "This is new for us, so the museum is moving forward very carefully to make sure everyone is satisfied and that everyone has a voice," she said. "That's the whole lesson from the last time." She said the museum has already been in contact with some of the claimant groups and consultation meetings will begin shortly. E3

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'The museum is moving forward very carefully to make sure everyone is satisfied and that everyone has a voice.' - Betty Kam, Bishop Museum Collections Manager