INDEX - CULTURE
www.islandbreath.org ID#0814-16

SUBJECT: HAWAIIAN SACRED PLACE

SOURCE: KATY ROSE klrose@earthlink.net

POSTED: 8 JULY 2008 - 7:00am EST

Alert on Naue burial site

image above: GoogleEarthplan view of Naue burial site at Haena Point in Wainiha Subdivision

 

by Katy Rose on 7 July 2008

I have just received a report from Ka'iulani that a crew is on site at Naue removing the torches. It appears that this is in preparation for construction.

According to Ka'iulani, Clayton Arinaga has informed her that the county prosecutor and the state attorney general are backing up the developer, Joseph Brescia, over the police chief's attempt to stall development by relying on the "desecration" ordinance.

I have left a message for Aunty Louise Sausen who is at the site; I hope she will call back with more information.

I am not aware of any specific action plan at this time but I will try to pass on any information I get.

The new contractor for Brescia is named Joe Galante. His phone number is 823-0775.(It's in the phone book.) Earlier I called and left a polite message for him asking him to please re-consider his decision to build there.

I don't know anything about Mr. Galante and I am assuming he's a regular working guy...it might help him to hear why we are defending the site.


SUBJECT: HAWAIIAN SACRED PLACE

SOURCE: JONATHAN JAY jonathan@DAkauai.com

POSTED: 25 JUNE 2008 - 5:30pm EST

Building at burial site on hold

image above:
Kauai Police Chief Daryl Perry concludes constuction on burial site would violate law
Photo by Michael Levine (with filter effect by Juan Wilson)

by Michael Levine on 25 June 2005 in The Garden Island News

A controversial groundbreaking at an oceanfront Wainiha property was halted by Police Chief Darryl Perry at the 11th hour yesterday, saying construction could violate a law regarding desecration of burial sites.

“Unless we have a directive or some kind of documentation or some kind of decision that is made at a higher level, as far as we’re concerned, if construction begins on this burial site, they’ll be in violation of Hawai‘i Revised Statutes,” Perry told protestors and workers.HRS 711-1107(b) defines burial site desecration as intentionally “defacing, damaging, polluting, or otherwise physically mistreating in a way that the defendant knows will outrage the sensibilities of persons likely to observe or discover the defendant’s action,” tying it indelibly to community standards.

“I’m aware of the statute and do not agree with his (Perry’s) interpretation,” said Walton Hong, attorney for property owner Joseph Brescia.

Workers had already moved a gate and were preparing to enter the property, instruct protestors to leave, file trespassing complaints and begin construction when Perry had some 20 assembled Kaua‘i Police Department officers “stand down.”

Perry announced that construction would not begin, drawing a loud round of cheers and mahalos from protestors, including some 30 men in matching black T-shirts who may have been “Lua” — members of a secretive ancient Hawaiian martial arts sect that serves as an unofficial police force.

“We are here today as peacekeepers, to respect those that came before us and to respect the place in which they were laid to rest,” reads a written statement by Keone Kealoha.

Kealoha declined to answer questions regarding the organization’s title or affiliations, saying only that they were a “group of cultural practitioners.”
Ka‘iulani Huff, who had been camping for weeks on the abutting beach in protest, described yesterday as a “good victory for us.

“I’m very proud of our police department today, and all the people that were here. I’m really proud of all of us that we made our stand and stood strong,” she said.
Brescia has been trying to build a home on the land since 2001, but has been delayed by various environmental, legal and community challenges and forced to undergo numerous planning adjustments.

The Kaua‘i Island Burial Council determined in April that some 30 burials discovered on the property in a December 2007 archaeological survey must be left in place in order for construction to begin.

Hong said yesterday that, in light of the ruling, his client had submitted a burial plan to the State Historic Preservation Division, part of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

DLNR spokesperson Deborah Ward said the SHDP-approved burial plan ensured that the burials would not be moved through the use of buffers.

“(T)he Kaua‘i-Ni‘ihau Island Burial Council ... made their decision to preserve in place with full knowledge that (seven) of the iwi would be in the footprint of the house (which is on pilings),” Ward said via e-mail. “We rely on the burial council’s knowledge of culture and protocol to make the right decision.”

Looking forward, KPD Assistant Chief Roy Asher said the issue will be addressed by the judicial system.

“It’s in the courts now, which is where it belongs,” he said.

SUBJECT: HAWAIIAN SACRED PLACE

SOURCE: KATY ROSE klrose@earthlink.net

POSTED: 22 JUNE 2008 - 5:30pm EST

Property owner set to begin work

image above: sketch provided by Ka'iulani Eden Huff done by her husband


by Michael Levine on 22 June 2008 in The Garden Island News

Ka‘iulani Huff, the Kapa‘a resident who has been tent camping for nearly three months on a Wainiha property discovered to be an ancient Hawaiian burial site in protest of planned developments, met with Kaua‘i Police Department officials Friday.

“Essentially, they wanted to warn me that they’re coming to our graveyard on Tuesday, and that — they didn’t say it out loud — but they were warning me that we’re going to get arrested,” Huff said after the meeting?

We did not ask her to leave, but if the developer decides they want to go in, they’ve provided all the documentation and we will be there to ensure their legal rights are protected, to minimize potential conflict with her (Huff’s) group and make sure nobody gets hurt,” said KPD Assistant Chief Clayton Arinaga.

“We agreed as a department that we needed to meet with Ms. Huff and the rest of
the demonstrators to get on the same page and make sure we respect their right to protest, but also to make sure they keep it peaceful,” said KPD Chief Darryl Perry.

Huff claims that the Wainiha subdivision should instead belong to her as it was
granted to her family by the Hawaiian crown prior to American intervention.

A Jan. 31 Hawai‘i Supreme Court ruling determined that the state cannot sell any
of the 1.2 million acres of ceded lands that once belonged to the Hawaiian monarchy until all claims are settled.

Huff said that “things are conspiring in our history right now” that could lead
to her recovering the land. She expects a variety of Hawaiian sovereignty groups
to join in her protest.

“We are sympathetic to her side, but we have a duty to perform our jobs,” Arinaga
said.

Landowner Joseph Brescia, according to attorney Walton Hong, has been trying to
build a home on the land since 2001, but has been delayed by various environmental, legal and community challenges.

The Kaua‘i Island Burial Council determined in April that 30 burials discovered
on the property in a December 2007 archaeological survey must be left in place in
order for construction to begin.

Groundbreaking was rumored to start earlier this month, but contractor Ted Burkhardt and his crew left without performing any work as some 40 residents were assembled at the site in protest.

Tuesday is now rumored to be the first day of construction.

Brescia said yesterday in a phone interview that he was “considering” building a
2,350-square-foot, three-bedroom home on the property and that he would likely be
issuing a formal statement this week.

“I’m not a developer, I’m just a regular guy in a very unfortunate, uncomfortable
situation,” he said. “I’ve done everything I can to make this sensitive and respectful
and I don’t know what else can be changed.



SUBJECT: HAWAIIAN SACRED PLACE

SOURCE: BRAD PARSONS mauibrad@hotmail.com

POSTED: 22 JUNE 2008 - 12:00pm EST

They’re coming to take me away!

image above: 2008 photo from dune area after ocean inundation. Photo
by Caren Diamond

[Editor's Note: The property in question is at
7336 Alealea Road in the Wainiha Subdivision Lot #6
Hawaii Tax Map Key (4) 5-8-09-45 owned by
Joe & Jodie A Brescia]

by Ka'iulani Eden Huff on 21 June 2008

It's Saturday nite. Cops said yesterday to me they're coming to take me away from my iwi o kupuna so they can break ground!! NO WAY!! our ancestors are the kuamoo, the backbone of who we are as a people and as individuals. woe to the man who has no reverence for the dead....AUWEAUWEAUWE.

Please join me for a history making day of kuleana at na iwi o kupuna o naue cemetary, Aalealea Road in Ha'ena, Tuesday the 24th, at 6:30am to show ourselves as one people to our ancestors and ke akua.

We will decorate the cemetary withour women and children. Everyone please wear white! No more black for our people, we stand fully exposed in the light forever more without kaumaha.

Pray, tell everyone, and ku kanaka! ka'iu.

They will have to drag me out of our cemetary on my hands and knees. Learn a chant please for your protocol!!



see also:
Island Breath: Haena Burial Site 6/9/08
Island Breath: Bones of our Ancestors 1/13/08
Island Breath: kauai Shoreline Defined 7/30/06
Island Breath: Save Wainiha Beaches 3/8/04


Pau
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