Kaua‘i residents are being asked by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to identify criteria that could be used in selecting members for the Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau Burial Council. The process is intended to help protect Native Hawaiian burials, DLNR
Kaua‘i residents are being asked by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to identify criteria that could be used in selecting members for the Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau Burial Council.
The process is intended to help protect Native Hawaiian burials, DLNR officials said.
The DLNR’s State Historic Preservation Division has scheduled public hearings on the matter on all the islands.
The Kaua‘i meeting is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 25 at the Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School.
Each of the islands has a burial council and each council is tasked with the care and handling of native Hawaiian remains that have been impacted by ground-disturbing development or natural erosion.
The Office of the Auditor issued a report in 2004 that stated that DLNR leaders lacked “nomination criteria” for candidates being considered for burial councils, according to DLNR Chairperson Peter Young. “The feedback we get from the public will help us formulate clearer guidelines for this process,” Young said.
Written statements can be sent to Melanie Chinen, administrator of the State Historic Preservation Division, 601, Kamokila Blvd., Suite 555, Kapolei, Hawaii 96707 or faxed to her at 1-808-692-8020.
The terms of Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau Burial Council members, Mike Furukawa and Presley V. Wann, are on a holdover status, according to a SHPD spokesperson on O‘ahu.
Both Furukawa and Wann will remain on the council until they can either be reappointed and confirmed or are replaced by two new members, the official said.
Other members are Donna A‘ana-Nakahara, Mark Hubbard, Grace H. Kamai, LaFrance Kapaka-Arboleda, John A. P. Kruse, Catherine Ham Pfeffer, Sandra P. Quinsaat Young, Leiana P. Robinson, Barbara J. Say, Tom Shigemoto and Henrietta Esther Thaxton.
All council members are appointed by the governor and are confirmed by the Senate for a four-year term. Council members may serve no more than two consecutive terms.
