Honolulu Rail Project – Native Hawaiian Allowed To Have Say About Burials

To date, archaeologists working for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) have found the remains of five ancient Hawaiian bodies in four separate locations along the proposed line for the Honolulu Rail Project.  Hawaii state law prohibits the moving, destroying or altering of any burial sites except as permitted by the state and local burial councils.  Native Hawaiians believe that the bones are infused with the life force of their ancestors and that their journey in the afterlife is not completed until their bones have dissolved completely.  As a result, HART has asked Native Hawaiian families whose ancestors may have been buried along the proposed rail lines to file claims and register with the  State Historic Preservation Division.  This would allow the Native Hawaiian families to have a say as to what happens with any remains found.

Chief Executive Officer of HART, Dan Grabauskas, was optimistic about how soon the archaeological process would be completed and when rail construction could resume.  Grabauskas stated, “We had a plan and a schedule that had us completing all the trenching work around the end of February. But it now looks like with the acceleration, we’re going to be able to wrap this up, the trenching activity, by the end of the year.”  It is estimated that each month of delay would cost taxpayers between $7 to $10 million.

Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 11-11-2012, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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