Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 2, 1 February 2006 — Setting the record straight for the iwi kūpuna found at Wal-Mart site [ARTICLE]

Setting the record straight for the iwi kūpuna found at Wal-Mart site

By Edward Halealūha Ayau and Paulette Ka'anuhi Kaleikini Recūgnized claimants Our families, the Kaleikini and the Townsends, are recognized cultural descendants of the iwi kūpuna disturbed from the Ke'eaumoku Street Wal-Mart complex. In addition to the removal of the iwi kūpuna, the one other thing that has really disturbed us is that throughout this process, WalMart spokesperson Cynthia Lin has said that Wal-Mart is doing what is culturally correct. For example, Lin told the Honoluhi Star-Bulletin in a March 27 artiele: "We have been throughout this whole process committed to treating the remains with respect and with appropriate cultural protocols." It turns out that this statement is not accurate. First, how ean she say that Wal-Mart is eommitted to respect and appropriate cultural protocols when the highest form of respect and most appropriate cultural protocol is not to disturb a burial site and instead to honor the wishes of the deceased and their family? The iwi kūpuna continue to sit in storage under a parking lot ramp while Wal-Mart opened for business and remains open. We believe that the more respectful act would have been to rebury the iwi kūpuna with appropriate cultural protocol. In addition, Lin has also told

loeal media that Wal-Mart officials have been "working very closely" with the state Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) and are "committed to doing the right thing." This is very difficult to fathom given the recent investigation by the state Attorney General's office and the recommendation by SHPD to fine the archaeological contractors hired by Wal-Mart $210,000 in civil penalties for mistreatment of the iwi kūpuna. Alleged violations include writing on the skull of a child with indelible ink (bones are porous, so the markings eannot be removed); gluing remains together; failing to timely report an inadvertent discovery to SHPD as required by law; and removing the iwi without SHPD authorization. This hardly qualifies as "working very closely" with SHPD. In fact, according to SHPD, the opposite is true. Furthermore, stating that WalMart is committed to doing the right thing needs to be qualified. Given all that has transpired, the statement should have read that Wal-Mart is committed to doing the right thing for Wal-Mart, and not the iwi kūpuna. After all, what other conclusion ean be drawn from this debacle? Kumu Edward Kanahele used to say, "nothing good comes from disturbing a burial - nothing." This should have been Wal-Mart's public statement all along. What's also been problematic with this dispute was the O'ahu

Island Burial Council's recognition of the Keana'āina family as the lineal descendants of the iwi kūpuna at the site. There are two descendant designations recognized by the state. The first is the lineal descendant status, whieh is the highest level of descent and means that a person has a direct connection to the iwi in question. The other category is cultural descendant, whieh means that a person's family is from the area, but they cannot prove that the remains in question are their 'ohana. The burial eouneil recognized the Keana'āina family as lineal descendants even though the assessment conducted by SHPD indicated that the information submitted did not support such a finding. Thereafter, Ka'anohi Kaleikini appealed the burial council's determination, and an administrative appeals panel vacated the lineal descendant status for the Keana'āina family for laek of evidence. The problem is that Wal-Mart and their archaeological contractors anointed the Keana'āina family and invited them to help with the physical examination of the iwi. Then it turns out that these same archaeologist and physical anthropologists conducted insensitive, unethical and illegal acts upon the iwi kūpuna, resulting in $210,000 of proposed civil penalties. So one question that arises is: What role did the members of the Keana'āina family have in these acts? S