Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 6, 1 June 1993 — Hawaiians share manaʻo on religious freedom act [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawaiians share manaʻo on religious freedom act

by Jeff Clark In part to acknowledge its inclusion of Hawaiians, the title of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) is being changed to the Native American Free Exercise of Religion Act, according to U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye. Inouye made that statement during a hearing on amendments to the act held May 8 in Honolulu by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, whieh he chairs. The act protects "the inherent right of any Native American (including

n a t i v e Hawaiians) to believe, express and exercise his or her traditional relig i o n , including ... access to any Native American re 1 i g i o u s

site, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites." The draft amendments authorize legal action for the violation of rights protected under the act, require federal agencies to consult and negotiate with native organizations when projects threaten religious sites, and emphasize native prison inmates' rights to worship. For a detailed look at the act and the proposed amendments, see last month's issue of Ka Wai Ola O OHA. The hearing gave the committee a ehanee to receive testimony favoring the amendments by a variety of Hawaiian organizations and traditional Hawaiian religious practitioners, including representatives of OHA, the

Temple of Lono, Hui Mālama I Nā Kūpuna 'O Hawai'i Nei, the Hou Hawaiians, Ka Lāhui Hawai'i, the Pele Defense Fund, the Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council, and the Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana. Kumu hula and spiritual teacher Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewitt opened the hearing with a chant, and emphasized Hawaiians' responsibility to perpetuate their traditions. "Bishop Museum serves as the foundation of Hawai'i's past. What I want to say today is that it doesn't end there, that we are all living exponents of Hawai'i today." Kahuna lā'au

lapa'au (traditional herbal healer) Papa Henry Auwae, saying some of his mo'opuna and students are nonHawaiian, asked whether the law will protect only Hawaiians. Inouye said the act is for all Americans because America's founding

fathers wanted to protect the freedom to worship, and the bili's purpose is "to put life into what our founding fathers felt was absolutely essential." The bill was drafted by Native Americans for Native Americans, but will benefit all, he said. Auwae, who said he has been arrested and charged with trespassing on state land and told he needed permission to gather herbs he has been gathering for decades, said, "All the medicine on earth is put there by god. It is not man's and it is to be shared." He told the senator, "I hope and pray that you ean help open up lands that the state and federal governments control" so Hawaiians ean continue to gather plants and materials for medicine and worship. Inouye read Auwae

the part of the bill ensuring access, and told him that as long as national security is not at risk, access will be assured. OHA trustee Kīna'u Boyd Kamali'i urged that there be more flexibility regarding access,

ho wever. "There is a potential and harmful limitation on s u e h access if it rests too heavily on a national security determinat i o n . U n 1 i k e o t h e r states, (in Hawai ' i)

virtually all federal lands are either in national

parks or (under) military jurisdiction. We have existing agreements for access whieh aeknowledge security considerations, but still allow for access. As written (in the act), such determinations seem blanket in nature, rather than flexible." Kamali'i said it should be made clear that lands affected by the bill include all ceded lands, regardless of whether they fall under federal, state or county jurisdiction. She added that OHA should be specifically named in the measure, as it is in the federal Native American Graves Protection Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana leader Dr. Noa Emmett Aluli suggested that the bill's definition of "land" and "lands," whieh mentions "water and waterways occupying, adjacent to or running

through the land," be expanded to include "offshore oeean waters, from the shoreline out to at least three miles or to where the fishing ko'a (grounds) are located." Aluli said the National Oeean

and Atmospheric Administration may establish a manne sanctuary in the waters around Kaho'olawe, whieh contain religious and burial caves and fishing ko'a associated with shrines on the land. "Our eoneem is that Kawaiians be allowed to continue to access and use those sites as well as to protect the resources of those ko'a." The act would set up a process by whieh impacts of federal projects on Native Amenean religious sites could be alleviated or prevented. Aluli listed several projects - including the Ka'ū spaceport and geothermal energy development in Puna, Hawai'i and the STARS missile launehing program at Nohili, Kaua'i - whieh he said pose threats to Hawaiian sites. He said that, "In light of this bill we would hope that eaeh of these projects should

... be reviewed for their impact upon Hawaiian sites and religious belief, customs, and practices." Lydia Namahana Maioho, chairperson of OHA's Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation

Council, supported the bill and underscored its importance by saying, "The spirit is broken eaeh time harm comes to one of our sacred places." Ka Lāhui H a w a i ' i Kia'āina (governor) Mililani Trask spoke in favor of the bill ! but suggested

amendments. The definition of "Native American practitioner" should

be expanded beyond its designation of native Hawaiians who are caretakers of sites to include native Hawaiians who participate in native Hawaiian religion, ritual or ceremony, she said. Also, governmental agencies preparing tp undertake a project should be required to publish notice of their plans in a newspaper for two consecutive weeks in advance. Finally, Trask said, the bill anticipates that a federal agency will know about significant sites before they begin work, but it should also specify that a project be halted in the event of the aeeidental uncovering of a previously undiscovered religious site. "With these added changes, we believe the AIRFA amendments will provide adequate protection for native rights to worship and the protection of native sacred sites," she said.

"The spirit is broken eaeh time harm comes to one of our sacred places." - Lydia Namahana Maioho, chairperson, Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council

From left: Mililani Trask (Ka Lāhui), Emmett Aluli (Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana), Palikapu Dedman (Pele Defense Fund), Frank Palani Nobriga (Temple of Lono), Punahele Lerma (Hui Mālama I Nā Kūpuna '0 Hawai'i Nei.