High court upholds burial site challenges

Native Hawaiians have the right to challenge construction plans that disturb Hawaiian burial sites, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled yesterday.

The court held that native Hawaiians can turn to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources to appeal decisions by the Oahu Island Burial Council that approve a developer’s treatment plan for burial remains.

“We’re quite pleased,” Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. lawyer David Kimo Frankel said of the 59-page opinion written by Chief Justice Ronald Moon. “It reinforces that native Hawaiians have a right to a contested case hearing when their cultural practices are impacted.”