Disagreement, not Kawaiaha鈥榦, Is Causing Anguish
天美视频 chose an unfortunate title for its May 13 article, 鈥淜awaiahao Breeds Anguish at Oahu鈥檚 Burial Council.鈥 No doubt issues related to the unintentional discovery of burials during utility trenching between and street and the Church鈥檚 new facility have generated passionate discussions. However, Kawaiaha鈥榦 Church has gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid causing any anguish related to the discovery of burials.
First, the Church created a Na Iwi Committee to care for any burials that might be unintentionally discovered. After iwi were discovered, Kawaiaha鈥榦 respectfully cared for them and has born the expense of stopping the project voluntarily on multiple occasions to reach out to those in the community who have concerns. Since the project was announced, we have held nine K膩hea, or outreach meetings, to listen and confer with community members.
Moreover, we have not just listened but acted to address issues raised, including how best to reinter the remains discovered. The Church has also significantly redesigned the building to lessen concerns about the amount of excavation required, again voluntarily and at considerable expense.
There is one factual inaccuracy in the article. Contrary to what is stated, there are no known burials under the footprint of the multi-purpose center. Ninety percent of the new building will sit within the footprint of the recently demolished Likeke Hall. All burials were removed from the Likeke Hall site prior to its construction in 1940. However, it鈥檚 possible some unidentifiable remains may still be discovered because archaeological techniques of the day were not as thorough as those used now.
Besides the headline, wording in other parts of the article is also open to misinterpretation. For example, four lines below the headline the Oahu Island Burial Council (OIBC) is described as, 鈥渙ne of the last places Native Hawaiians have to turn to talk about the clashes between the host culture and modern society.鈥
While we agree that OIBC plays a vital role for native Hawaiians, in view of the preceding headline, indicating an adversarial relationship between the Church and those at the OIBC meeting鈥攁nd without any other context or explanation鈥攔eaders could be forgiven for interpreting this passage to mean the Church represents modern society, not native Hawaiians.
We hope the readers of Civil Beat do not interpret this passage to mean that only the OIBC and those in the article represent the host culture or that being Hawaiian means following the beliefs expressed by some at the OIBC meeting. While we respect those who have different beliefs and honor those who have passed on, we don鈥檛 believe that spirit or power resides in a person鈥檚 bones.
If being a true Hawaiian is interpreted to mean one must believe that ancestral bones have life and power, then many of our ali鈥榠, including Queens Ke艒p奴olani, Ka鈥榓humanu, and Liliuokalani, would not qualify as Hawaiian, since they were Christians and believed a person鈥檚 spirit goes to Heaven and his or her bones return to dust.
King Kamehameha III encouraged missionaries to establish the Church for the benefit of his people and the Church has always been a native Hawaiian institution, serving the native Hawaiian community and providing counseling to many Hawaiians attempting to cope with the changing values and conflicting messages they experience in a modern, predominantly western society.
This has been part of the Church鈥檚 mission for 190 years. We are building a new facility to continue that mission and better serve the community, our congregation and our keiki.
Kawaiaha鈥榦 Church values the important work of the OIBC and has submitted reports to the Council from time to time on developments at the Multi-Purpose Center project. Individual members of the Church have also appeared before the Council to establish themselves as lineal descendants. We only ask that those who follow other beliefs not make it difficult for our congregation to worship and for Kawaiaha鈥榦 to use its property, in accordance with state and county rules and regulations, to fulfill its mission.
About the Author: Kahu Curtis Pa`alua Kwai Fong Kekuna is a keiki o ka hale pule `o Kawaiaha`o, who was mentored by Dr. Reverend Abraham Akaka. He has been in ministry for over 41 years, serving in Washington, California, Alaska, Hawai`i, Mexico, Canada, and Russia, speaking at youth camps and training leaders throughout the world. His wife of 40 years, Rebecca, and he have three daughters. Kalei resides in Manhattan Beach, California; Pomai and husband, Jeff, live in San Diego, California; and Aulani is in Graduate School at University of San Diego. Kahu Curt and Rebecca are the proud grandparents to their two grandchildren: Ella Lilikalani and Alyssa Kekunaaiali`i whose parents are Pomai and Jeff. Kahu Kekuna鈥檚 passion is loving Jesus Christ, his family, and serving wherever God leads.
