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Museum OKs
six additional Forbes
Cave artifact claims

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By Burl Burlingame
Star-Bulletin

Bishop Museum officials, stating that "the process of the process continues," have revealed that six more claimants have been approved for the missing Forbes Cave artifacts.

Four claimants were already on record for the valuable objects taken from the museum six months ago: the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei and the Hawaii Island Burial Council.

The newly approved claimants are Na Papa Kanaka o Pu'uokohola Heiau, the Hawaiian Genealogy Society, the Royal Hawaiian Academy of Traditional Arts, Keohokalole 'Ohana, Kekumano 'Ohana and Van Horn Diamond 'Ohana.

"I'm glad the process is under way at last, and we can overcome the unknowns," said Mel Kalahiki of Na Papa.

Bishop Museum administrator Pat Duarte said additional claimants were chosen under National Park Service guidelines for the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The 10 claimant groups are scheduled to have their first joint meeting Wednesday and are supposed to file opinions on the missing artifacts by Sept. 15. Five days later, the museum board will meet and weigh the groups' consensus and, if necessary, break any ties.

Six claimants were rejected: E Nana Pono, Kealoha Kuhea, Moa Bartholomew Brumaghim, Temple of Lono, Nation of Hawai'i and Hale O Na Ali'i O Hawai'i.

Duarte said any delay in revealing the new claimants was caused by E Nana Pono failing to return a certified-mail card. E Nana Pono representative Jim Mee said Bishop Museum failed to check the return-response box on the envelope.

"We thought that was kind of weird," Mee said. "But then a lot of things about this process were baffling."