{"id":910,"date":"2026-06-04T04:35:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=910"},"modified":"2026-06-04T04:35:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T04:35:48","slug":"hawaii-island-burial-council-meeting-cancelled-delaying-protection-of-ancestral-remains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=910","title":{"rendered":"Hawaii Island burial council meeting cancelled, delaying protection of ancestral remains"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HAWAIIAN PARADISE PARK, Hawaii \u2014 There\u2019s growing frustration on the island of Hawaii, where important votes on iwi k\u016bpuna, or ancestral bones, are on hold.<\/p>\n

Read more Serena Williams is returning to pro tennis at age 44 after nearly 4 years away from the sport<\/a><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, another burial council meeting was cancelled due to a lack of quorum.<\/p>\n

The burial councils on each island are supposed to have nine members, but on Hawaii Island, there are now four vacancies after a council member resigned last week. One cultural descendant says it makes protecting the bones of his ancestors even more difficult.<\/p>\n

In 2023, iwi k\u016bpuna were discovered in a burial cave in Hawaiian Paradise Park, within the ahupua\u02bba of Waikahekahe Iki.<\/p>\n

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Cultural descendant of the iwi, Keoni Kealoha Alvarez, says it was eight sets of human remains.<\/p>\n

The Hawaiian Paradise Owners Association had planned to build 1,400 mailboxes and bulldozing started, but the discovery stopped the project.<\/p>\n

Now the iwi need a burial treatment plan approved by the Hawaii Island Burial Council, but Alvarez says for three years, action has stalled because of cancelled meetings, lack of quorum, or internal feuds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2024 and 2025, half of the year we had no meetings so that made it very difficult for me in trying to protect this burial site because nothing was getting done,\u201d Alvarez said.<\/p>\n

Read more Thousands of volunteers help put on Special Olympics Hawaii Summer Games<\/a><\/p>\n

Alvarez says the iwi are safe for now. The community built a rock wall, covered the cave, and put up make-shift signs, but they need an approved burial treatment plan to ensure their protection in perpetuity including permanent signage.<\/p>\n

Palikapu Dedman with the Pele Defense Fund said it is frustrating for k\u016bpuna and family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey hold up a lot of the progress when the original families come forward especially kupuna to take care of so called burials, but they don\u2019t have meetings, they don\u2019t have quorum, and that keeps going. That hangs up the family,\u201d Dedman said.<\/p>\n

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) said in a statement, \u201cFuture issues with quorum are anticipated to be resolved by House Bill 2104. Once the Governor signs the bill into law, quorum will be determined by the number of council members appointed and\/or confirmed rather than by number of council seats in total.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The office of the Governor says, \u201cWe are actively working to identify residents that have the right qualifications and meet the specific criteria described in the Hawai\u02bbi Revised Statues for appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n

DLNR says agenda items will be added to next month\u2019s agenda and progress is expected to continue.<\/p>\n

Read more Covering the Cost: The cost of incarceration and Hawaii\u2019s prison system<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Growing frustration on the island of Hawaii, where important votes on iwi k\u016bpuna, or ancestral bones, are on hold.
\nOn Wednesday, another burial council meeting was cancelled due to a lack of quorum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHawaii Island burial council meeting cancelled, delaying protection of ancestral remains - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=910\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hawaii Island burial council meeting cancelled, delaying protection of ancestral remains - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Growing frustration on the island of Hawaii, where important votes on iwi k\u016bpuna, or ancestral bones, are on hold. 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