Posted on: Thursday, May 1, 2003

Museum says it will review decision on artifacts

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Bishop Museum yesterday told a federal panel it will re-evaluate its decision to turn over Hawaiian artifacts to a Hawaiian organization that said it reburied them.

The items fall under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which provides for return of human remains and other significant cultural items to Native American and Hawaiian groups. A federal review committee will meet May 9-11 in St. Paul, Minn., to determine whether the matter was handled properly.

The case sparked an emotional debate among Hawaiians and members of the scientific community over the proper treatment of important cultural items. Some say removal from the museum showed respect for the native culture, while others questioned whether it would lead to the artifacts' destruction or sale, and a lost opportunity for education.

William Y. Brown, president and chief executive officer of Bishop Museum, met yesterday with the museum's board in response to a complaint by The Royal Hawaiian Academy of Traditional Arts. The group is asking the federal agency for a review of the Kawaihae Caves Complex issue, named after the site where the artifacts were found.

The controversy focuses on artifacts taken from a Big Island cave in 1905 and kept at the museum until February 2000, when museum officials released them to Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei, drawing objections from other Hawaiians who made claims on the objects. The items include a carved wood figure and two stick 'aumakua.

Under the previous museum director, W. Donald Duckworth, the museum admitted it erred and apologized, then turned the matter over to a divided group of organizations and individuals with cultural claims to the items and described the matter as closed.

In a letter to the committee, Brown said the museum approached the issue in good faith and tried to reach consensus in the past but has a different approach now.

"The board of directors and I have concluded that the repatriation process should be readdressed, and we are committed to developing and implementing a process that will secure a just and equitable result," Brown wrote.

Brown said the museum intends to work with the organizations and individuals with cultural ties to the artifacts.

L. La'akea Suganuma, representative of the Royal Hawaiian Academy of Traditional Arts, said he is encouraged by the letter but wants to see what the museum means by readdressing the issue. He believes some artifacts should be on display for educational purposes.

"I'm hopeful that they fully realize the importance of the matter," Suganuma said. "It's something they should have done in the beginning."