by J.M. Buck

Councilmember Sol Kaho‘ohalahala voiced his concerns as Kahu Lyons Naone (center) and Paulo Fujishiro (right) listened intently at a recent FOM forum. Photo: Sean Lester

A community forum presented by Friends of Moku‘ula (FOM) was held Tuesday, May 5, in the Pa‘ina Building at Maui Community College. The forum provided an opportunity for approximately 50 residents, including Hawaiian elders (kūpuna), to voice their concerns and questions regarding the planned archaeological project and possible restoration of the significant sacred Hawaiian site mauka of 505 Front Street in Lahaina. Concerns primarily focused around the issue of proper cultural protocol.

Moku‘ula, an inshore island surrounded by Mokuhinia Fishpond, was the crux of Hawaiian spiritual and political activities for over 300 years. It was home to high chiefs, including King Liholiho (Kamehameha III), and contains a royal mausoleum and other structures associated with the monarchy. In 1914, the site was covered with fill as plantations in the area expanded. Carbon-14 dating at the site has revealed evidence of human habitation going back approximately 1,300 years.

The sensitive nature of the site has prompted kūpuna in the community to form a “kūpuna council” to advise FOM on proper cultural protocol throughout the project.

“We came up with the idea of forming a kūpuna council to take care of things that pertain to Moku‘ula,” stated Kupuna and Maui/Lāna‘i Islands Burial Council Chairman Charlie Maxwell. “It is one of the most spiritual places on Maui and has to be treated as such. We want to know exactly what is happening with Moku‘ula.”

Through a $30,000 grant from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority and a partnership with University of Hawai‘i/Maui Community College, FOM has initiated an archaeological field school that will perform data recovery on the site.

According to FOM Project Developer Jessica Thompson, the archaeology project will be open to residents and visitors alike. “The idea is that the community and visitors to Maui get to have a hands-on experience,” she said.

Dr. Janet Six, a highly credentialed archaeologist and instructor at MCC who will be heading up the archaeological recovery, fielded questions regarding the nature and methodology of the excavations planned for Moku‘ula.

“It is about public archaeology and using the site to educate,” explained Six, a long-time Hawai‘i resident who has worked on several sites on Hawai‘i Island. “No excavation is planned on the island at all. The plan is to identify the edges of island and the fishponds.”

Six used a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate data recovery methods that accompany excavations, such as the use of non-invasive geographical information systems (GIS) and mapping with laser theodolite. Information obtained through GIS systems can be posted on the Internet for public viewing and participation if it deemed appropriate.

County Councilmember Sol Kah‘ohalahala was less than thrilled about the proposal. “What you are inviting is not just the field school and the community, but the world,” he said. “What if they start coming to the site without knowing the uniqueness of the site? There needs to be some review of what info is going to be put on [the Web] and what is appropriate.”

Six explained that Web information can be locked, accessible by password only to those who need it.

Burial Council member Ke‘eaumoku Kapu emphasized the need for those working on the site to have respect for the culture and an awareness that the site is sacred.

“When you start putting people on that ground, they have to be pure when they go in this area. If not, there may be repercussions,” he warned. “They have to know it’s not just a curriculum, it is a commitment that may change their whole lives.”

Six said that at the moment two Native Hawaiian students have enrolled in the field school, which has a 12-person enrollment limit. Ten students have already signed on.

She hopes to get more Native Hawaiians involved, especially young people who have an interest in anthropology and archaeology. “I would love nothing more than to have Native people handling cultural resource management. Jobs are going to people from the Mainland who know nothing. They’re being put in positions where they have no business being.”

In speaking with MCC students already enrolled in the field school, many of them were born and raised in Hawai‘i and have an understanding and respect of Hawaiian culture. A number of them have spent at least five months in intensive Hawaiian studies classes.

In a previous interview, Six said that prospective volunteers must put in applications for review; not just anyone off the street will be let onto the site.

Kahu Lyons Naone pointed out that proper timing is part of proper protocol. “Sometimes the protocol has to fit the right time of what is going on, rather than the timing of the funding and the scheduling. In July is when the sun is directly overhead [Lahaina Noon], and that’s a key time on all sacred sites. I think the kūpuna should get together and look at it, and even if the project has started a little bit, a major ceremony should be done at these times when the sun and the moon is in the proper place.”

Kupuna Uncle Ed Lindsey, whose late parents, Ned and Pua Lindsey, were instrumental in launching FOM, was interviewed prior to the forum. He stressed that though proper protocol is important, proper intentionality is equally—if not more—important.

“A project as important as Moku‘ula is such that you have to be correct, pono, from the beginning… It’s important that whatever they do, they do it for the right reasons… The Moku‘ula story needs to be told with aloha. If it’s not told with aloha it’s doomed to be crumbled.”

Lindsey stated that the vision of his parents in helping launch FOM was that the site be restored for the benefit and education of all.

“Before anything is done, we will be addressing protocol,” assured Thompson. “We will treat this project as a sacred one; we will address it as such.”

“I welcome as much input as I can get from people who have cultural knowledge and other information,” added Six. She can be reached at six@hawaii.edu or 984-3670.

The matter went before the Cultural Resources Commission on May 7, and it was decided the excavation date be delayed until late June or early July to allow time for protocol discussions.

The archaeological data recovery plan will be available at SHIPD for public review and comment for 30 days. Dates of plan availability will be announced.

Questions regarding the project can be emailed to Thompson at projects@mokuula.com or call 661-3659.

© Maui Weekly 2007

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