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Group picked Hui Malama, the nonprofit organization that receives funds from the federal government to reinter Hawaiian remains, surprised the state last week by delivering hundreds of remains for disposition.
to bury remains
instead gives 205
sets to state
Hui Malama, which is paid to
WHO RUNS HUI MALAMA?
inter Hawaiian remains, gave them
to the state with little warning
A closer look at the history of Hui Malama and its board of directors.
By Burl Burlingame
Star-Bulletin"We didn't get much warning," said Michelle Bradley of the burials program at the State Historic Preservation Division.
Hui Malama called the afternoon of Dec. 20 and delivered the remains the next morning, Bradley said. About 205 sets of remains were dropped off by rented delivery trucks at the state Historic Preservation Division's Diamond Head temporary storage facility, where other remains -- such as those from Waikiki construction projects -- are kept.
The returned remains are believed to be part of more than a thousand sets repatriated from Bishop Museum collections, which are called the "Oahu Inventory" remains in government documents.
Hui Malama was paid by the federal Health and Human Service's Administration for Native Americans to re-bury the entire Oahu Inventory collection.
According to Historic Preservation Division Director Don Hibbard, the state is "accepting responsibility for these remains while we figure out what to do next. I think they will likely be turned over to a community organization, such as the Oahu Burial Council. That's probably what Hui Malama had in mind all along."
It is not known whether the state will now have to bear the expense of re-burying these remains, Hibbard said.
Attempts to reach Hui Malama spokesman Eddie Ayau yesterday were not successful.
LOCAL archaeologists remember exactly when Bishop Museum Vice President Elizabeth Tatar got "her head turned" by Hui Malama. Group at center of
museum controversyBy Burl Burlingame
Star-BulletinIt was in early 1995, when the Hawaiian organization gathered museum officials and contract archaeologists and lectured them on cultural protocol. Bishop Museum had just been dropped as a defendant in Hui Malama's lawsuit over Hawaiian remains found in Mokapu, over issues similar to those raised by the missing Forbes Cave artifacts.
After a series of presentations, Hui Malama co-founder Pua Kanahele began to speak passionately about the sacrilege of scientists studying and measuring human bones. Just as she described anthropologists playfully rolling skulls like bowling balls, Kanahele seized Tatar's head to demonstrate, yanking it back and forth.
Surprised lawyers pulled them apart and suggested the meeting was over. "It was surprising and shocking," said archaeologist Sara Collins.
Last February, Tatar handed over to Hui Malama 83 rare Hawaiian cultural artifacts from Forbes Cave, and the items disappeared. Although the museum has since stated that they were misled into loaning the artifacts, the organization has refused to return them. Who is Hui Malama, and what is the nature of their relationship with the museum?
Hui Malama officials have consistently declined to answer questions from the Star-Bulletin. A detailed examination of the paper trail left by their interactions with government authorities shows a relatively small group of individuals whose names pop up in a variety of organizations.
They are well educated, politically astute, zealous in their interpretation of ancient Hawaiian practices, experienced at chasing grant monies and rigorous about billing the government to cover expenses.
"I hope they truly believe in what they profess to believe," said Clayton Hee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, "and that they do what's required by law. I think they're very passionate in what they believe, and it colors their actions."
OHA, one of multiple claimants to the missing Forbes Cave items, voted to urge Hui Malama to return the artifacts. "Or at least provide a reasonable explanation," said Hee.
Incorporated in 1989
Hui Malama was formed by Edward and Pua Kanahele in response to the unearthing of hundreds of bones on Maui by a hotel developer in 1987. Its 1989 incorporation papers list its primary purpose as identifying, protecting and preserving native Hawaiian cemeteries and burial areas, as well as general boosting of native Hawaiian religious beliefs, gathering funds for Hawaiian leaders, distributing knowledge about Hawaiian burial practices and legally representing Hawaiians in such matters.The group's organizational chart, dated May 1999, lists the Kanaheles as Na Kumu; Kunani Nihipali as Po'o, or president; and a board of directors consisting of Nihipali; Edward Kanahele, vice-president; and Kaleikoa Ka'eo and Charles K. Maxwell as secretary and treasurer.
Kanahele chaired the Waiakea Soil and Water Conservation District in the 1980s and the Hawaii Island Burial Council from 1989 to 1993. He also worked as a native Hawaiian cultural planner for the state.
A grant application filed by Hui Malama describes the Kanaheles as kumu, providing the members of the organization with cultural protocols and spiritual leadership.
From that point on, he was in the thick of native Hawaiian arts issues as president of the 'Uhane Foa Foundation, also known as the Native Hawaii Artist Guild; as a "Native Hawaiian video technician"; as an instructor to native Hawaiian children; and as an "Eco/Agricultural Consultant."
He is also board director of the Native Hawaiian Advisory Council and the Pu'a Foundation, which administers monies from the Hawaii Ecumenical Church Group to Settle Hawaiian Claims.
Nihipali unsuccessfully ran for OHA in the 1980s, urging harmony among various Hawaiian groups.
Through the last two decades, he often complained about scientists, calling them "culture vultures" for how they analyze Hawaiian remains to learn about ancient Hawaiian life.
"We've run into a lot of racism and arrogance" dealing with museum officials, Nihipali said in 1995. In 1992 he claimed that University of California scientists "laughed at" and "played games" with Hui Malama.
Graduating from Maui's Baldwin High School in the late '50s, Maxwell lists a degree in police science from Maui Community College and is a "lifelong student of Hawaiian culture."
In addition to hosting "Uncle Charlie's Drive Home Show" on Maui radio station KNUI, Maxwell has worked as a Hawaiian cultural protocol specialist for a number of large government projects.
He was the first president of Aboriginal Lands of Hawaiian Ancestry (ALOHA) and lobbied Congress for reparations payments. He has served as vice chairman of the State Advisory Commission to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and as a member of Ka Lahui Hawai'i.
Ka'eo sits on the board of the O'ahu Island Burial Council.
Ayau graduated from Kamehameha Schools in 1982, earned a bachelor's in business management at the University of Redlands (Calif.) in 1986 and a law degree at the University of Colorado in 1989. He clerked at the Native American Rights Fund in Boulder, Colo.
His resume lists him as a staff attorney for the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. in 1990, then as a staff counsel, advisor and field representative for U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye in 1991. He currently is listed as inactive in the Hawaii Bar Association.
From 1990 to 1996, Ayau was director of the Burial Sites Program for the state Historic Preservation Division, and later was repatriation consultant for Bishop Estate.
Kahanu received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988 and a law degree in 1992 from the University of Hawaii-Manoa. She currently works at Bishop Museum.
Both Ayau and Kahanu were contracted by Bishop Museum in 1998 to prepare a Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act inventory of the museum's collection.
Budget of $342,445
The approved grant for Ola Na Iwi provides $49,584 to the Native Hawaiian Advisory Council for administrative services and $1,000 a month to Nihipali as a "cultural specialist." Subtracting all other costs from the $342,445 budget leaves a salary of about $71,000 for Ayau, plus $16,437 in fringe benefits.
NO tax returns have ever been filed by Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei, the nonprofit organization that convinced Bishop Museum to surrender the Forbes Cave artifacts, according to Internal Revenue Service officials. Nonprofit has
not filed tax returns or
reported incomeBy Burl Burlingame
Star-BulletinThat is despite an income that totaled at least a half-million dollars over the past decade, according to a Star-Bulletin tally.
Hui Malama was founded in 1989 and became a federally recognized nonprofit organization in 1991.
"Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai'i Nei has not filed any returns despite their status as a federally recognized 501c3 charitable nonprofit," said IRS spokesperson Shawn George. "The only filing we've received from them is an extension request for last year, 1999, and another in 1996 stating they were not going to file a 990 for the previous year."
Under federal tax law, nonprofits do not necessarily have to pay taxes on certain incomes, but a yearly income of more than $25,000 has to be reported on a form called a 990. "This includes all income prior to expenses, including charitable donations and governmental grants," said George. "The only organizations exempt from these rules are churches."
Hui Malama officials declined comment. Hui Malama operates a public-education program called Ola Na Iwi and has close ties with the Native Hawaiian Advisory Council and the Pu'a Foundation, a trust established to manage a $1.5 million donation to the Hawaiian people by the United Church of Christ.
A 1999 membership list provided in a federal grant proposal shows 38 members.
Without tax returns, it is difficult to assess Hui Malama's income, particularly from the private sector. However, federal and state grants, purchases and reimbursements are public record and, along with copies of invoices obtained by the Star-Bulletin, show income adding up to $565,849 since 1990.
Some payments to Hui Malama from the State Historic Preservation Division are for hundreds of dollars in exchange for lau hala baskets to hold bones or to reimburse Hui Malama members for air fare and travel expenses.
Hui Malama last month refused to return the valuable Forbes Cave artifacts it took from Bishop Museum last February. The museum has stated it will seek return of the items.
Hui Malama's income includes federal and state grants, purchases and reimbursements. That, along with copies of invoices obtained by the Star-Bulletin, show at least this much income for these years: Half-million income
