State claims many Iwi Kūpuna ‘destroyed' on North Shore property

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PUPUKEA, Hawaii (KHON2) — The state claims over 1,000 bone fragments, said to be Iwi Kūpuna, were disturbed and destroyed at a North Shore home in May.
Now, the state is seeking a restraining order against the homeowner and contractor.
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Court documents state that on May 1, a contractor and his team were digging out ground and constructing a new septic system at a property on Ke Iki Road when bones were discovered.
The state alleged in the document 'that even though the defendants were told to stop work, and even after the defendants agreed to stop work, the defendants continued ground-disturbing activities, apparently attempting to finish their work before they can be forcibly stopped.'
According to a now former employee of the contractor, two burials were found on May 1.
'After they had encountered Iwi, the manager had instructed the crew to collect the bone fragments and place them in a cardboard box, place ti leaf over them, say a prayer and finish the job,' the former employee told state officials according to the document.
The former worker said a third burial site was discovered on May 2, and that was the same day Honolulu police and the State Historic Preservation Division went to the property.The archeologist with SHPD stated she was notified of inadvertent discovery of human remains and she and another archaeology branch contractor visited the site. She stated she observed Iwi Kupuna and placed pin flags where bone fragments had been encountered by the former employee and where she observed them on May 2.
The former employee then told SHPD that additional bone fragments had been uncovered and placed in an L&L disposable cup.
That same day, May 2, the documents state SHPD notified the property owner that no additional ground work could be completed until he retained an archaeological firm and consulted with SHPD.
The property owner said he was not at the property during the work and he said he allowed authorities access quickly, and he understands and respects the process. He also hired an archeological firm.
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On May 15, SHPD received an anonymous complaint about ground disturbance at the property.
SHPD and DOCARE responded and confirmed ground disturbance activity had occurred at the property and a portion of a previously dug area was infilled with sand and the excavator was now outside the property.
The document states the excavator had already been removed from the site and placed on a trailer when SHPD staff arrived. And in the tracks of the excavator, two separate bone fragments were recovered.
On May 16, the hired archeology team began their assessment of the property. They recovered remains of a 'very young child in-situ burial.' And had identified over 1,000 bone fragments with the project area.
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'Burials should be treated with the greatest level of honor, care, dignity and respect,' explained Kumu Hina, Oahu Island burial council chair. She explained that if a previous survey of Iwi has been done in an area then the survey falls under the burial council jurisdiction. Because this was an inadvertent discovery, it falls under SHPD.
The Attorney General's office filed a temporary restraining order saying it's necessary to protect Iwi and prevent further desecration.
The owner said he knew no one was allowed on his property until the issue was resolved.
'I can't say whether it was intentionally callously done or not,' Kumu Hina said. 'In a different time and in a different world it may have been sufficient to those involved to be dismissive like that and gather the bones, grab a ti leaf, say a prayer and toss them aside and move along, but our Hawaii has moved past that callous treatment of burials and so whether the burial is found in a sandy loam near the shoreline, or inland or at Punchbowl cemetery, they should be treated with the greatest level of honor, care, dignity and respect.'
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She said depending on the area's history, finding 1,000 bone fragments could allude to previous disturbance. 'It might also allude to simply the natural process of bones going back to the land.'
She explained burial laws came about around 1980 and property tax records indicate the home on the property was built in the 1970s.
But as more owners will be required to shift to septic in the near future, she said we can expect to see more burials unearthed.
'When people go forward callous and careless with poor intention and forego giving respect to the burials found, that's when I can say advise caution,' Kumu Hina said. 'Because that's what begets all sorts of emotions within the Hawaiian community, and misfortune tends to come upon those whom are not careful.'
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She said the city and state should also be prepared for more calls on burials being unearthed as the conversion deadline nears and possibly offer some kind of support.
'Whenever you go digging around in the spaces and places in Hawaii there is a great potential for burials to come up and just as we would treat our loved ones who we know and treat with care and respect, so we treat with care and respect the burials that were at one time someone's parent, sibling, relative and we honor them as well, that's important,' she said.
KHON2 reached out to the contractor to find out why the excavator was removed, but did not hear back.
The property owners attorney said 'they look forward to cooperating with the state AGs office to resolve this.'
The TRO is set to expire on June 16.
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