State probes 'injury' to iwi

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

The state attorney general's office has launched a civil investigation into the appearance of "widespread desecration and injury" during archaeological work on Native Hawaiian remains unearthed during construction of the Ke'eaumoku Street Wal-Mart complex.

This has "indefinitely" postponed the reburial of an estimated 61 sets of iwi, or bones, according to yesterday's announcement by state historic preservation officials. Last month, officials put off the Feb. 18 reburial.

Dick Pacific Construction Co., the contractor on the Wal-Mart project, hired Aki Sinoto Consulting for the archaeological inventory of the remains. And Sinoto and the crew of his namesake company had been working since the summer on sorting out the remains, some of which were mixed because of previous development at the site.

The potential violations of state burial law include gluing of the remains during the inventory work, said James Paige, the deputy attorney general working on the case.

"Also, there appeared to be a lot of writing on remains with what looks to be permanent marker or ink," he said. "Any time you use an intrusive method to examine remains, you need to get authorization. You're dealing with a human's remains, a sensitive cultural issue."

Paige said he has not seen the remains, which are in a secured trailer on the Wal-Mart property, but he said state historic preservation officials checked them and reported that the writing and the gluing may have gone beyond what was authorized.

Sinoto, who turned over the remains after the state set a Feb. 11 deadline, said yesterday that he has not received official notification of any specific allegations and thus declined comment.

However, Rona Ikehara, an archaeological bone specialist he hired to assist in the work, issued a written response in which she called the state's action "absurd."

"The remains were treated by laboratory personnel with utmost respect at all times," Ikehara said, adding that the staff was "forbidden to complete this task, which could have been finished with only a few more weeks of work."

Miles Takaki, member of a family who had been designated as "lineal descendants" under the burial law, agreed and said that the family found none of the work to be desecration. Takaki also said state officials have not communicated about any of this with the direct descendants. "We question the motivation of this investigation and why so late in the game," he said.

Melanie Chinen, state Historic Preservation Division administrator, could not be reached for comment. But in a written statement, she said the state must investigate possible violations "to ensure the future protection of all human remains and to preserve the burial traditions in our community."

Attorney Moses Haia is representing families that filed a suit challenging the way state burial law has been enforced in the Wal-Mart case. The lawsuit is scheduled for court hearings this summer.

Haia acknowledged that further delay of the reburial "troubles us" but added that potential violations should be investigated. He said he is doing his own check of public documents to see if there's evidence of violations.

In a written statement, Wal-Mart spokeswoman Cynthia Lin said the company "will continue to cooperate with all involved parties until the iwi are reburied."

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