(c) July 20, 2007 by Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D. All rights are reserved (but rites are not yet appropriate).
Burial remains are sometimes found when new roads or buildings are under construction in Hawaii. If bones are found which appear more than a century old or seem to be native Hawaiian, a lengthy decision-making process begins. Must the bones be left in place? If so, then multimillion dollar redesign might be necessary to avoid disturbing the bones, or the project might get cancelled because there would be no way to avoid disturbing them. Can the bones be moved out of the way to let the project go forward? Who decides, and on what criteria? This essay does not seek to describe current decision-making standards and procedures. This essay is a philosophical inquiry into some of the historical, legal, and moral issues involved in deciding what to do when respect for ancient burials clashes with current economic desires and social needs.
A 1300-word compressed summary of this webpage was published in the Kona newspaper "West Hawaii Today" in the print edition of Saturday August 4, 2007 and the on-line edition of Monday August 6. That article is available at
https://www.angelfire.com/planet/big60/HawaiianBonesWHT080407.html
An in-depth and detailed analysis includes source citations, news reports, and commentaries, at the webpage
https://www.angelfire.com/planet/big60/HawaiianBonesDetailed.html
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(c) July 20, 2007 by Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D. All rights are reserved (but rites are not yet appropriate).