HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	131
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the establishment of a burial sites working group to review and RECOMMEND improvements to the burial sites program within the state historic preservation division.

 

 

 

        WHEREAS, the Legislature acknowledges the State's duty to native Hawaiians is firmly established in the state constitution in article XII; and

 

        WHEREAS, the Legislature and the State also recognize their unique trust relationship with native Hawaiians; and

 

        WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources' mission is to "[e]nhance, protect, conserve and manage Hawaii's unique and limited natural, cultural and historic resources held in public trust for current and future generations of the people of Hawaii nei, and its visitors, in partnership with others from the public and private sectors"; and

 

        WHEREAS, within the Department of Land and Natural Resources is the State Historic Preservation Division, which strives to preserve and protect Hawaii's historic identity; and

 

        WHEREAS, the Burial Sites Program and the Island Burial Councils within the History and Culture branch, have the duty of protecting and managing traditional Hawaiian burial sites over fifty years old and most commonly unmarked according to ancient cultural protocols; and

 

        WHEREAS, burial council members are reviewed and vetted by the Department of Land and Natural Resources in consultation with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and appropriate Hawaiian organizations, who submit a list of names and qualifications of potential council members to the Governor, who nominates potential council members, subject to confirmation by the Senate; and

 

WHEREAS, council members take upon themselves the sworn duties and obligations to care for iwi k  puna (ancestral bones) and moep   (funerary possessions); and

 

        WHEREAS, the burial councils are charged with, among other things, to oversee and determine whether previously identified Native Hawaiian burial sites will be preserved in place or relocated; and

 

WHEREAS, when there are inadvertent discoveries of iwi kupuna, these burial sites are under the jurisdiction of State Historic Preservation Division; and

 

        WHEREAS, the State Historic Preservation Division has been the subject of numerous audits and was put on probation with the National Parks Service, but has recently been moved from a high-risk to a medium-risk recipient of federal funds; and

 

        WHEREAS, leaders of the Island Burial Councils have criticized the State for the mismanagement of the Burial Sites Program through a lack of communication and inadequate legal counsel, among other grievances; and

 

        WHEREAS, many within the Native Hawaiian community, especially lineal descendants, have also expressed frustration at the lack of action by the State Historic Preservation Division; and

 

        WHEREAS, despite calls for assistance from burial council members, the councils continue to be inadequately staffed and under trained; and

 

WHEREAS, members also claim that there has been a failure to enforce burial site violations while not developing an adequate inventory of Native Hawaiian burial sites; and

 

WHEREAS, there is a significant divide between Native Hawaiians and the State Historic Preservation Division, a branch of government meant to provide guidance on significant cultural and historic issues; now, therefore,

 

        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the Senate concurring, that a Burial Sites Working Group is requested to be established to review and recommend improvements to the Burial Sites Program within the State Historic Preservation Division; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to determine ways to strengthen and improve historic resources and protections; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group include the following members:

 

(1)   The Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural resources or their designee;

 

(2)   The Administrator of the State Historic Preservation Division;

 

(3)   Two staff members from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, to be selected by the Chief Executive Officer; provided that one member shall be selected from the Office's Compliance Enforcement Program;

 

(4)   One representative from the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, to be selected by the Chair of the Board;

 

(5)   One individual from each Island Burial Council, to be selected by a majority vote of its respective members;

 

(6)   One staff member from the Department of the Attorney General, to be selected by the Attorney General;

 

(7)   Two Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners, to be selected by the Senate President; and

(8)   Two Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners, to be selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group examine the Burial Sites Program and the Island Burial Councils to determine their relationship to the State Historic Preservation Division and their management; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group review existing statutes and rules pertaining to the Burial Councils; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group discuss ways to fill current and future vacancies on each Island Burial Council; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group examine all State Historic Preservation Division staff duties and responsibilities to better support the Island Burial Councils; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group provide recommendations on the development of a statewide survey and inventory that documents historic properties where burial sites exist or may exist, including properties owned by the State or the counties; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the commencement of Regular Session of 2022; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted the Governor, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Attorney General, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Administrator of the State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and each Chairperson of the Hawaii Island Burial Council, Kauai and Niihau Islands Burial Council, Maui and Lanai Islands Burial Council, the Oahu Island Burial Council, and the Molokai Island Burial Council.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:  

Hawaiian Affairs; Burials; Burial Councils; DLNR; SHPD