Media release from U.S. Army Garrison – Pohakuloa

Call for Claimants under Native Hawaiian Grave Protection and Repatriation Act

POHAKULOA TRAINING AREA, Hawaii— This Call for Claimants is hereby given in accordance with the Native Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3002(d) and its implementing regulations 43 CFR 10.4 and 5, and is requesting claimants of lineal and/or cultural affiliation to determine treatment and custody for human remains in the control of the US Army Garrison, Pōhakuloa, Hawai‘i Island, Hawaii (USAG- Pōhakuloa).

On Sept. 28, 2012 archaeologists inadvertently discovered disarticulated and fragmentary human skeletal remains during an archaeological inventory survey at Pōhakuloa Training Area, Ka‘ohe Ahuapua‘a, Hāmākua District. The archaeologists determined the remains to be human and pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d) (1) USAG- Pōhakuloa has presumed the remains to be of Native Hawaiian ancestry based upon their location in a lava tube with traditional archaeological materials, including a hearth and kukui nut shells. The bones are located in two chambers of a lava tube and were left in place. No funerary objects, sacred objects or objects of cultural patrimony have been recovered. No construction projects are ongoing in the area.

Representatives of Native Hawaiian organizations and/or individuals that wish to claim lineal and/or cultural affiliation with the human remains are requested to contact Dr. Julie Taomia, Archeologist, Environmental Division, U.S. Army Garrison, Pōhakuloa, P.O. Box 4607, Hilo, HI 96720 or by email at julie.m.taomia.civ@mail.mil before November 15, 2012.