Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 11, 1 November 1996 — OHA Updates [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA Updates

Dredging of 'EwaCaprock could be violation Haseko Incv a Japanese developer, wants to build a world class marina with 1,400 boat slips in the middle of a residential commercial community. OHA is fighting to prevent the development. The blasting and dredging, necessary to develop the marina, would directly affect the caprock and allow the water table in the aquifer to decrease substantially, said Cheryl Nicholson, OHA's attorney in this case. The 'Ewa caprock, approximately 9 miles along the coast, covers the only fresh water source for Twa. Loss of water from the aquifer would be a violation of Hawai'i's Water Code. The Water Commission staff is recommending that the sustainable yield be set at 5 million gallons per day (mgd). "The water in the caprock is already over allocated," Nicholson says. Commercial agents in the 'Ewa district have permits to use water from the caprock up to 28 mgd. Contested case hearings began in October. The hearings will end early this month. Ki'i lō'au argument to be heard in South Carolina this month A sacred Hawaiian object is being held by Eioiheh)^ Auction House in New York. The artifact is a ki'i lā'au (wooden image) that was lashed to a eanoe and used to secure war spears. Hui Mālama i Nā Kūpuna o Hawai'i Nei and OHA have claimed the artifact and asked that it be returned under the Native American Graves Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). •*-

"Sacred objects are the most easily , misunderstood of artifacts," said Linda J

Delaney, OHA s land division officer. NAGPRA recognizes three categories of object whieh ean, if claims are honored, be repatriated to i native eroups: human remains M

and funerary objects; sacred objects and objects of patrimony or items central to a j eroup's identitv. M

This ki'i is believed to be a family 'aumākua that prob- , ably belonged to a war- J rior chief. The Roger

W.P. Museum of Natur al History in Rhode Island acquired the

ki i as part ot a Hawaiian collection donated by the y Franklin Society in C 1922.

OHA argues that the ki'i falls

unaer in ACji KA s category ot a sacrea and patrimonial object whieh must be returned to the Hawaiian people. All museums that are federally funded are subject to NAGPRA regulations. The Roger W.P. Museum of Natural History is federally funded and will be required to return the ki'i if OHA and Hui Mālama's claims are honored. The elaim by Hui Mālama and OHA has

b e e n denied by the museum. However, NAGPRA's NationaI Review Committee has agreed to hear further arguments by OHA and Hui Mālama at a meeting in South Carolina early this month. Kealakehe cultural center communlty meetings In order to assist Hawaiian communities in reviving our culture and traditions OHA is working toward the construction of a Living Hawaiian Culture and Learning Center at Kealakehe. The estabhshment of this cultural center is a move toward the first goal of OHA's master plan: "To achieve revival, enhancement and maintenance of Hawaiian culture." Community meetings will be held to discuss the Kealakehe proposal. Meetings are scheduled for: * Ka'ū - Wednesday, Nov. 20 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Na'alehu Community Center. * Hilo - Thursday, Nov. 21 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center Conference Room. For more information on the Living Hawaiian Culture and Learning Center at Kealakehe eall OHA's Government Affairs Office at 5941944. Mahealani Pai continues to protect Hawaiian rights in National Parks The conflicts native peoples are experiencing with the National Park Service sparked a tribal gathering of native Americans, Alaskans and Hawaiians in Las Vegas, in August. Discus-

sions at the gathering led to the establish-

ment ot the Allianee to rrotect

Native Riehts in Nation-

al Parks. Four groups

. ffrom Hawai'i, j OHA, the Pai ' 'ohana, the Native Hawaiian Legal Cor-

m poration ana tne 'Ahupua'a Action W Allianee, attended the triI bunal along with a variety of native American tribes and Alaskan Native tribes. The alliance's mission state-

m ment promotes the protection f of native people's sovereign rights to ancestral lands and that the NPS cooperates and fulfills the ederal government's trust obliga-

/ tion to native peoples. In order to inform native peoples and build support, members of the allianop allpnHpH thp Annnal Mpptincr nf

the National Conference of American Indians (NCAI) on Oct. 20 in Phoenix, Arizona. Representing Hawai'i was Mahealani Pai of the Pai 'ohana from Kaloko-Honokohau Naūonal Historic Park in North Kona. OHA has had ongoing negotiations with the NPS involving the Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park, the Ai'ōpio fishtrap..e - i

:r/c ysA.Kl '/0'e°ivQu.