Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 6, 1 June 2006 — Forbes Cave removal to proceed [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Forbes Cave removal to proceed

By Sterling Kini Weng Publications Editnr On April 28, U.S. District Judge David Ezra ordered the resumption of the process to remove 83 cultural objects buried in a Kawaihae cave complex after several Hawaiian groups were unahle to resolve their differences over the items through mediation. Ezra said the next step is to have engineers evaluate the structural integrity of the cave complex to determine whether it's safe to enter. He avoided publicly announcing a deadline because he said he didn't want thieves to learn the details of the process. Ezra had hoped the groups could settle their emotionally charged dispute in a mediation process based on Hawaiian values. But Abigail Kawānanakoa, a direct descendant of ali'i and the head of one group advocating the immediate retrieval of the objects, called the mediation "a

complete farce" and said that Edward Halealoha Ayau, the leader of Hui Mālama i nā Kūpuna o Hawai'i nei, should be sent back to prison. Ayau, who has insisted that the objects remain in the caves, spent three weeks in Honolulu's federal detention center for refusing to provide the court with information on the exact location of the items. He was released to participate in the mediation. Ayau said that Hui Mālama is willing to help federal authorities enter the cave complex to verify the location of eaeh item based on two conditions: that the caves are safe and that items are not removed. See F0RBES CAVE □ n page 18

Abigail Kawananakoa speaks on the Forbes Cave oase. Photo: Sterling Kini Wong

Forbes Cave

Cūntinued fram page lū The cultural objects were first taken from a Kawaihae cave complex, whieh contained bones, by David Forbes in 1905. Shortly after, the items were sold to Bishop Museum. The current controversy started in February 2000, when Bishop Museum loaned the items to members of Hui Mālama i nā Kūpuna o Hawai'i nei, who then reburied them in the caves. In August 2005, the Royal Hawaiian Academy of Traditional Arts and Nā Lei Ali'i Kawānanakoa sued Hui Mālama

and Bishop Museum, demanding that the items be retrieved so that the federal burial repatriation process ean resume. One of the issues surrounding the lawsuit is that the two sides do not agree on the nature of the 83 objects. Hui Mālama believes that the objects are moepū, or personal items placed with the dead. Others argue that the items were hidden away after the fall of the kapu system, when many traditional religious symbols were burned. National park classifies items as 'funerary'

In May, Volcanoes National Park determined that five items Forbes also removed from the Kawaihae cave eomplex, and whieh the park currently has in its collection, are in fact funerary objects as defined by the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The law, established in 1990, creates a mechanism for museums to repatriate cultural items and human remains to lineal descendants, Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. The items in the park's possession include a carved wooden female fig-

ure and a kōnane game board. Cindy Orlando, superintendent of the park, said that after thoroughly researching the issue, they eame to the conclusion that "there is no evidence that [the five objects currently located at the park] were not intentionally placed with human remains." Orlando said the park will continue to consult with potential Native Hawaiian claimants on what to do with the items now that they've been classified.