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Decision to reclassify
artifacts possibly illegal

By Burl Burlingame
Star-Bulletin

A decision by the Hawai'i Island Burial Council last year that allowed Hui Malama to remove rare Hawaiian artifacts from Bishop Museum may be overturned.

The minutes of the Nov. 18 regular meeting show that the agenda was altered to include a pitch by Hui Malama to have the Forbes Cave items classified as "funerary objects," making them eligible for repatriation under federal guidelines, and giving Hui Malama a reason to take the items.

Kai Markell of the state Historic Preservation Division said the Burial Council change may have been in violation of the state Sunshine Law.

"We're having this reviewed by the attorney general to determine if this was a legal or illegal action," said Markell. "The law states that agendas can only be changed for nonsubstantive items, and I think a vote can't be taken. That wasn't the case here."

In February, Edward Ayau of Hui Malama -- citing an agreement with other claimants on disposition of the artifacts -- received the artifacts as a "loan." Since then, other claimants Hawai'i Island Burial Council, Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Department of Hawaii Home Lands have revealed they were not privy to the loan, and the artifacts have vanished.

In the subsequent furor, Bishop Museum apologized for its part while also dealing with angered officials of the National Park Service, the agency that administers the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Other concerned Hawaiian citizens and groups have also applied as claimants.

At the November meeting in Hilo, Hui Malama was represented by Ayau and deputy Kunani Nihipali. Ayau said there was "a sense of real urgency" in reuniting the artifacts with the iwi, or ancestral remains already repatriated to the Big Island. "This separation is causing kaumaha (a weighing down with great sadness) that needs to be addressed," said Ayau, who recited his ancestral geneology and described archaeology as "grave robbery."

Ulu Garmon, sister of Hui Malama co-founder Pua Kanahele, then read an opinion by Kanahele about such objects, and Park Service officials expressed concern for the artifacts' safety should they be returned. The public was then told to leave so that Ayau could discuss his plans for the artifacts in private with council leaders.

Bishop Museum's board of directors has demanded that Hui Malama retrieve the artifacts after this weekend unless all claimants agree to keep them where they are. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, however, believes the deadline might be too soon, and wouldn't mind a delay.