Posted on: Tuesday, September 14, 2004

Federal panel to address dispute over burials

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

A federal panel that will meet this week in Washington, D.C., could affect the course of burial disputes involving the Bishop Museum and various Native Hawaiian organizations trying to recover remains and objects once held by the museum.

At issue is how the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is used to return remains and certain burial items from various collections to native individuals and groups who can demonstrate a valid claim, either because they are descendants or have a cultural link.

The panel, a review committee that works to help resolve NAGPRA disputes, will take up two Hawaiian issues Saturday:

• The museum's proposal that it be considered a Native Hawaiian organization under the federal law, making it eligible to submit claims for remains and artifacts.

Museum officials allowed public comment on the proposed policy until Sept. 1, drawing a range of responses, including endorsements from those saying the policy strengthens the museum's service to Hawaiian culture.

Some opponents, including the burials protection group Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei, counter that the policy creates a conflict of interest: The museum cannot objectively evaluate claims on items it holds when it positions itself as a competing claimant, group members have said.

The museum board is expected to review the policy in October. Its director, Bill Brown, declined comment last week but is expected to attend the committee meeting in Washington.

• The contentious handling of remains and burial objects that Hui Malama reburied at Kawaihae Cave four years ago. In May, the federal review panel found flaws in the way the museum had returned the items to Hui Malama, and declared the repatriation incomplete. In turn, the hui will argue on Saturday that the committee made that finding without a basis in law and without consultation with all parties involved in the case.

Federal investigators are waiting for a decision from the committee before renewing a request to enter the Kawaihae Cave, said hui member Edward Halealoha Ayau, so any action taken by the committee is important. Investigators have been conducting a Big Island probe for the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the burial law. They could not be reached last week and have declined comment in the past.

The investigation concerns the reported theft of burial items from Kanupa Cave in Kohala as well as the Kawaihae dispute, Ayau said.

In addition to museum officials and Hui Malama, the Hawai'i contingent at the meeting is expected to include La'akea Suganuma, a spokesman for seven of the 13 groups and individuals with competing claims in the Kawaihae case.

Suganuma has petitioned the Kawaihae landowner, the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, for access to the cave to check on the reburied items; the department has denied that request, as well as those filed by investigators and museum officials.

Suganuma has sent a letter to the review committee contending the May decision was legally sound and cannot, under regulations, be rescinded.

Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.