A call has been issued for native Hawaiian individuals or organizations with ancestral claims or cultural affiliation with human remains found recently in the US Army’s Pohakuloa Training Area.
PTA spokesman Bob McElroy said the fragmented skeletal remains were discovered Sept. 28 in a lava tube during an archaeological survey of a new training range in the Ka`ohe Ahupua`a.
McElroy said the remains or iwi are presumed to be native Hawaiian because of their location with traditional archaeological materials including a hearth and kukui nut shells. The bones were found in two chambers of the lava tube and have been left in place.
No funerary or sacred objects were found in conjunction with the remains.
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Representatives of native Hawaiian organizations or individuals wishing to file lineal or cultural affiliation with the human remains are requested to contact Julie Taomia, an archeologist with the US Army Garrison’s Environmental Division at Pohakuloa, at P.O. Box 4607, Hilo, HI 96720 or by email at [email protected] before Nov. 15.
The call for claimants is being made in accordance with the Native Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, also known as NAGPRA, regarding treatment and custody of the remains.
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