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Naue, Kaua`i - In a surprise show of force, Kanaka Maoli (native Hawaiians) from throughout Hawai`i have converged on the residential property of Joseph Brescia in a dramatic attempt to stop further luxury home construction over an ancient Hawaiian cemetery on Kaua`i’s North Shore.Over thirty protestors and cultural practitioners from O’ahu, Maui, Molokai and Hawai`i Island arrived this morning and secured themselves to each other and the property by means of a popular activist lock-down device that will result in law enforcement authorities spending several hours in an attempt to remove them.“Our goal is to make them forcefully remove us,” states protestor Andre Perez of Pohaku O Kane. “This is not just about Kaua`i. We’re serious about protecting our iwi kupuna, our `aina, and our lahui. "The property, formerly owned by actor Sylvester Stallone, and purchased by California luxury homebuilder Joseph Brescia seven years ago, is considered culturally sacred and contains at least thirty ancient burials as well as numerous artifacts.With legal challenges currently in progress, previous protests had stopped construction until recently when concrete was poured directly over the well-documented bones of ancient Hawaiians on the property.”We’re sick of rich foreigners coming over here and destroying the resting places of our families,” remarked Keli`i Collier. “Hawaiians do not desecrate the graves of others, why do they desecrate ours?”Construction of a home or any other substantive structure on a cemetery is considered an extreme cultural affront.Moreover, claim of property ownership is also in dispute since specific Hawaiians can trace their families having lived on that parcel going back centuries, and no clear title on property exists throughout Hawai`i.
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http://kauaieclectic.blogspot.com/2008/08/stand-off-ends-in-stand-d... Thursday, August 7, 2008Stand-Off Ends in Stand Down at Naue Joan ConrowI spent several hours today at the Naue burial grounds, where about 30 protestors succeeded in halting construction on Joe Brescia’s house. But quite remarkably, the Kauai police declined to make any arrests. And seven guys — all kanaka maoli — wanted to be arrested. They’d come together from throughout the islands specifically to make a public statement against the “continuing desecration” of the burials there, and they’d linked themselves together with elbows of PVC pipe, a set up that would require cops to cut them apart. You can see pictures and video at Ehu Cardwell’s Free Hawaii site. Some veterans in the Hawaiian rights movement, including Palikapu Dedman, Skippy Ioane and Hanalei “Hank” Fergerstrom, also came to Kauai to provide support. “We came to the conclusion we have to take matters to a higher level to force the so-called authorities to deal with this,” said Andre Perez of Pohaku O Kane, a Koloa boy now living on Oahu who was one of those willing to be arrested. From the get-go, though, the cops took a conciliatory, hands-off approach, and the protestors were mellow, too. The first two cops arrived, sirens wailing, at 9:22 a.m., and after checking out the scene, called for back-up. Another two showed up, then another, and they conferred with contractor Ted Burkhardt. The cops told the protestors that construction had stopped at the site in anticipation of next Thursday’s hearing for a permanent injunction, and the crew wasn’t planning to do any digging work today. If the protesters would just let them do a bit of string work for a site inspection survey, they’d be out of there in half an hour. The guys said no. The cops said they had to warn them that if they didn’t leave, they’d be arrested for trespassing. The guys said good. The cops backed off, then returned and said Police Chief Darryl Perry wanted one of the protestors to call him. Apparently they’d had a 1 p.m. appointment with the chief, and he wasn’t pleased that they’d gone to Naue instead of his office. The minutes ticked on. It rained, and Palikapu invited the cops to come under the tarp that protected a picnic table from the elements. “Come inside, we’re not enemies,” Palikapu said. “No, none of us are enemies,” a cop replied, smiling, and he joined the protestors under the tarp. (As an aside, the graffiti on the table included a drawing of a man with a big gun, standing in front of a big building, and the words: “Protest this.” Andre, pointing the graffiti out to the cops, complained: “This is the kind of cultural insensitivity we have to deal with every day.”) Les Milnes from the county showed up to do the site inspection, and at Palikapu’s request, he agreed to return another day. Then the construction crew quickly gathered up its gear and took off. The cops came back and told the protestors they could all leave now, but the protestors said no. “We’re giving you the opportunity to leave without getting arrested,” one of the cops said incredulously. “We came here with a purpose and we’re sticking with the plan,” Andre said. Added Hanaloa Helela, of Oahu: “There’s always the option for you guys to stand down.” And that’s precisely what happened in the end. After about eight hours, the cops split and the protestors did, too, with the understanding that all construction would cease until the hearing. I must say, I’d never seen anything like it in all the demonstrations I’ve covered. For starters, there was the PVC pipe thing, a set-up known as a “black bear” that Andre had read about in accounts of logging protests in the Pacific Northwest. Then there was the congenial vibe between the cops and the protestors. But it was the ending that totally blew my mind, serving as yet another example of how Chief Perry has figured out some innovative ways to diffuse protest situations. As you may recall, he previously stymied a show-down at Naue when he determined that allowing construction to proceed would constitute a violation of state laws prohibiting burial desecrations. Unfortunately, his opinion was overruled by the state Attorney General and county attorney and construction commenced. Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe later denied a request for a restraining order to halt construction until the Aug. 14 injunction hearing, and so work has begun at the site. I was pretty shocked by how much the site — now totally enclosed in a high black plastic dust fence with 24/7 security — had changed in just a few weeks. Previously, the entire site was covered with markers that denoted where 48 burial areas (some 30 of them intact skeletons) had been found. Today, just 16 markers remained on the edges of the site. The rest were gone, and in their place were 26 large concrete footings that had been poured to support footings for the house, which must be elevated. As I looked at the scene, I got a wave of chicken skin that left me with a very bad feeling. Clearly, building luxury vacation homes atop Hawaiian burials is not a good thing. As Andre had noted the night before: “Who else in Hawaii has to crawl under someone’s house to visit their kupuna?” The answer, of course, is nobody. While today’s action ended without any arrests, it did serve to generate some local and national publicity and affirm the commitment of those opposed to the ongoing disruption of burials. “If the governor does not intervene and construction is not stopped, we will continue to mobilize and occupy,” Andre vowed. “We will be back.” And I have a feeling more guys will join them next time. Posted by Joan at 6:11 PM
August 7, 2008
Protesters on Kauai halt construction near ancient remains
Associated Press
LIHU’E, Hawai‘i — More than a dozen protesters on Kaua’i halted construction of a house located on property where about 30 ancient Hawaiian burial sites have been discovered.
At least eight protesters, who anticipated being arrested, linked themselves together using segments of PVC pipe Thursday, but no arrests were made.
Police waited out the protesters, who left after 10 hours, vowing to return next week. Construction workers left the area earlier at the request of police in an apparent effort to avoid confrontation.
After years of legal challenges and community opposition, state and local authorities have given property owner and California contractor Joseph Brescia permission to build the house.
One protester, Andre Perez of O’ahu, called on Gov. Linda Lingle to intervene.
“By any standard, by any culture or ethnic group, this is just wrong,” Perez said. “From a human perspective, this is just wrong.”
As recently as June 25, Kaua’i County Police Chief Darryl Perry, citing a law protecting Hawaiian burial grounds, was at the site, turning away workers about to start construction.
Walton Hong, an attorney for Brescia, said at the time that he would submit a burial plan with the State Historic Preservation Division.
In December, some 30 burials were discovered on the property during an archaeological survey. The Kaua’i Island Burial Council determined in April that the sites must be left in place in order for construction to begin.
Brescia has been trying to build a home on the site since 2001.
Still in the early stages of development, the site has close to 30 concrete posts positioned around numerous markings noting the location of iwi, or Hawaiian remains.
The protesters, who came from around the state, said they want construction halted and the iwi honored with a heiau, or shrine. Building around the graves, or moving them would constitute be desecration, they said.
“If they can do this here, they can do this on all Hawaiian burial sites throughout the Hawaiian Islands,” Hanalei Colleado of Maui said.
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“We’re Leaving On Our Own Terms” Say Protesters
Naue, Kaua`i – The protest at the residential property of Joseph Brescia stopping luxury home construction over an ancient Hawaiian cemetery on Kaua`i’s North Shore has ended peacefully late this afternoon.
“Were leaving on our own terms,” remarked protestor Andre Perez of Pohaku O Kane. “Should Governor Lingle fail to intervene and construction start up again, we will be back in force.”
Over thirty protestors and cultural practitioners from O`ahu, Maui, Molokai and Hawai`i Island had arrived this morning and secured themselves to each other and the property by means of a popular activist lock-down device that results in law enforcement authorities spending several hours in an attempt to remove them.
The property, formerly owned by actor Sylvester Stallone, and purchased by California luxury homebuilder Joseph Brescia seven years ago, is considered culturally sacred and contains at least thirty ancient burials as well as numerous artifacts.