About Honokahua
Starting in 1987, more than 1,100 ancestral native Hawaiian burials were excavated from sand dunes at Honokahua, Maui, to prepare for proposed ocean-side construction of the Ritz Carlton at Kapalua.
“And, even though we challenged it, there weren't any laws, either federal laws, state laws or county laws that protected the bones of our küpuna,” said Dana Naone Hall, a Native Hawaiian resident of Maui who has been involved with gravesite protection since Honokahua.
Native Hawaiians and supporters rallied at Honokahua, and in late 1988 at the state Capitol, finally halting the burial disturbance. The hotel was built farther inland and the remains reburied with Native Hawaiian protocols. The 14-acre site is now a historical and cultural landmark.
Hawaiçi’s burial treatment law passed in 1990 gives unmarked burials, most of which are Native Hawaiian, the same protection as modern cemeteries. The law:
“Honokahua changed the history of Hawaiçi ... set precedent that we will never ever go back to this complacency and complete disregard for the iwi of our küpuna,” said Cliff Naeçole, a cultural adviser and caretaker at the site. “Honokahua has created the laws, Honokahua IS the law, this stands as the kähili (feather standard, a sign of royalty) for all burial sites from here on to perpetuity. This is the battleground, this is the piko (navel, umbilical cord) of these new laws.”
Sources: Hawaiçi Department of Land and Natural Resources, state Historic Preservation Division Web site http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/hpd/naiwikupuna.htm
