via the Honolulu Advertiser : Group defies artifacts order The
leader of a Native Hawaiian organization yesterday was ordered jailed
by U.S. District Judge David Ezra until the precise whereabouts of 83
priceless cultural artifacts are disclosed or the items are recovered. Edward
Halealoha Ayau, executive director of Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawaii Nei and other Hui Malama officials have said the items are buried in
caves in Honokahua Gulch on the Kohala side of the Big Island. They
maintain that providing specifics would violate their Native Hawaiian
religious beliefs. In
a packed and emotionally charged courtroom, Ayau was found by Ezra to
be in contempt of court and ordered incarcerated at the Federal
Detention Center near Honolulu International Airport until he discloses
the objects' locations, someone else discloses the locations or the
objects are located and taken back to Bishop Museum. Hui
Malama borrowed the objects from the museum in 2000 and never returned
them. The group said the items, known as the Forbes Cave collection,
have been placed in the vicinity of where they were taken by Westerners
in 1905. Two
other Native Hawaiian organizations, Na Lei Alii Kawananakoa and the
Royal Hawaiian Academy of Traditional Arts, sued the museum and Hui
Malama to force their return. Hui Malama officials have refused and
said it would be sacrilegious to return them or participate in their
removal. [read full article] [...] TIME LINE Check the Honolulu Advertiser archive for more articles covering Edward
Halealoha Ayau and this story dating back to 2003
Edward
Halealoha Ayau
image source
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Staff Writer
Recent events in the case of Native Hawaiian artifacts:
August: Two Native Hawaiian groups, Na Lei Alii Kawananakoa and the Hawaiian Academy of Traditional Arts, sue the Bishop Museum and Hui Malama I Na Kupuna 'O Hawai'i Nei, seeking return of artifacts Hui Malama borrowed from the museum then buried in Big Island caves. At least 13 groups are seeking possession of the artifacts, which range from carved wooden statuettes of family gods, or 'aumakua, to tools and pieces of feather capes.
Sept. 2: Federal District Judge David Ezra orders the return of the artifacts to the museum so discussions among the claimants can continue.
Sept. 5: Ezra sets a Sept. 23 deadline for return of the artifacts. Ezra questions whether federal law governing the disposition of cultural objects was violated when Hui Malama received and subsequently declined to return the items.
Sept. 20: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifts the court order directing retrieval of the artifacts, ruling they may remain in the caves while Hui Malama appeals Ezra’s injunction.
Dec. 12: The appeals court affirms Ezra’s September injunction calling for the return of the artifacts.
Dec. 20: Ezra sets a Dec. 21 deadline for Hui Malama to pinpoint where each artifact is buried. The judge agrees to a request that Hui Malama members may refrain from actively participating in the removal of artifacts. The group must, however, pay for half the costs of removal while the Bishop Museum covers the rest. And the judge grants a request to keep the exact location under a court seal. The parties are directed by Dec. 28 to submit a list of three engineers who could survey the structural integrity of the caves and offer risk assessment.
Dec. 22: Ezra orders Hui Malama’s executive director Edward Halealoha Ayau and board of directors to appear before him Dec. 27 to show cause as to why they should not be held in contempt of court for failing to comply with the terms of the Dec. 21 deadline.
Dec. 27: Hui Malama’s Ayau is ordered into federal custody until the exact whereabouts of the cultural artifacts are revealed.
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