Hawaiian artifacts to remain in sacred caves

WAILUKU, Hawaii — The Bishop Museum’s request to enter burial caves on the Big Island and reclaim dozens of rare Hawaiian artifacts it loaned to a Native Hawaiian group was denied Tuesday by the Hawaiian Homes Commission.

The commission’s 8-1 vote orders the 83 artifacts to remain in the Kawaihae caves where they were placed by Native Hawaiian organization Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawaii Nei.

The relics were reportedly removed from burial caves from about 1905 until 1980 and remained in the Bishop Museum’s collection until 1998, when they were loaned to Hui Malama. Instead of returning the items to the museum, the Native Hawaiian group said it put the objects back in the caves.

"The spirit of the iwi said, ‘Take us back to our home,’ " Hawaiian Homes Commissioner Henry Cho said, using a Hawaiian word for the dead. "They came home, and they did the right thing."

The items — including a wooden carving of a female figure — fall under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which calls for the return of human remains and other cultural items to indigenous groups, including Native Hawaiians. They are said to be priceless examples of Hawaiian culture before contact with Western civilization.

Bishop Museum’s loan to Hui Malama drew objections from other Hawaiians who made claims on the objects, including the Royal Hawaiian Academy of Traditional Arts, which requested a federal review of the case.

When the review was completed, the committee called the Bishop Museum’s decision "flawed," and called for the items to be made available to all 13 recognized Hawaiian groups claiming a connection to the artifacts.

Hui Malama has argued that placing the objects back in the caves was in line with the wishes of their Hawaiian ancestors, who put the items there in the first place.

But Bishop Museum President William Brown said "neither the museum nor the claimants can be certain that all of the objects were in fact placed in the Kawaihae Caves, nor can we be assured that persons unknown have not removed them."

Laakea Suganuma of the Royal Hawaiian Academy of Traditional Arts said the issue will likely end up in court.